Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Last year I went cleaned and services all my heater controls, cables and dampers on my 53 Cavalier. The damper seals were coming apart, and pieces coming out the vents, so I put new ones on that I got from a swap meet. They were the right size and shape, but I think the material is stiff and does not seal very well. Not a big deal in the summer, but it is when the weather is cooler, which probably makes they even stiffer.

Is there something that has been used for the dampers that works well for these seals?

Many have bought 1/16 or 3/32 neoprene rubber sheet from McMaster or MSC and using an old one as a pattern just cut new using an Exacto knife and scissors. Amazon also has neoprene sheet in various sizes that would be suitable. Removing and reusing the staples can be difficult particularly if they are rusted but pop rivets or sheetmetal screws or even small machine screws and nuts can be used to reassemble the flappers over the new rubber.

As I recall Pgh Ultramatic was thinking of repro'ing the rubber pieces more like the die cut fashion as the originals so you might also see if that project is anywhere close to being underway.

No I have not done anything towards it as there is not much demand. I just used vinyl that I had lying around originally from Joann Fabrics. I imagine neoprene would be better.

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I haven’t made any of these in decades but when I did, I simply bought some thin rubber at a hardware store and to this day they are still in good working order in my 1954 Patrician but my 1951 Henney-Packard’s are nonexistent and so are my 1956 Clipper Custom’s.

That said and since you apparently have a nice pattern, why not share it with Olson's Gaskets so that they can make them part of their inventory of templates? Even a full-size scan with the length and width pencilled in for reference would do the trick. If you don’t want to do this, I would be happy to do so if you PM me for my email as I could use several pair and no longer have the patience to stop to make things that I could easier buy.

To Packard Don's point I have attached a PDF template. If you simply reply back with the dimensions for A through G I can tweak the drawing so that it can be sent to the firm that makes the gaskets.
Bob J.

Attach file:

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Heater Control Gasket.PDF Size: 73.74 KB; Hits: 15

Great cad drawing. The piece is in Group 30.42484 and is called a seal, quantity is 2 per car.

It would be good to get the dimensions from both a 51-3 piece and a 54-56 item. For some reason there was a part number change for 54 and later cars. I thought 51-6 was all the same so have no idea what the difference might be. If it is a minor dimension change or maybe a material difference then one item should still work for all. If a vendor was interested in repro then being able to advertise as fitting all 51-6 cars might make one have more interest. I could have sworn Steele used to have them but as Pgh Ultra found, maybe there was not enough interest to keep them around because people just made their own.

If no vendors want to bother then it would be nice to post the template on site or provide a printable pdf file that could be downloaded and printed out full size so someone that wanted to make their own or might have a broken or missing piece could get some weak spray adhesive to just lay the templates on sheet rubber and cut to the lines.

I can pull the dims off a 55 piece. As I recall its 9x5.

Yes, it is easy to make 2 different drawings if I know the dimensions. There may be an extra hole or something too. At any rate the drawing name will be the year indication. I will add the part number(s) too.

If you soak the seal in PB Blaster for a few days, it will become much softer.

But neoprene would be a better option that is no where as temperature sensitive.

I would live to have a few sets made as it won't be expensive at all. I do, however, also need 1951 dimensions.

To Howard's question about the difference staring in 1954, I have no idea but I can say that many 1954 parts have different part numbers than the earlier three years with no discernible difference in appearance. For example, the rear end I used in my 1951 Henney-Packard was from a 1954 and is identical externally to the 1951-1953 type.