Slick 60's

I bought new seals from Dennis Carpenter which are leather . Since I've never found a set of these seals still intact on a truck, I have no idea if these go inside the cab or outside under the wiper nut and bezel. I put these on the outside, but have my doubts about if these go there or inside. I do know that the truck I put these on had loos wiper shafts where the wipers came through the cowl. Normally corroded , I don't think the shafts came loose from the nut backing off. When I installed these on the outside, it appeared to me that the seal would not really seal all that well at the very top. Thinking these should really go on the inside of the cowl and not outside. Since the seal is fairly thick, it would make a difference in how much pressure is kept on the wiper blades. I will try and find an answer in some of my parts books.

Rich

I think this is where my 66 leaks... this will be great information.. thanks

Not sure how it is supposed to go either, I took a bike inner tube, laid the bezel on top and traced inside and out, cut it out with sharp scissors (sorry Patrice) doubled them up and put them on the outside between the bezel and the cab.

You used her sewing scissors!?!!!??? does she have a plan to murder you in your sleep? God forbid we ever cut anything with my mothers sewing skizzors...

Mine had paper seals. Replaced with home made versions, made from cereal box. Need to do it again their 12 years old.... this time I'll use bulk gasket paper.

They make a sheet that is a mix of rubber and cork, that stuff is like a scratch builders delight Its made for making gaskets, I have even used it with some success on small gas engines as an exhaust gasket!

LOVE THAT STUFF.

April,
I did not use her sewing scissors but I can't speak for her hobby ones..........(my story...sticking to it)

I'm fairly certain the leather goes inside the cab, but there most likely was a dumb dumb sealer on the outside under the spacer. I don't think the leather seal is made for the outside. Decided to move the seal to the inside and see how it looks that way, at least the drivers side . Have to take the glove box out to change the passenger side. I looked at a cab I have today and there was something that may have been a little piece of leather coming out from one of the posts on the inside of the cab. Took the column out today as the shifter was giving me fits. Had problems shifting to second and third. Found the shift tube had a broken piece. One of the shift forks was badly worn and slightly mangled from lower shift dog having come loose. Surprised it worked at all. Column was badly worn where the lower shift arm rode against the collar on the inside of the column. Whole thing had to much play, so I cleaned another one up that was in better shape. Actually , I took 4 columns apart and I'm using the best pieces of all 4, plus some new parts also. Would still like to have an authorative answer to my question on this though. May call Dennis Carpenter or Rick down at Carolina Classics. Of course we have Tom who is a regular on here and most likely has an answer.

fyi. not the same but…I have had a bunch of old fords between me and my Dad. I still have my first car a 55 tbird. the leather seals go between the body and the wiper bezel on every tbird I have seen. This has been addressed in the concours restoration manuals. just sayin'

shipwrecked wrote:You used her sewing scissors!?!!!??? does she have a plan to murder you in your sleep? God forbid we ever cut anything with my mothers sewing skizzors...

I did worse than that. I used my mother's hair cutting scissors. That's all I heard about for two weeks.

shipwrecked wrote:You used her sewing scissors!?!!!??? does she have a plan to murder you in your sleep? God forbid we ever cut anything with my mothers sewing skizzors...

It never happened if you don't get caught using them.

Not saying I have or haven't done it.

Everyone should be required to have some of this rubber cork gasket material..so many uses.

foodstick wrote:Everyone should be required to have some of this rubber cork gasket material..so many uses.

Got a roll of the cork and a roll of the black heavy paper looking gasket material. I've made many gaskets out of each. They are an invaluable resource for times when the gasket isn't available or you need one quick and don't want to stop what you are doing to run to the parts counter.

I've made dozens of gaskets from that material, and even file folders. My young mechanics in the CG don't learn this- they learn the parts store look it up on a computer way....

If you think about it, that is 2 layers of metal, why would you let water get between them before stopping it so put on the outside.



Johnny

The problem is the way the leather is cut to go around the wiper shaft. You have a double layer of metal and the leather may or may not seal properly at that point as the metal is not exactly a perfect fit in that area. the leather will allow water into the upper area. This is why I don't think these seals were meant to go on the outside, and I think using a dumb dumb sealer under the wiper bezel would work better. As to the placing of the leather top or bottom of cowl, I feel that it is important to know the correct placement. The leather is roughly going to be 1/16 inch perhaps more thick when compressed. Putting the leather under the cowl gives more tension on the wiper arm as the wiper arm will be located closer to the windshield. Putting it under the wiper bezel, will lesson the tension. I will say, that if your wipers are loose and don't work exactly right, the absence of this leather washer may be the problem. As to sealing, either side should seal but it won't . In addition, lather shrinks when exposed to water then dries. I've thought about rubbing some oil or grease into the leather to keep the seals dry and so you don't get this affect. Putting the seals on under the dash would be a pain, but still the question remains what is correct? To those of you that don't know the term dumb dumb, this is any number of sealers used to seal body panels. Most common is the string sealer that 3M makes and comes in a box of several hundred in about 1 foot lengths (comes in grey and black). I have used window caulk for a house that also comes in a string and is easily found at any local hardware store. It would seal much better than the leather alone. As to what t-bird guys decide on a t-bird, it may or may not apply to the trucks. As how they came to the decision that outside is where it belongs, I have no idea. It certainly is easier to install on the outside, and there is a good chance it would take a second pair of hands to install on the inside, plus it might be necessary to remove both the heater and glove box to do the right side. I have the heater out of my truck at the moment, and have changed out the core an the old one was leaking, installed new rubber seals around the core. Hopefully the rubber seals I put inside the box will force air thru the core and I will get more heat out of the heater. I am also considering placing a screen over the round plastic opening to prevent leaves form being sucked into the heater. In addition, I also make seals to go on the flap doors for the vents , and base of the flap doors against the kick panels.