neoprene cat whisker

[Guest]

Thanks to all who answered my post on V8 weight savings. Very good advise.

Next question, are there any neoprene cat whiskers out there that I can put on my 64 Lark type or 62 Hawk type?

Tired of doors rusting out because rain water goes by the felt cat whiskers. I try to keep the drain holes in bottom of doors all clear, but the moisture still reeks havoc- we had a very wet year in '10.

thanks in advance- Leon

[sweetolbob]

Leon

I can't imagine there is any type of gasket/cat whisker that will keep water out of a door, just too much to seal. If it were mine, I'd be sure the door interior was well coated and sealed with the best primer/paint combo I could buy and open the drain holes to be less likely to plug. If they are big enough it should be quite easy to open from underneath with a bent wire. That's what I did with my 54K.

Bob

[StudeRich]

Yes Leon, BOTH the '64 Daytona Hardtops and the '62-'64 GT Hawks use a rubber sweep on outside of the rear quarter windows, available at Studebaker Vendors at studebakervendors.com

Unfortunately there were only "Cat Whiskers" used on the front door windows.
However it would be a great idea to get some '87 T-Bird or other Ford or GM car door seals that are longer and trim them to length and secure then on the outer window opening on your doors.

[Jeff_H]

A few years ago I found some "beltline" weatherstrip from JC-Whitney to replace the dry-rotted ones on my '86 Tbird. These are sometimes called "dew-wipes" too. I found something dimensionally close enough from the selection of universal ones here:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/inner-and-o...x?filterid=j1#

I believe Steel Rubber products now reproduces them (for 80s tbirds) but certainly more $$$ than what I paid for the ones I got from JCW.

Just some ideas.

[Bullet]

About a week ago when I was washing the car, I noticed that my 64 Cruiser had rubber on the bottom of the passenger window, where normally cat wiskers should be. All the other doors have the normal cat wiskers. I will take a picture this weekend and post. This is the only one and time I have seen this.

Mark

[StudeRich]

Water in Doors

Mark, all Studes have (had) a rubber seal at the bottom of the glass channel to (TRY to) seal when the glass is up. But the bottom of the door window OPENING on the DOOR where the cat whiskers that stop the rattle and glass breakage when the window is DOWN, is where Leon wants to put better seals.

[N8N]

I prefer the setup the way Stude did it. Most of my newer cars have "better" seals on the door metal and all of them have faint scratches in the glass from road salt collecting in those seals and scratching the windows when rolled up and down in the winter.

You may say, "wash your car more often" but typically they get run through the car wash at least once a week in the wintertime, but are salty a few hours after washing.

nate

[52 Ragtop]

There is NO way to keep the water from getting past the doors! That's why there are drain holes on the bottom of the doors! Clean the inside of the doors, and coat them with your "favorite" paint! Por-15, rustoleum or what ever YOUR preference is. Once coated up (note slopped on) use a GOOD undercoat on them to help protect the inner doors.
Remember, primer is NOT waterproof!

Jim

[55 prez]

I don't think you can seal the window's against moisture but I have been told about the use of the loop part of generic velcro to stick in the place of the cat whiskers for anti-rattle purposes. It might also reduce the amount of moisture.
The best tool to open the drain slots in the doors is a hack saw blade. You could also remove the door panels and apply a rust preventer or inhibitor like 52 Ragtop suggests.

[Bullet]

I took pictures of the cat whiskers as found on three of my doors and the rubber seal on the one door. It is hard to make out, but yes this is the part that tries and silence the window from rattling. I agree that water can and does still get past it, but the rubber seal is like found on newer cars and fits to the door itself. It is different than the seal found on the bottom of the glass that tries to help.

hope this helps.

Mark

[StudeRich]

It is from another make, just as we have been talking about here, OR I seem to vaugely remember that there were some very late 1966 improved seals used to replace the "Cat Whiskers" which easily could have been "put" on your car.
There were also the wide late '66 sill plates used to prevent the water from going on the floor, I know they exsit, I have some to put on my '64's.

[sweetolbob]

Leon/Mark

Is this the seal you are looking for?



It's a shot of the window from a 53-? K Hardtop. It came from a door I bought a long time ago. It's coved so it's 56 or earlier.

It's described in my parts book as Illustration 2320-25, Part # 1992X1. I ordered two of them from SI when I reassembled the car a few years ago and they are what I got. My 54K windows look like that now.

I'm far from a expert on anything Studebaker so If I misinterpreted your post just disregard.

Bob

[Bullet]

Bob, I am not an expert either. But I think that the seal in the picture you show is what StudeRich was talking about. It is the seal on the bottom of the window that is supposed to help the cat whiskers. The picture I posted shows the seal mounted on the door itself. It is mounted so the seal rubs on the outside of the window when it goes up or down and then helps to reduce the window rattle.

Stude Rich, I like the seal approach vs the cat whisker. If I could find three more I sure would try and put them on, when I install the tinted windows I have. They make more sense to me than the original cat whiskers. If you have any p/n or remember any more information that would be great.

Thanks

Mark