Replacing Weatherstrips - Sealed To Perfection

The wind, dust, and rain all have their place in the world, but not inside your car. To isolate you and your car's interior from these elements, the doors, trunk lid, and window glass are factory-fitted with precision-molded weatherstrips that work to form a moveable seal against glass and metal objects. But after a million times opening and closing your doors combined with a couple of decades of summer sun and winter freeze, those once-pristine factory seals and weatherstrips have probably deteriorated, fallen apart, or dried out. The answer is simple: Replace those worn rubber weatherstrips with new ones--installed properly.

Replacing the soft rubber is generally straightforward. The best time to remove the old stuff is right before the car is painted, and the best time to install the new stuff is about a month after the new paint has been sprayed, cured, and buffed. This way you'll have a cleaner installation without overspray on the new seals. If you won't be painting your car, the weatherstrips can still be replaced successfully. Just use caution, and with careful workmanship, the soft parts can typically be replaced without damaging the existing paint job. Don't fret over the tools needed to complete this resto bit; all that's required are a few basic hand tools, and it can easily be handled out of your garage in a matter of hours.

To make the car quiet and leak-free and to give it a newer-car feel again, we chose seals and weatherstripping from Soffseal and National Parts Depot. If you're wondering about the cost, expect anywhere from $3 up to $500 if you need to replace most of the seals. For a complete breakdown of part numbers and prices to outfit our 'Bu, log on to chevyhiperformance.com; otherwise follow along as we show you the easiest and best way to get the job done.