Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

How I did my trunk weather strip.

I am no expert in car restoration but I did not find a good way to install my trunk weather strip so I came up with my own method. I admit it looks a little quirky but it worked out well. I did it on a car with very new paint and I found it to be pretty much mess free. Read each step completely before attempting the step.

First, clean the weather strip that will mate to the trunk lid. I lightly sanded the one side of mine to give it a fresh surface. Light sanding meaning one pass of fine grain sand paper over that surface area.

You will need a flexible yard stick and two spring loaded clamps (Harbor Freight) with rubber feet and use good adhesive. I used: Permatex 81731 Super Weatherstrip.

Weather strip adhesive typically requires two applications, the first is applied to the two pieces being mated but do not match them up. Let both pieces tack up, about 5 minutes. Then the second coat is applied to one of the pieces, and the pieces can be mated together.
Do not try to take a shortcut! All weather strip should be glued this way. I can’t explain why this works so well but it does. Never put so much adhesive that it drips. It is a mess once it does.

The weather strip is not square so make sure you know which side is which.

Notice how I will place the weather strip. See how it wraps around the back of the lid at the bottom of the photo. Install yours the same way, it will make the next step easier.
I applied adhesive to the back edge of the trunk lid and the weather side that will match up to it.
Wait 5 minutes, reapply adhesive to one side and mate the two pieces.
Use the yard stick and clamps to hold it in place. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Once the previous step is dry...
Close the lid partially. Apply adhesive to the weather strip. Open the lid. Apply adhesive to the bottom (bottom when the lid is up) of the trunk lid. Wait 5 minutes, reapply adhesive to one side and mate the two pieces. It was not hard to pull the weather strip over the trunk lid to get it back on the inside.
Use the yard stick or in my case the clamps alone to hold it in place. Once it sets (15 min), you can remove the clamps and close the trunk to get a good seal. Let it sit for 30 minutes. I then followed the same procedures for one side of the lid. Wait 5 minutes, reapply adhesive to one side and mate the two pieces. Use the yard stick and clamps to hold it in place. Let it sit for 30 minutes. I then followed the same procedures for the other side of the lid.

Very nice. I used a similar proceedure but it was a bit easier as I had my trunk off the car so I was able to do it all at once. Thanks for the nice writeup and pics!

I'm about to undertake this install with the lid off the car. Thanks for the pictures and explanations.
My question:
Is the weatherstrip suppose to fit inside the trough of the body or should it come down on top of the inside rail when the lid closes? My weatherstrip measures 38" across the long end and the lid opening measures 38-3/8". Is it suppose to be stretched to the outside edges of the lid? From the pictures, it looks like your weatherstrip would come down on the rail of the lip. Thanks for posting, just want make sure I get it right before the glue goes on.

I did mine with the lid off and had my wonderful wife help me place it all at once. The prep took 95 percent of the time. I used the 3M black weatherstrip glue. It was not hard at all after two failed attempts using contact cement. The good news was that contact cement was easy enough to remove from all the lid and the weatherstrip. I did not need to use any clamps (the glue was dry before I had a chance to put them on) but did not have much time to get it just right before the glue dried.

I did mine by myself a few weeks ago. I used contact cement. I learned a few jobs back working on my roadster whenever using contact cement to do it in segments.

Not sure how I missed this but I did. Can I add to the wiki?

S

S Allen wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:58 pm Not sure how I missed this but I did. Can I add to the wiki?

S

It should be in the wiki. I made a mountain out of a mole hill on this one. It's not that difficult if you know how...

Daniel wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:12 pm I'm about to undertake this install with the lid off the car. Thanks for the pictures and explanations.
My question:
Is the weatherstrip suppose to fit inside the trough of the body or should it come down on top of the inside rail when the lid closes? My weatherstrip measures 38" across the long end and the lid opening measures 38-3/8". Is it suppose to be stretched to the outside edges of the lid? From the pictures, it looks like your weatherstrip would come down on the rail of the lip. Thanks for posting, just want make sure I get it right before the glue goes on.

I never saw an answer to this question. Is the weather strip supposed to set down in the trough?

johnscf wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 11:30 am

Daniel wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:12 pm I'm about to undertake this install with the lid off the car. Thanks for the pictures and explanations.
My question:
Is the weatherstrip suppose to fit inside the trough of the body or should it come down on top of the inside rail when the lid closes? My weatherstrip measures 38" across the long end and the lid opening measures 38-3/8". Is it suppose to be stretched to the outside edges of the lid? From the pictures, it looks like your weatherstrip would come down on the rail of the lip. Thanks for posting, just want make sure I get it right before the glue goes on.

I never saw an answer to this question. Is the weather strip supposed to set down in the trough?

It should be centered on the lip keeping the rain channels clear.

How much adhesive was needed? Both the 3M and Permatex products come in 1oz, 2oz, and 5oz tubes. The 5oz tube is the lowest cost per ounce, but don't want 5 if I only need 1 or 2.