My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

Rear WINDOW?  

Haha...what is the correct term?...

Am I supposed to call it something else?

[Gary Lewis]

Rembrant wrote

I just went through the box and found a new rear window seal....I didn't even know that was in there, I thought it was just for the doors and door windows.)

Oh!  You said DOOR windows.  I missed that.  I was thinking "It's a window, why wouldn't there be a seal for it in the kit?"  

[salans7]

I'm not sure who made the stuff I bought from NPD but I'm really not happy with any of it. I put new door seals on recently and had to re-adjust my doors because they wouldn't close. They still don't close right but I haven't had time to mess with them to figure out why there's a difference in how they close after I installed the new seals.

As Gary said, the inner window sweeps need to be riveted on.

Pro tip, when you install the seals for the window channel, install the upper section starting at the corner where the vent window meets the upper part of the door since the seal is angled there and provides a good reference point to start. Work the seal into it's channel, and then let the excess down into the door. Roll the window up, and then tuck the excess into the channels inside the door.

[FuzzFace2]

Wish I had the money for a kit as that price does not look that bad when you start pricing them all out.
Dave ----

[FuzzFace2]

Rembrant wrote

I just went through the box and found a new rear window seal....I didn't even know that was in there, I thought it was just for the doors and door windows.)

I was going to ask what that gasket was in the lower left in the Ebay.
Dave ----

[Rembrant]

salans7 wrote

I'm not sure who made the stuff I bought from NPD but I'm really not happy with any of it. I put new door seals on recently and had to re-adjust my doors because they wouldn't close. They still don't close right but I haven't had time to mess with them to figure out why there's a difference in how they close after I installed the new seals.

As Gary said, the inner window sweeps need to be riveted on.

Pro tip, when you install the seals for the window channel, install the upper section starting at the corner where the vent window meets the upper part of the door since the seal is angled there and provides a good reference point to start. Work the seal into it's channel, and then let the excess down into the door. Roll the window up, and then tuck the excess into the channels inside the door.

Thanks for the Pro tip Salans, every little bit helps.

On the door gaskets, I was reading elsewhere that they'll be quite difficult when new but will break in over time. I was reading on here about the kit I bought, and another member said the door wouldn't close right with the new door seals (Had to slam the doors to close them apparently), and he thought of adjusting the striker but decided to leave it and within a short time the doors were closing fine (presumably after the seals flattened out a bit?)

I think I had some run on sentences there...lol. Sorry.

[Gary Lewis]

That's been my experience with seals - they flatten out over time and the doors shut better.  But it isn't hard to adjust the latches, so instead of slamming the door I think I'd adjust it a few times.

[Ray Cecil]

Adjusting the doors on my truck is a goal. Previous owner put felts and wing window seals in at some point. The wing windows seals are aweful. They are way too soft and will not stay. They are wavy, dont sit flat on top of the door panels, ugh, its a mess.

Dont get me started on how hard it is to get these doors adjusted right. Seems like its always a compromise. If the door edges and body lines look good, I have to slam the door. If I dont want to slam the door, I have to sacrifice the door edges/lines looking good.

Im usually very patient with vehicles. But the doors and seals on bullnoses eat me alive.

[Gary Lewis]

Have the door seals been in long?  My paint/body guy said to let the truck sit in the sun for several days and the seals will soften up.

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

As for the piece that goes on the door panel, do not staple them.  That is likely to break the door panel.  DAHIK.  Instead, use small pop rivets.

Regarding these particular pieces...they are the ones in the kit without the metal clips, right?

I have the kit here, and the door cards here, but not the truck or doors. There are two with clips on them...I assume these are the ones that go on the doors? And the ones without clips are the ones I need to pop rivet to the door cards/panels?

[Gary Lewis]

Yes. The ones with clips go on the door itself, and the ones without go on the door card/panel.

[salans7]

I did have to adjust the striker to get my doors to close properly. Right now the lines look good, and I only have to put a little more force into closing the door. But when I go to open it, it "pops" open, which tells me they're still not where they need to be. I've opened and closed the door at least forty times to try and seat them, but I guess I'll have to just keep closing them until they finally relax.

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

As for the piece that goes on the door panel, do not staple them.  That is likely to break the door panel.  DAHIK.  Instead, use small pop rivets.

Gary, the pop rivets worked great. My first rivet pulled hard into the plastic so after that I made some little "washers" out of sheet metal to capture the ends a little better. The rivets I have on hand are stainless and are maybe a little harder than a regular rivet.




I'm gettin' pretty stoked now. Truck is supposed to be finished at the body shop this week, and if all goes well I'll have it back on Thursday or Friday. There was an all-Ford car/truck show this weekend that I was missing obviously, but it ended up getting postponed until next Sunday. If I get the truck back by Friday or even on Saturday morning I'll pull some long hours to get it all reassembled and shined up for the show. Fingers crossed.

[Gary Lewis]

They look great, Cory.  And, I should have told you to use washers.  But your sheetmetal pieces are even better.  

And, I hope you make the show next weekend.  

[salans7]

I used the rivet washers because I figured the rivets would be able to pull through the aged plastic. I like the idea of the large square washers though because they have more surface area.

[grumpin]

I used small screws and nuts because I was worried about the plastic. And easier to get out.

[Rembrant]

grumpin wrote

I used small screws and nuts because I was worried about the plastic. And easier to get out.

That's a good idea too. I thought about the removal issue while I was installing these, but I don't think they are all that bad. I had to drill a couple out the other day on something else.

[Rembrant]

Got my vent window seals installed tonight, and sanded and painted the vent window frames and window channels. The Fairchild seals seem to fit pretty well. I had to cut and trim a couple little spots, but think that's to be expected with a molded rubber part. Vent windows seem to close nice and tight now, and all the sloppy blue paint and rust is gone! Now to drop them back off at the body shop in the morning. They were supposed to be painting the door jambs yesterday and hanging the doors (if all went well).

[Gary Lewis]

You are really making excellent progress, Cory!  I'm jealous!  I take two steps forward and one back.  You just keep on going forward.  

[Rembrant]

Gary,

I don't think I'd care to do those vent window seals again...lol. You have to hold your tongue in a special position for those! In any case, I wish I had had more time to refinish them properly. They got a quick sand and a couple quick coats of gloss black engine paint (that's what I had on hand...lol). I did also have some satin black on hand, but figured the engine paint would be more durable. The gloss might be too bright, but I think it will get roughed up and fade in fairly quickly.

The rust on those parts was only one issue. The other was that they were also covered in blue paint from the last bakyard job it got. There's blue paint on EVERYTHING!...or there was, at least!