Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I'm having my 55 400 repainted and want to replace all the weatherstrip and body gasket material. Kanter has a kit that I believe replaces all the rubber, gasket, and seal material on the car for about #2000. Or I can buy separate kits for various components from Steele. Has anyone had any experience with these? Can you comment on value, quality, fit? Thanks

I purchased the kit from Kanter for my Caribbean. The pieces are essentially all Steele Rubber and were in fact drop shipped directly from Steele.
I have no gripe with Kanter's offering. The parts arrived quickly and were as advertised. I learned after my purchase that if you contact Steele directly they will send you a listing of any rubber parts available for your car-- some of which you may need and are not included in the kit offering. I also mention this since there may be pieces in the kit that you do not need for a paint job.....and it is all expensive.
The rubber parts with the exception of the windshield surround matched the originals very well. The windshield,rubber seemed to be cut a bit differently from the original which made installation of stainless surround trim a real chore.
The original rubber around the top and windows on the Caribbean were cloth covered and the Steele rubber is not. They supply rolls,of cloth tape which you can apply over the rubber to replicate the original appearance butI gave up on it after tangling myself up trying to do the install. I do not plan on submitting my car for judging and I doubt than anyone will see the top or windows raised until the car is sold,or stolen.
Good luck with your efforts
Stay well
RJR

I have purchased many items from Steele over the course of my restoration. I'm satisfied with the quality. BTW. If you order Steele merchandise through Max Merritt you get a 10% discount.

Kevin - Is the Max Merrit price 10% off of Steele's price?

you might try " rubber the rightway.com"

happy

Metro rubber has packard, rubber too,,and restoration spec. too

This thread looks like a good place to ask this question as it seems relevant. On the '55 & '56 cars, does the front fender need to be loosened or removed to install the cowl/to fender/ to door leading edge strip?
This project has the markings of a serious "taffy pull".

64 Avanti- I do not believe we had to remove the fender to install the cowl to fender molding ...but we did loosen the fender to get it in. Might be possible to do it otherwise, but it was not that much of a chore to loosen things and get it in place since everything had been apart and no rust to deal with. Assume you are in a similar boat.

I believe the weatherstrip is glued to the cowl metal. It can probably be pulled loose without removing the fender completely but working the new in properly at the top may be a challenge if the fender is not fairly loose. If memory serves, there may also be a covered screw or two at the very bottom of the vertical length of strip. The fender will probably spring out far enough to access the screw(s) with an offset screwdriver but would need some caution.