1972 Estate Wagon Limited Coupe

Hey Rob, glad to hear y'all are home safe and sound. Hope you had a great time on your Route 66 trip!

Sorry to hear about the house flooding...total bummer! Good luck with the clean up. It must have been so nice to finally get back home, and then, to find a mess waiting for you...ARRGH!

Thanks for the updates...can't wait to see trip pics!

As far as my vinyl top goes, I'm not sure if I will do a center french seam, or double factory-style seams. A center seam might be easier to install, but the double seam top is more period-correct. We'll see.

David

 

That's a nice combo David. French seams are not only nice, but stronger too. Should be classy as all get-out.

 

sweet color combo bucko...
cant go wrong with metalflake vinyl

75...dam..that sucks man...everything going to survive?

 

David. You must be getting antsy about weatherstrips by now.

I just did a BING.com search for Buick Estate Weatherstrips, and got a couple promising hits:
http://www.weatherstripconnection.com/

They've got 2 catalogs. This is the direct link to the second one on this page:
http://www.weatherstripconnection.com/catalogue.html

http://www.weatherstripconnection.com/catalog.pdf

The first link suggests that they might have some off-shore repro sources. I looked at it, and it looks like other GM models shared a lot of Buick strips.

But look at their sister site too. Wow!
http://www.peninsularestoration.com/

This is a Canadian parts site. Generic reseller. But they do have some stuff, just not weatherstrips.
http://www.buick-autoparts.com/1-buick-1972.htm

Some here, but I suspect that its already in the earlier links:
http://www.profitautointeriors.com/...elRange=0&isOnSale=0&searchTerm=weatherstrips

But this has potential:
http://www.oldbuickparts.com/

http://www.oldbuickparts.com/catalogs.shtml

Especially this (Group 10) - Page 66 in the PDF (small 400 KB file):
http://www.oldbuickparts.com/cat610/

With a name like LoneStar, this one must be in the 'hood.
He shows weatherstrips all bundled up in a kit. There's 4 pages. This is page 1:
http://www.lonestarcarparts.com/Buick/c107666/

I seem to recall that the Electras and Caddys were made in the same plants, back then. Wouldn't they have shared weatherstripping? And if so, then companies like the Coach builders (Superior, etc.) would have sourced them for there ambulances and hearses, and limo/airporters. Might be a place to ask?

 

Thanks for the links, Norm!

I have all the weatherstrips for the front doors and windows, but the tailgate weatherstrip is next to impossible to find.

There was some NOS on an ebay auction that ended last night:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280553428189&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT

Yeah, it went for ridiclously crazy money...I was partly responsible for that...we both really wanted that stuff. It is rare as hen's teeth!

I have now come back down to earth, and am relieved to have not "won"!
No way I could have afforded that!

I will just have to do some makeshift something back there, and always cover the car when I'm out. These clamshell wagons are prolific leakers!

David

 

I saw your post, but you deleted the thread before I could chuckle. Figured I'd do a little investigation.

For your info, Buicks were a big deal in Quebec, Canada, back then. I wouldn't doubt that there's a few sources there. I speak French, but I can't recall the word for tailgate or weatherstrip. Stef would know for sure. Windshield is 'parabrise', glass=vitre and after that I'm lost. 15 years of speaking Spanish sort of muddies up the cranial dictionary.

 

David, keep an eye out on Ebay. I finally found my NOS tailgate/window weatherstrip for $40, I think. The first one I bid on went for a few hundred, which I was partially to blame, but luckily didn't win. It's like when you least expect it, you'll find it. Good luck!

 

A little sidebar:

St. Peter and Jesus are loafing around at the Pearly gates, watching the incoming traffic. Along comes this man of the cloth in a nice Impala. Jesus asks who he is. Peter says he's a Detroit Priest.

Then another robed cleric pulls up in a nice classic BMW 730i. Peter doesn't wait for the question and tells Jesus, he's an Anglican Bishop. Jesus nods.

Then a Cardinal in his Hummer. Peter second-guesses Jesus again, and says, yeah those are expensive too.

Well up drives a chauffeur driven RR. "Who's that?" Peter tells him it's the Pope.

Jesus just shakes his head, and says. "To think we started this with a one-seater Donkey."

 

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now Norm, Go Confess!

 

Fords never made the grade Carlos. We're earthy types!

 

Yeah, I posted a thread last night, while I was still reeling from the auction loss, and Marshall replied.

I deleted it before going to bed because I felt a little foolish...OK, a lot foolish, having been ready to spend more for those three pieces of rubber, than I paid for my entire wagon!

Having slept on it, I am so glad I didn't get them!
It would be so nice to have fresh new weatherstrips for my freshly painted wagon, but I am also looking forward to, once again, fabbing some kind of solution that won't break the bank.

 

David, do you have any profiles of the pieces? Fox wagon tailgate seals aren't made anymore, but the AeroStar van (split door type) works perfectly. You'd think that the Pontiac seals would fit, since they were often made on the same assembly lines.

Anyway, with the profiles, a rubber vulcanizer could 'weld' up the necessary strips to form yours. Just a thought. PM Stef (wagonmaster) to point you to the sites in Quebec.

Wait just a pea-pickin' minute! Who's handling the auctions of all the GM dealerships that were let go/closed down? Must be some big auction house or some special section of GM's Dealer network administration.

Anyway, I found a couple links in Quebec.
http://www.gen-auto.ca/liens.html

http://www.vaq.qc.ca/liens-voitures...-pices-et-services-difficiles--trouver_17.php

The last one led me to this antique restoration site, with some really neat leather cleaning stuff, and some really old weatherstrip profiles. Nice catalog (3.4 MB PDF), out of California.
http://www.restorationstuff.com/Catalog/catalog.html

http://www.restorationstuff.com/index.htm

OK the weatherstrip French is "BISE". Tailgate has 2 word possibilities, the first one is "Hayon" (never heard of it) the other is equivalent to Cargo Door (Porte de Chargement). There has to be another more colloquial name. Quebeckers probably don't get so high-fallutin when it comes to tailgates. I was one, once.

 

David
Bet you can find them here without having to take out a second on your house.

http://www.restorationspecialties.com/catalog.htm
Good luck.
Rick

 

for the record p/n 9824870 9824871 9623426 9623427 9639134 988637 and guess what David - I bet the NOS stuff leaks too - after all, they leaked NEW!

 

Yikes, That weather strip selling price So what now, duct tape?