New door weatherstripping with plastic insert coming soon! from Fairchild Automotive

[Anthony P]

At SEMA show last year, Fairchild Automotive reps noted they are working on door seals that would have the plastic reinforcement embedded in the wide area at the window glass like the original GM did. Last November, the proposed target release date was proposed to be mid to late 2019.

I recently contacted one of Fairchild reps to ask for an update as a forum member has a thread in the parts wanted section asking about door weatherstrips

https://turbobuick.com/threads/window-door-weather-strip.464519/

Since some or many don't view the parts wanted section, I decided to add these details in a new thread. Here is a copy (edited) of the reply from Fairchild.

"Anthony,
Great to hear from you!
We’re in final stage of approving the door seals. And they're made in LATEX material same as original OEM’s. Great compression too!
They’re going to be a bit more expensive, however when completed they’ll be the best available with an insert, not as large as the plastic the OEM had, but just a effective eliminating tearing when fastened.
Stay tuned!!!
Best regards,

Mike B.
Senior Account Mgr.
Fairchild Automotive"

 

[ffhamm]

Any updates on these strips?

 

[Anthony P]

I'll reach out to Mike next week...I hope this door weatherstrip project is not becoming another pissing contest like the T-top weatherstrips....

years ago, Kirban's and others involved in the testing of the prototype t-top Fairchild weatherstrips noted they were good-to-go into production. HighwayStars wanted more refinements. Fairchild went into production. HighwayStars at first refused to sell them. Only after Glen gave away about a dozen sets to buyers submitting proof of the install process and seeing the variances from car to car can be worked out did he later agree to sell them as well.

these door weatherstrips should have been available to the market for a year now - summer 2019 was the projected release date...

 

[ffhamm]

Thanks

 

[Anthony P]

I did contact Fairchild. most everyone is working remotely these days. considering remotely working, summertime vacations, and company spam email filters, I'll leave direct voicemail next...

 

[ffhamm]

I had no luck a month or so ago when I tried either.

 

[ffhamm]

So did these seals ever hit the market? Vaporware?

 

[hawkfan]

Watching this thread for updates.

 

[Anthony P]

seems the parties involved have scrapped this project

 

[hawkfan]

seems the parties involved have scrapped this project

That's unfortunate. It's hard to believe nobody has come up with something with the same fit as the original roof rail seals after all this time. NOS seals are scarce and almost twice the cost of an entire aftermarket kit.

 

[Anthony P]

Fairchild/Metro/Steele/SoffSeal, in some combined partnership, made door weatherstrips with the OE plastic insert for the 90's Camaro's. it's a numbers game - minimum production run and projected annual sales volume vs cost. numbers are not that great for a Buick Regal/Olds Cutlass version applied only to the 82-87 cars, now 35+ years later.

 

[Anthony P]

if I had to replace the door weatherstrips today, I'd make a plastic reinforcement like the OE had. not that hard to affix that to the back of the weatherstrip flattened area about the screw hole. perhaps that is why the manufacturers don't see a reason to change their manufacturing process when thin film or thin sheet material can be delivered to your house for about $10 or less. if you fab your own reinforcement card, it doesn't matter which seals you use - Steele, Metro, SoffSeal, Fairchild.

plenty of choices for thin film plastics and sheet plastics from McMaster....I'd look at nylon 6/6 sheets or reinforced low density polyethylene film

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr