New Roof Rail Weatherstrip + Cat Whiskers for 1972 Newport Coupe

[schwarzsurfer]

Hello,

I need some new Roof Rail Seals and Cat Whiskers for my 1972 Newport 2dr Coupe, but I can't find any shop or producer that offers some for my model. Do you have any idea, where I can get these parts?

Thank you!

Marian

 

[eyemon]

Try Dante's if you haven't already. www.dantesparts.com

 

[schwarzsurfer]

Thank you. They offer all parts I need :blush:

 

[schwarzsurfer]

Unfortunately they don't offer roof rails for a 1972 C-Body... nobody does Am I the only one who wants to change these parts after 40 years?

 

[cbarge]

Try Restoration Specialties..I was lucky they had cat whiskers for my 68 Newport

 

[ayilar]

Unfortunately they don't offer roof rails for a 1972 C-Body... nobody does Am I the only one who wants to change these parts after 40 years?

I am in the process of replacing the roof rail weatherstripping on my 1972 NYB. Did you have any luck finding what you needed?

 

[schwarzsurfer]

Hi,
unfortunately not. I removed them from the car, cleaned them up with laundry detergent containing surfactants and now they are relatively nice again. Was not able to find new ones.
greetings
marian

 

[ayilar]

Hi,
unfortunately not. I removed them from the car, cleaned them up with laundry detergent containing surfactants and now they are relatively nice again. Was not able to find new ones.

Thank you for the rapid response!

Short story: We tried to do the same, but while the driver side could be cleaned and reused, somehow a previous owner must have done a fix of some sort to the passenger side (we can't figure out what/why) and, at the time, glued the RHS weatherstrip at that spot.

Long story: I am redoing the vinyl roof, and as part of that work, will be painting the top before the vinyl goes on. To that effect, @71Polara383 helped get the roof rails off. When doing so, we found out that the weatherstrip (which needs to be moved to access the rivets holding the rials) had been glued to the metal at one spot -- where one of the rail rivets had been replaced by a screw (RHS only, suggesting a fix). When taking out the strip, Goo be Gone did not work and the strip tore as shown below -- it could arguably be "repaired" but my preference is for a new strip.

I have reached out to Quirey Quality Designs (owned by @QQE, took over Gary Goers) and, while they don't have something specific for the '72 NYer, Todd is working with me to see if they might have something that would work.

In related matters, Wyatt found this piece, which CarID claims works for all 1972 Chrysler models:

SoffSeal® SS-CH3017 - Roof Rail Weatherstrip Set

For Chrysler New Yorker 1971-1974 SoffSeal Roof Rail Weatherstrip Set | eBay​

Did you, or anyone else, check out whether the Soffseal weatherstrips would work on our cars?

 

[schwarzsurfer]

I have not tried it. But this is a great Tipp. Maybe it could work. I will check the Profile of my weather strip. Not sure about the lenght. Maybe it's To short? The PDF cataloge quotes Part 3017 as 2DR HTP 71-74 Challenger Barracuda, 2 Door Hardtop...
Marian

 

[ayilar]

I will check the Profile of my weather strip. Not sure about the lenght. Maybe it's To short? The PDF cataloge quotes Part 3017 as 2DR HTP 71-74 Challenger Barracuda, 2 Door Hardtop...

The CarID website explicitly lists the 3017 set as fitting the '72 NYer 2dr (and, thus, the '73 as well). As such, I have ordered a set and will let you (and everyone else who might be interested) know whether it works or not. Meanwhile, if you have a photo/measurement of yours for posting, great!

 

[schwarzsurfer]

I checked my old emails and found a conversation with Metro Moulded Parts ~ Top Quality Automotive Weatherstripping and Rubber Parts (metrommp.com) where I asked about the roof rail seal and also provided a photo of mine:

I found a seal in their catalogue that I thought could work which was shaped nearly the same like the SS3017:

Metro

SS

They even provided me a set of sample seals (great service ) to check out on my Chrysler, but I could not manage to fit one of them properly.

So I would not be to euphoric that the SS3017 would be a perfect fit, but it still could be, as it has a slightly different shape as the Metro one.

Marian

 

[schwarzsurfer]

I tried the example seal again. Well, it fits somehow, but not really well. It also sits to loose:

Looking forward to hear if the SS fits better. It has a slightly different shape if you take a close look. Maybe this is enough to fit better then the one I have.

Marian

 

[ayilar]

@schwarzsurfer — very helpful pics, thank you! The side cut helps me understand the shape of the sponge extrusion (SS-E213) that is listed by CarID but is apparently not available anymore.

your original:

sponge E213:

Note that the E213 pic on the CarID site seems to have been cropped -- compare the areas in red above in the E213 and below in the CH3317 pics, and see that there is more material in one crucial area (seen in the 3017 pic below) than in the sponge pic. So my hope is that the Soffseal part might work. We shall see.

strip CH3317:

PS: I checked MetroMP but did not find a strip for the '72 Chryslers when I ran a search.

 

[schwarzsurfer]

You are right, there is more material in that area you marked in the last picture. I agree with you, this might work. If so, I will order new ones as well

Also correct, MetroMP did not offer something specific for the 72 Chrysler, but they were very friendly and tried to find something universal or from another car that might work. But well, it did not. Let's hope for the Soffseal

Marian

 

[ayilar]

You are right, there is more material in that area you marked in the last picture. I agree with you, this might work. If so, I will order new ones as well

Well, unfortunately, the weather stripping that I got in the hope it could work, does not. It did fit into the channel and almost worked, but it’s not thick enough to seal tightly against the glass.

Right now, @71Polara383 ended up re-using the old weatherstripping. The driver's side is fine, with little to no wind noise, but because the passenger's side had been messed with under previous ownership, it ripped at removal (for the new top installation) and now there is some wind noise above 45mph despite Wyatt's best attempts.

Bottom line, a solution must still be found. Any suggestions?

 

[schwarzsurfer]

These are not good news