Body / Glass: 1961 Hawk Trunk seal

[Cus63]

Hello,
I installed my trunk seal a while a go, but I'm thinking it could be upside down, I've put the flap to the top, & after the hose test, doesn't work well down the sides,
I put an extra thin layer of rubber underneath where the was gaps were when testing with paper, but still no good. Is it meant to be having the "U" channel facing up?


regards, Cus

[RadioRoy]

U channel faces down into the steel channel in the body. Flap faces outward, away from the trunk opening.

[tsenecal]

Here are some pics from Studebaker parts.com Hope they help.



HELP WITH RUBBER SEAL INSTALLATIONS

[Cus63]

Ok, thanks for the replies,
Looks like I have it right, but still leaks like a sieve, I think I will try a thin strip down the sides underneath the trunk lip

[wdills]

I don't know how tight these cars were when new, but every one you see has a rotted trunk floor. I don't think the seal design was ever any good.

[Jeffry Cassel]

Well, you, or a designated proxy, need to get in the trunk and have a trusted helper close it. If you can see light, it will leak there. They are notorious for leaking, which is why CE does such a good busiess in trunk floors. You need to adjust the hinges to get a nice seal. Use body shims to lower the hinge. And be sure latch is adjusted to give a snug closure. Or barring that, when you wash the car and dry it, open the trunk and dry it, too. They seem to leak in the denter front 'cause the arc of the trunk lid doesn't exactly match the curve of the body. Has anyone tried laying a thin strip of rubber or weatherstrip in the channel before installing weatherstrip? This would raise it up just a little and maybe it would seal better.

[chet445]

Maybe I'm fortunate as I have not had water in the trunk. Reading the article, I will do the light test and check the trunk thoroughly.

[JoeHall]

I have never had a C/K body Stude with trunk seal that did not leak. I installed a slightly larger seal, from a 1990s Pontiac, and it did a better job than any repro seal I'd ever used, but still was not perfect. I liked the Pontiac seal so well, I repeated it in a couple of other Hawks later. Pretty sure the 62GT still has the Pontiac seal, and maybe the 56J does.

[altair]

I don't think the trunk rubber is designed to keep water out, the rubber is designed with a channel in it to convey water down inside the metal channel and out the bottom on each side. The rubber component I believe is designed to prohibit exhaust gases from reentering the vehicle. As the vehicle is travelling, air will eddy around the trunk and be sucked in to the car and that flap on the rubber would be the seal from exhaust gases. People have died in the back of a pickup truck from carbon monoxide also people have been overcome where there are holes in the trunk and exhaust gases have reentered the vehicle.