Weather stripping / windlace sources

[Pancho]

Does anyone remember the name of the company who sold weather stripping? They are out of business or sold it? Anyway, I was just curious if anyone remembered the company. Just for my record on my build.
Thanks

[thunderations]

Check Studebaker Parts in Arizona. They bought a rubber reproduction company and was expanding it last I heard.

Does anyone remember the name of the company who sold weather stripping? They are out of business or sold it? Anyway, I was just curious if anyone remembered the company. Just for my record on my build.
Thanks

[StudeNewby]

I think Studebaker Parts bought the assets and inventory of Studebaker Rubber of Tennessee. They should be able to help you.

[tsenecal]

Or Studebaker Rubber and glass in Idaho Falls.

[sweetolbob]

Pretty sure it was Studebaker rubber , Subsidiary of William Fennessey Studebaker that his daughter sold to Studebaker parts according to the business card I got from Valerie.

[52-fan]

Studebakerparts.com Try this page. https://www.studebakerparts.com/stud...ge=rubber.html

[Pancho]

Pretty sure it was Studebaker rubber , Subsidiary of William Fennessey Studebaker that his daughter sold to Studebaker parts according to the business card I got from Valerie.

That’s the one! I knew it was a gals name. Thank you all for your input. Thank you Bob!

[Mrs K Corbin]

So Valerie Hansen sold out? Glad I bought my truck stuff a couple years ago.

[jclary]

That’s the one! I knew it was a gals name. Thank you all for your input. Thank you Bob!

Now that you have your answer...may I take the opportunity to divert this topic to another that was inspired by your post? It is related in that I'm assuming you are referring to "Windlace" and not rubber door seals & gaskets. Back in the day, (1964) I recall my 48 Plymouth had its original windlace. It was still soft, flexible, and fully functional. Same with other brands of vehicles of the era. By the time I began to take serious notice of Studebakers after buying my truck in the 1970's and discovering the SDC...I began attending meets. One characteristic I noticed of original windlace, is that the supposedly flexible rubber under the fabric was often shrunken, deteriorated inside the fabric cover, misshaped, and brittle. I don't know from where Studebaker obtained their windlace, but my impression was that the flexible (foam/rubber?) simply was not durable quality material.

I think the quality of the woven cover was OK, and I've seen wear points across vehicle manufacturers become worn and frayed, but I never saw the rubber disintegrate as badly as the Studebaker stuff. The main difference (as I recall) in the Studebaker windlace is that the webbing used to attach it was wider than other makes (GM, etc.) So, when I had to replace any, I found some GM windlace with the same appearing fabric cover match and had a wider welt sewed on in order to facilitate attaching the windlace to the metal upholstery strips in my Studebaker. That was years ago, and memory fades, but that's my impression. I don't know if I still have it, but somewhere in my stash of "stuff," I had some NOS Studebaker windlace. It was useless, because the rubber inside had already hardened and lost its flexibility.

Hopefully, if this discussion was about "windlace"...reproductions have upgraded to a more chemically stable flexible product.

[Skip Lackie]

Agree John. I made my first trip to South Bend in 1977, and was pleased to find an NOS box of the correct green windlace for my 64 Daytona. Got it home, opened the box, and the roll that fell out was as hard and inflexible as a brick. This stuff was only 13 years old! Contrast that to the OEM windlace on my 62 Chevy -- still soft and flexible after 57 years.

[sweetolbob]

Just a question for John and Skip - Is the old, flexible windless a foam or cord core? I ask because I'm not sure how much foamed plastic existed in the late 40's and early 50's?

Bob

[jclary]

Bob, Maybe Skip will have a better answer than me, cause I don't know where any NOS windlace I might have is stored, and If I could find it...It will probably be only crumbled to dust by now.

[Skip Lackie]

It won't crumble because it has turned to stone. I found mine (I was trying to decide if I should return it to Studebaker for a refund), and the core is a tan-colored foam.

[sweetolbob]

It won't crumble because it has turned to stone. I found mine (I was trying to decide if I should return it to Studebaker for a refund), and the core is a tan-colored foam.

Thanks Skip, the reason I'm curious is that a windless made with foamed plastic would be less expensive than one made from cord/"rope" core. If the 62 Chevy was cord, or just a more expensive plastic, it would suggest that the difference was cost savings by Studebaker, totally realistic.

The problem back in those early years of some plastics applications was stabilization to resist UV, ozone and age were in it's infancy. Same thing happened to webbed lawn chairs, ones webbed from olefin plastics just feel apart after a short time due to rapid degradation. It took a number of years until those factors were understood and sorted.

Just my curiosity peaked, thanks - Bob

[64V-K7]

Any way you could remove that old hard core and replace it with that pink "backer rod", used in insulation work?