[Dick Boneske]

Made good progress today. Installed the roof rail weatherstrip rails and front pillar trim which includes the weatherstrip rail. Used 3M "dum-dum" for the seal between the stainless steel rail and the body. The stainless had scratches, especially the front post trim in the last picture. I polished it on my bench grinder with a buffing wheel and green abrasive--looks great!

Installed the weatherstrip on the roof rail strip--the Softseal brand from Ames really fits well! The 3M 08008 Black Super Weatherstrip Adhesive works great! Hard to clean off your fingers, but if you do it within a half-hour or so, mineral spirits takes it off your hands and the excess off the body.

Also put the door weatherstrips in place, also Softseal brand. Top notch quality.

We installed the door latches and door handles. I had the latches plated bright zinc as you can see in the picture. If you do this, remove the springs first, as they may get zapped by the plating process--one of mine did. We lubed the internal mechanism with white lithium grease before putting the latch in the door. Wow, the doors are sure hard to close with new weatherstrip! I remember my GTO had the same problem until the weatherstrip is compressed for a few days.

[Dick Boneske]

Sorry for the upside-down pictures! My iPhone sometimes does that when attaching pictures.

I have a few questions:

1. What color are the lock retainers in the door edges? Body color, zinc green, red?

2. What color is the trunk lock retainer supposed to be?

3. Still don't have an answer for the color of the gas door trim "PONTIAC" letters. I think it's Cameo Ivory, but don't know. Also, what is the best product and method to insure adhesion over the chrome?

[dld]

mine were green zinc chromate. 65 car though. vette suppliers should have this color. maybe Quanta.

check out a product called (Bulldog) for paint adhesion promoter

http://www.tcpglobal.com/KLEETP0123B...w#.Vq9zA9IrLn4

[Dick Boneske]

The '64 door lock clips are different from '65. They are inserted from the inner edge of the door next to the weatherstrip, so you see the end only when the car is assembled. The trunk lock retainer is also different from '65--it's larger and has a gasket.

I'm lucky to have a plating service that does green zinc chromate. I've also seen some of these clips a red primer color--some kind of plating.

Anyone have info on '64's that are original?

[Bluesugar]

I have two '64's,..both look like a brownish light green,..I rubbed my finger across their surface thinking it would be a rough texture( being from surface rust)but they felt smooth

[Dick Boneske]

Was the green similar to the familiar aircraft primer color? Kind of a light olive drab? If so, green zinc is the direction I'll go.

[dld]

same as bird cage on mid year vette as seen under dash.

if you decide to paint


http://www.mamotorworks.com/Corvette...rimer-616311-1

[Bluesugar]

Dick,mine are more like a "brownish golden green"(lol),not the color of that rattle can top...I wish I could/knew(have tried) post pics on this site but I'm using the old XP and am surprised I can even log on half the time...I could e-mail you pics directly though(I still can put pics on Ebay,...for now!)

[Dick Boneske]

Yes, if you can, email pictures to bocoogto@charter.net

[dld]

mine were pretty ok so i did nothing but wipe clean. still some staining but there 65 vintage. looks close to me. actually i lost a point for the screws not the old finish on the clips .

[Dick Boneske]

Thanks for the responses above.

Here are the three door lock clips I have. Two were black and the third is red oxide color. I think I'll go with black for the door lock clips. The black appears to be black oxide.

I have two trunk lock clips, but neither shows what the original color was for sure, but one appears to have some black on it, so I think I'll go with black on that, too.

One other question--The nut/washers that secure the quarter panel caps and tail lamp assemblies.--I always thought they were supposed to be bright (silver) cadmium, but of the 20 nuts I have, several of them were gold cad. What do you think is "correct?"

[Dick Boneske]

Can anyone tell me what these are from? They're hollow, oval, about 3/4" in diameter, 28" long and curved with traces of adhesive on one side.

The body shop removed them when painting the car and I, who has been around these cars for 52 years, don't know what these are!

[chrisp]

Originally Posted by Dick Boneske

Can anyone tell me what these are from? They're hollow, oval, about 3/4" in diameter, 28" long and curved with traces of adhesive on one side.

The body shop removed them when painting the car and I, who has been around these cars for 52 years, don't know what these are!

They go on before fenders are in place on the front insides of the lower pillar section R&L .

[chrisp]

The lip of metal in front of the door from the top of the cowl to lower sides

[Dick Boneske]

What are the pros & cons of putting a new headliner in with and without the front and rear windows in place? I remember when I had mine put in the shop said the windows should be out, not in. I don't like the idea of towing the car with new headliner and no glass.

Thanks for the info on the two rubber strips. I never ran across these before--just goes to prove we're never too old to learn.

[JIMMYM]

I just had my headliner replaced in my 65 tiger gold car and my installer had no problems. he did a great job and it cost 150. Randy Fleeman

[ron cozzo]

Definitely easier to put the headliner in before glass. It makes it easier to get it tucked up under the strips in front and back. If you have heated workspace, have the interior guy come to you. They just need compressed air for their glue gun, electric for the steamer and good light. Mine was put in before glass or any interior at my home shop.

[dld]

yes to Ron's post . it gets glued to inside both front and rear window openings.

had mine done at my shop.

card board up W/S opening to keep air out. side not so important. ( we ride with windows down )

[Dick Boneske]

Ran into an unexpected problem with the tail light lenses. I've got the repro housings and lenses from PG Enterprises a few years ago. I don't remember if the lens gaskets are from PG or Ames.

The OEM lens gaskets have cutouts at each screw hole for the lenses. Next to each hole is a boss in the housing casting that is about 1/8" high. The Ames gaskets do not have cutouts for the bosses and are not as thick as OEM--not any higher than the casting bosses. Note that I've painted the edges of the inside center bulb portion silver like the OEM lens next to the repro.

If you install the lenses with repro gaskets, there will not be a seal to keep moisture out of the inside of the lens/housing/bulb area. since the lens sits on top of the bosses by the screw holes and the gaskets are not thick enough.

I've considered using two gaskets under each lens, but the bosses would have to be cut out to achieve a seal for the lens to housing.

Are there other gaskets available that are more correct? I've considered using the old gaskets AND the repro gaskets, which would work, but the originals are really hard with age.

I've attached pictures to show what I'm talking about with the bosses, etc.

[tiacguy]

Looks like an easy fix. I would trace the old gasket bolt holes onto the new gasket and cut the sections out on the new gasket if there's enough material. Hard to tell in a picture.