Hi, here is another question for you guys about my 76 Caprice. I have contacted Weatherstrip Specialists on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321019398610?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 asking if these strips will suit a wagon as well. They do make mention in the advertising spill that these are suitable for cars with a B pillar (obviously there is the 4 door pillar less model Caprice) like the wagon and even go as far as pointing out that they sweep up in the back doors (just like a wagon does). So I asked them if they would suit a wagon, and this is what they wrote back: Hello, Unfortunately I do not know if they fit the wagon and there is no one that I know of making the set specific for the wagon. Thank-you, Weatherstrip Specialists I appreciate their honesty because they could just have said yes and just sold them to me without actually knowing themselves, but also I am still not the wiser either. Dose anyone else here know for sure? Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers Mike
Hi Mike, I am not sure personally, but I believe I have read before that the '71-76 GM pillared rear doors for the wagons are larger (wider) for the wagons than the 4-door sedans. Is that correct? That could be an issue re: weather-stripping. John
Thanks JWD, this is what I am afraid of. Can anyone chip in with a definitive answer for sure? Thanks Mike.
Hey thanks rrbnut for getting back to me so quick. Ok rrbnut measured his rear door rubber window sweeps and the worked out to be 32". I have sent this info off to the weathershield people but in the mean time, does anybody her have a 4 door with a centre pillar (B pillar) that they can measure by tape along the rubber sweep following the curve? This would be handy info for other Clamshell owners, especially those of us from over seas because of the expense of international freight etc.
Hi Mike, I don't have a Caprice sedan to measure, but this from the Wikipedia about the extended wheelbase for the wagons is noteworthy. Those extra inches went somewhere and the rear doors for wagons and pillared sedans do not look alike. The 1971 Caprice was completely redesigned on a longer 121.5-inch (3,090 mm) wheelbase and featured fuselage styling. Flush exterior door handles and double-shell roofs were new on the Caprice – both features first appearing on the 1970½ Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The new styling was highlighted by a Cadillac-like "egg-crate" grille with a "Caprice" emblem in the center and brushed metal trim surrounding the taillights on the rear deck. The "Full-Perimeter" frame and all-coil suspension were refined for improvements in ride and noise reduction. Station wagons now used a unique 125-inch (3,200 mm) wheelbase and were larger than ever before. Station wagons continued to use unique model names. The Kingswood Estate wagon was considered to be equivalent to the Chevrolet Caprice being the top level wagon. Unlike previous years, station wagons used unique rear suspension using a solid axle with leaf springs as opposed to coil springs and trailing arms on sedans and coupes. Also new was the "Glide-Away" clam shell style disappearing tailgate. This design had the glass upper portion of the tailgate slide into the roof, and the lower steel portion slide into a compartment under the floor, providing a completely open space with no tailgate in sight. John This versus this
Look at the doors and the window frames. They clearly are not the same. The outline of the wagon door extends well back from the window part, whereas the sedan has the small fixed quarter window. JWD
Thanks jwd, yep, I noticed that once I started to look into this a bit more, so I have been working on another angle. check out the difference between the 4 door sedan (with pillar) and the sport sedan (without pillar) They even share different door skins from each other. The sport sedan seems to be closer to the wagons door at the top. Now the question remains, is this rubber the same length from the sport sedan as the wagon? If so, can the sport sedan rear rubbers be modified (cut) to clear the pillar of the wagon? With the wheel base length in question, I guess we need to know how long the rubbers are on the sport sedan now.
The rear door skins for the sport sedan and the wagon appear to be a match in terms of length and design, but of course on the sport sedan unlike the wagon, there are no window frames on the door - a true hardtop - therefore no weather stripping for the windows, other than on the body itself.
