Guys, I'll be brief, because I tend to be boring. The P/O (my wifes deceased uncle) of my '55 added some Home Depot looking weatherstripping to the drivers door in addition to new Ford door seals in an apparent effort to seal wind noise at speed. The problem is, the added material and improper door adjustment bulged the rear of the door out probably 3/8" from the bodyand you had to SLAM it to shut to latch. OUCH! I have since removed all the offending weatherstripping and adjusted the door mounts to the best of my meager ability. They whistle air at speed a little, but I have decreased the rear edge difference to less than 1/4" BTW, I lied when I said I'd be brief, but still boring. LOL. Anyway, My question - I can grab the star wheel tween my fingers and twist it back and forth quite a good distance with no resistance. Is it worn out?? I tend to think it is very worn, but studying it's action leads me to think that it is not the problem. I adjusted the hinges all I could, but am still unhappy with the fit. (front seam is uniform and flush) I value all opinions, the more the merrier, especially you vastly experienced "old farts" (your term, not mine) LOL

 

From my experience of installing new weatherstripping, the new material will cause headaches initially and will call for many slow small adjustments to get a "happy point".
I found keeping the doors shut for a day or two on a warm day helped seat the material to a good contour. From what your saying I would guess the door latches may be worn out, they should be tight. Just remember there are alot of adjustment points and making pencil marks help in getting the best fit. It takes time... Hope this helps

 

Thanks Dylan. These seals have been on for prolly a year.

 

Jim -

Dylan is correct about the stock weatherstrip settling in after a while. Many here have noted that.

My doors had huge gaps between the door and jamb at the upper rear corners that the stock seal never filled. You could see daylight thru there.

I stumbled across an aftermarket weatherstrip that is very forgiving and seals those wind whistles very well. It is also a self-stick, so you don't have to mess with the weatherstrip adhesive. I've had it on my doors as a test for about 1-1/2 years now. I have only found it carried at Pep Boys, but I have a picture of the package:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...=90700&width=0

The star wheels on my latches have some slop like you describe also. They seem to work fine that way. I guess it depends on how much slop you have as to whether they are too worn.

BTW...about that boring thing...maybe we should start a club.

 

On my 53 I could not get the doors to set high enough in the opening to fully engage the seals. I removed the hinges and took them to a machinest friend. He slotted the holes to allow close to 3/16 more upward adjustment. Worked wonders, now doors seal very well with Drake weatherstrip. Now I could probably use some more inward movement to have doors more "flush". I am just not that picky, no whistle is good for me. Joe

 

Thanks guys. See, I KNEW I shoulda left out the "old farts" part! Dang it! Now I've offended. Oh well, takes one to know one, I guess.(and I am one) Randy, thanx for that weatherstripping tip, I will go to P.B. manana and pick some up and try it. What have I to lose? A couple questions on your 56; What did you gain with the "blown" oil cooler? temp down, pressure up? ( admiring RJ's skills in your gallery) I have a soft tonneau on my bed and do not haul anything more abrasive or heavy than goose down pillows hehe, so my gate is never down, in fact, it has no tailgate supports of any kind, cuz I never open it ,altho I want to change that. What kind of supports are those that I spot on your truck; and are you happy with them? Perko marine has a set of door "brackets" for lack of a better word, chrome plated flat brass, that articulate in the middle, sorta like your arm with elbow, where the mounting brackets oppose on another 90 deg. that would be perfect I think I spotted them on a customizers website for 81$? I can get them from a marine supplier for 37$ I don't want to have to weld anything. I wish i had your fab skills. I came, I saw, I bored..


Later, Jim

 

Joe Gaddy
WHat holes did you slot, the door side holes or the "A" Pilar holes?
I hae the see through daylight issue as well in my truck.... from previous discussion here it seems VERY Common.
GW

 

Merc, I slotted the door side holes. Joe

 

Jim -

That's OK. I belong to a club called the "Old Farts Racing Team". (No kidding)

1. The oil cooler controls the oil temp really well and does seem to add oil pressure (higher viscosity) compared to the previous arrangement (no cooler at all). The fan has a temp switch and rarely comes on - usually in stop-and-go traffic on a very hot day. The tranny has the same cooler, just opposite hand brackets. My truck came with a small tranny heat exchanger wired to the front of the radiator. I removed that to make room for the AC I plan to add soon. The oil cooler was a logical next step.

2. I did my tailgate before I saw those "elbow" gate restraints. I have seen many trucks with them and have heard mixed reviews. They look very nice and work fine to hold the gate. They don't hold up well to folks sitting on the gate and tend to start pulling out at the screw attachments on the gate. They are just sheet metal screws thru an angle into the rear gate face sheet. My gate is restrained by 1/8" plastic-coated stainless cable. It is tied to 3/8" shoulder bolts in the bedside and an angle at the rear gate face.

Thanks for the compliments...

BTW, my fab skills make my truck a 50-50 truck. From 50 feet away and at 50 mph, my truck looks perfect. I am learning everything as I go.

 

Thanx, Randy. I bought a set of those Perko arms I mentioned today. 38$. Sweet. No one will sit on the t-gate. I am going to strip the chrome and have them powder coated black. I'' lput a pic on here when done. c-ya. Jim