Hey, 49 Sedanette Owners - Need a Trunk Photo!

[Dan O]

I got a weatherstrip kit from Steele Rubber and it does not make sense to me.  Could someone send me a photo of the original weatherstripping around your trunk, especially in the back towards the bumper?

 

I see the original on mine (or what's left of it) runs across the top of the body then drapes down in the drip rail about 10" and then it stops.  The kit I got includes replacement rubber that extends even further down the rails to the "corners" near the bumper and beyond - but 7" short of going around the whole opening.  A 36" piece of flatter weatherstrip is included that apparently goes on the sill of the trunk nearest to the bumper, but is too short to cover the whole 47" width.  Generic instructions indicate the long piece covers three sides and short piece is for the 4th side.  Guys at Steele could not answer the question.

[SBRMD]

The long piece is not mounted to the body.  It is mounted to the underside of the trunk lid: the posterior parts of the sides and around the trailing edge.  Sorry I am not near my car right now, so no pics......

Edited March 12, 2021 by SBRMD (see edit history)

[SBRMD]

I stand corrected! Here's one.....zoom in.......she's getting painted right now.  That is a brand new Steele kit just installed.

[Dan O]

So, part mounted to body as I saw on mine.  And the rest to the lid.  But I cannot see the shorter flat rubber part in your photo.  That's a lot of black going on there.

[SBRMD]

Not sure, the guys put that on the car before I could see the pieces.  That shorter straight piece must be for the body centered on the rear window, linking up to the pieces that go around the top left and top right corners of the opening?

[Kestrel]

The Steele trunk kit I just installed on my '51 Super look very similar to your kit pieces from Steele. Mine came with 2 x 90 degree corner pieces that go on the body. There's one long piece for the trunk lid. I don't doubt there are differences but maybe these photos help. Their included instructions were mostly accurate. Always some "massaging" in these projects.

 

Unfortunately, I had to remove the long trunk lid piece after gluing it down, then forced to re-position it so the trunk would close and seal. That black 3M adhesive is a royal mess to use and near impossible to remove !!

 

HINT : Don't use it. I bought some 3M VHB (very high bond) double sided clear tape.  I used that the 2nd time around. So far, it holds nice and gives you a 2nd chance to re-set the  $$ weatherstripping.

In fact, Steele sells "peel and stick" weatherstripping for later models.

 

[Dan O]

Thanks for posting, Kestrel - not exactly the same but similar.  I am not sure why I did not get the nice 90 degree bends like you did.  They are part of the original rubbers.  And then there's that flat piece thrown n this kit.  Guess I'll call again to Steele.

[Kestrel]

10 hours ago, Dan O said:

Thanks for posting, Kestrel - not exactly the same but similar.  I am not sure why I did not get the nice 90 degree bends like you did.  They are part of the original rubbers.  And then there's that flat piece thrown n this kit.  Guess I'll call again to Steele.

 

[Kestrel]

I've spoken with a friendly guy named Eddie at Steele. He helped me nail down the correct weatherstripping since there IS a difference between an early '51 and a late '51 kit.  I was first sent the wrong lid piece but Eddie sent me the correct profile one immediately.

That might be your problem. Maybe you need to go up or down a year for the right kit. 

Their web site's "Matching Vehicle" link is very helpful too.

[Wheelnut]

Not sure how correct this is. It appears to have been replaced at some time a long time ago. On mine the slightly longer peice is attached to the body down to a bit past halfway. The slightly shorter piece is attached to the rear of the trunk lid. There is a rough taper where they overlap.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Wheelnut (see edit history)

[SBRMD]

My newly installed Steele kit in vivo looks just like Wheelnut's pictures.

[Dan O]

On 3/18/2021 at 12:30 PM, SBRMD said:

My newly installed Steele kit in vivo looks just like Wheelnut's pictures.

 

 

But where does the shorter flat rubber seal fit?  Is that it on the trunk lid, I guess?  I cannot see for sure really, sorry.  The piece I have is 34" long and will not cover the entire short edge of the trunk lid.  It looks like the flat piece wraps all the way around the corner in Wheelnut's last photo and blends in with the fatter seal also attached to the lid.