installed Soffseal door seals today - not good - any tips??
 

1951 Ford, F1. Seals seem like a quality product and fit well. But....

The door is incredibly hard to close!! And the strikers are adjusted all of the way out.

I installed the portion between the lower 2/3rds of the door and the A-pillar, first (they come in 2 sections.) That seal caused most of the interference. The other being the top 1/3 of the a-pillar, over the top of the door and down to the bottom rear corner. Maybe it is just the portions being pinched between the hinge halves?

Anyone think they'll loosen up after being squeezed for a while?

I'm disappointed. I will call Soffseal tomorrow. Their website says 100% satisfaction. At this stage, I might as well have welded the door shut. :-huh

Soffseal is a really good outfit and everything that I have gotten from them has been great, but I haven't gotten my door seals yet. I hope that they take care of it for you if it is a problem with their product. I will be watching to see what happens, I am ready to order them.

thanks for the post.

I don't think it is the product quality. If anything the seals just seems too thick.

Have you found in the past that they form a bit and fit better?

Doug

I don't know about soft seal but mid-fifty sells hollow door seals just for this problem.

I have only used their products on the woodies that I built or worked on. All wooden doors that I built so I was able to leave enough room for the weather strip and using their universal product so there is really no way to judge. I never had any complaints with it though. I was planning on using their seals on my '52 so please let me know what they tell you when you talk to them.

Door seals are usually too thick. I buy some universal stuff in 50 lengths and use it rather than fighting and slamming doors all the time. And a poorly adjusted or not working latch/strike plate will trick you into thinking seals are too thick also. So check it all out.

Got a part number on what you use?

I heard this from mid-fifties. Also, I will call Soffseal later today. I read on a tri-five board that many use a heat gun to allow the seals to deform and that it is common for soffseal seals to be too large.

Hi Doug,

We do have hollow door weather stripping, but it already has molded corners specifically for 1953-55 & 1956 doors. You may be able to make them work, but I am unfamiliar with F1 doors, so don't want to point you in the wrong direction. You should give Classic Haulers a call as they specialize in just 1948-52 F1's and may have more insight to your situation. You can reach them at 877-252-1948 or visit classic-haulers.com.
We also carry hollow domed weather stripping, that is not preformed. See our part number 3106-DM. I have attached a picture of a cross section for reference.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Jesse
Mid Fifty F-100 Parts

I called Soffseal several times today. No one answers. I left a v/m for the sales department asking them to please call me (there is no support option). No word back.

Doug

Door seals
 

I used the hollow seals from Mid Fifty, and they allowed the door to close easily. However they didn't seal quite as well as I wanted (wind noise) so I glued a then flat softseal to the cab door opening so the two seals come together when closed. It stiffened the door closing a bit, but not excessively so, and it quelled the wind noise.

I started a thread about this a couple of weeks ago. Had the same problem with my new seals and I haven't bought replacements yet.
I'll be following this to see if SS has any response.

Tom

I just ordered the set from MACS but it will be a looooong time before I can see how they fit.
.....Roger

A few months later, I'm real disappointed with the seals. The rubber quality seems great, but I have to slam the CR@P out of the door to try to make them close all of the way. The seals are just very dense. I tried setting the truck in the sun, using the heat gun, etc. I might have been able to make them fit 5% better. Barely perceptible improvement.

I talked to the folks today at Steele rubber who are sending me a sample kit of their half round hollow seals. Likely, I'll be cutting most of these out and replacing with something from Steele. Quite frustrating process. I plan to possible save the parts which are molded under the door hinges.

Doug

Your not alone Doug, I have been running without door seals for two years now. My doors close tight, and I rarely drive on the freeway where noise would be a problem, or in the rain so I'm happy without them.

Hi Jimmy,
I just got my AC working and do drive on the highway. I'd like to have working seals. thanks for the empathy.
Will update when I have the Steele samples in hand.
thanks,

Doug

Sorry to hear that the Soffseal didn't work. I still haven't gotten any seals yet but I was planning on using them. Look forward to your luck with the Steele seals.

I bought seals from LMC Truck. All of the door and window seals in one kit. The window seals were great, the door seals were too thick to allow the door to shut easily. The passenger door is close enough, but I had to grind a 1/16" off the striker/latch on the drivers door. With the striker/latch pieces adjusted all the way out, I can get both doors to latch with a firm slam. I hope in time the rubber will compress and take a set.

Always something new to deal with on this project. I've just had to remove the electric wiper conversion because the arms bind the motor and blow the fuze. Any threads on that problem?

When I got my 56, it came with a few bits and pieces. It had 2 door seals I had to fit. Unfortunately they were for the same door, passenger side. Fitted one up and it was great, door closes perfectly, no need to slam at all. Having read posts like this, I had heard of Midfifty hollow seal, so I bought one 2 weeks ago for my driver's door.

At first I had to slam it to shut it, but now it takes just a firm close. It will be interesting to see if it gets as good as the other door. Unfortunately the seals I got when I bought the 56 were not in a packet, so I do not know what brand they are but the one I fitted was great straight away. So someone out there makes good ones, just no one seems to know who. The Mid fifty ones seem like they will be alright, but no help to you unfortunately with your F1.

The hollow seals from Mid Fifty work great and are easy to install.

I also ordered a set for my 49 from Macs. They were the solid type and I am not happy with them at all. The door is held out about an 1/8 of an inch all the way around. Makes it look like the door is open. I even tried using a rachet strap to pull the door shut for 2 weeks hoping the seal would form to the door but no luck. I was looking at the soft seal set next so I will be following this thread.

Is your truck a 48 to 52 or 53 to 56? The original weather stripping was solid but most guys think it was better quality rubber. As said above the best buy now is the hollow weatherstripping.

I use the hollow core strips and for the most part find them to be better than the solid core. That said, I have noticed that the newer cars that use the hollow core stripping all have vent holes in the strip to permit air to escape from the hollow core when the door closes. Once closed the vent holes seal back up. At am not at the point in my current build to try making holes in the hollow core stripping but I intend to do so when I get there. These vent holes could be added to an existing installation fairly easily...I intend to use a soldering iron to make the holes.

Great point and idea Charlie