65GS.com - Buick Gran Sport Enthusiasts!
Interior & Tops => Interiors => Topic started by: cwmcobra on January 26, 2018, 08:21:00 AM
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So, I understand that the window felts in the GS (or all Skylarks?) had the bead that shows on top painted black. And I've confirmed that on my red convertible. Does anyone make these in black? All I've been able to find are felts with chrome beads. I think they look nice, but apparently aren't correct. CARS told me that the Steele parts are chrome, but I'm going to call Steele today to confirm with them. Otherwise, it seems I've run out of potential sources.
Thanks,
Chuck
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Chuck, Glenn has done extensive research on window felt both black and chrome. In fact I think he has an honorary degree in the subject. I'll give him a call, wake him up and ask for his thoughts..
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Thanks Kevin. I didn't know we had a PhD in our midst! :laughing7:
Chuck
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Thanks Kevin. I didn't know we had a PhD in our midst! :laughing7:
Chuck
PhD, that means Piled Higher and Deeper. Correct? I think I qualify then, I've been told I'm full of something . :laughing7:
Loren
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Me too!
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Sorry I am late to the party. Don't know about the PHD on the subject, but did spend a lot of time looking for sweeps. My car had a chrome bead on the sweeps and i felt that they were correct. Did not check other cars to compare. Correct Steele sells the chrome and Cars had the black. They were supplied by Repop. I have a set of the black on hand if needed. Was told by Repop that they only made them in black. Which ones are correct, I don't know. And to correct Rollarounds statement, I had been up for several hours when he called..
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Thanks for the info Glenn. CARS told me that the Repops and Steele felts both had chrome beads. He also checked with PUI and was told there's are chrome. So, I'm stumped on where to find black ones. I'll definitely be calling.....
Chuck
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Dear Chuck, Kevin, Loren, Glenn, and mid-60s Buick owners (and even Buicks) who have participated in higher education,
Thanks Kevin. I didn't know we had a PhD in our midst! :laughing7:
Well yes, there is a bone fide PhD in our midst. I received my PhD from the Special Group in Science and Math Education at U.C. Berkeley in 1995. Here is the title page for the curious:
(http://www.canebas.org/Biquette/Images/PhD%20Cover.jpg)
Not only that, my trusty wagon is even featured on a page of my dissertation. On page 86 you'll find:
(http://www.canebas.org/Biquette/Images/Biquette%20in%20my%20PhD.jpg)
I think it is safe to say that Biquette is the only 1965 Buick Special wagon to appear on a PhD and there aren't many classic Buicks to be found in any PhDs!
Just another reason why I've been trying to bring her back to her former glory - she has had a really amazing life!
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Edouard - That is RAD.
I did some college myself - and thought at the time how much I liked the learning environment.
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Chuck, when I ordered the felts from CARS the book listed them as chrome, but when they came they were black. Called CARS to question and was told that they understood them to be chrome. When I talked to RePop they said that they only do black.
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Edouard,
After I wrote that, I thought about you had a hunch that you are a PhD and, believe me, I'm impressed. Science and math education are extremely important for our future. Congratulations on achieving that level of education and, if you are using that education to teach our youth, thanks for sharing your knowledge with them! :hello2:
But a PhD in Window Fuzzies, now that's something REALLY special. Extra Kudos to Vinnie!!! :headbang:
Have a great weekend!
Chuck
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Chuck, when I ordered the felts from CARS the book listed them as chrome, but when they came they were black. Called CARS to question and was told that they understood them to be chrome. When I talked to RePop they said that they only do black.
Glenn, you're giving me hope. I called CARS yesterday and asked them to confirm whether the beads on the felts are chrome or black. Told him that some of my friends have found the Repops felts to have black beads. He is going to call Repops to confirm. Hopefully, I'll hear from him on Monday.
Now, even if he tells me that Repops says they are chrome, I might just order them and see what comes.....
:cheers2:
Chuck
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Chuck , I guess I was,t even aware that they came in black . I ordered mine from Steele but they came from repops and have the chrome bead .
I didn't see an option for black or chrome .
Did I ever mention anything to you about my PHD ( Parts Hoarders Disorder ) . it gets more elaborate with every swapmeet . :evil6:
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Hey John,
I've been told by authoritative sources (you know them also) that the window felt steel beads should be black. To confirm, I looked at my red Steve Shuman car that I'm sure has original felts and they are black. I also looked at the felts from our Arkansas parts car and they were black. So I'm confident in the originality of the black beads. Now I just have to find some!
No, I'd not heard about PHD before. Thanks for the warning! :laughing7: I might be an "early onset" candidate!
Chuck
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I have a more basic question. The Steele catalog shows the window felt kit that does not have the chrome (stainless) trim on the top of the door. Not sure what you call that. My car is a the coupe and does indeed have the bright work on top. I am unsure as to what to get here.
My window motor stopped working so I need to get that window mechanism out (somehow without cutting off a finger). I plan to buy a correct motor from OPGI than finish it off with the proper window channels and felts.
Can someone shed some light on my situation? What do I need to get? My car has been through hell and back before I bought it, so pretty much every bit of rubber and felt that I haven't already replaced will need updating.
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I have a more basic question. The Steele catalog shows the window felt kit that does not have the chrome (stainless) trim on the top of the door. Not sure what you call that. My car is a the coupe and does indeed have the bright work on top. I am unsure as to what to get here.
My window motor stopped working so I need to get that window mechanism out (somehow without cutting off a finger). I plan to buy a correct motor from OPGI than finish it off with the proper window channels and felts.
Can someone shed some light on my situation? What do I need to get? My car has been through hell and back before I bought it, so pretty much every bit of rubber and felt that I haven't already replaced will need updating.
My car has the wide beltline molding as well, what you're calling the "bright work on top". You need a set of window felts for your coupe and you need two beltline kits from Steele. Those are the rubber sweeps that "wipe" the outside of the window and are installed into the wide beltline moldings. Beltline weatherstrip for the front doors is Steele PN 50-0496-61. For the quarter windows the PN is 50-0497-61. I believe you trim them to fit.
:cheers2:
Chuck
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Dear Iain, Chuck, Glenn, John, mid-60s Buick lovers,
After I wrote that, I thought about you had a hunch that you are a PhD and, believe me, I'm impressed. Science and math education are extremely important for our future. Congratulations on achieving that level of education and, if you are using that education to teach our youth, thanks for sharing your knowledge with them!
Well, I did get some lecturer assignments and was very enthusiastically received by the students I taught. However, the competition for professor positions is deadly and I had unwittingly made a lot of enemies for the paradoxical reason that I had started out trying to use their theories.
The most widely accepted theory of learning comes out of a discipline called Cognitive Science. It assumes that the brain functions something like a computer and human learning is something like the way a computer functions. I wasn't too sure I believed this, but thought it could be the basis for a very interesting software tool which I called an "Educational Apprentice." The idea was to have a software tool that would accomplish small tasks for a student while carefully demonstrating every step the tool took to accomplish this task. If you don't know how to do something very well, and you watch a machine solve the problem for you, it stands to reason you'll adopt the tool's procedure. After all, you want the problem solved - right?
So I developed my tool and decided automate a subtle feature of the FORTRAN programming language that was frequently misunderstood. Alas, when I did my pilot trials with 3 students - none of them learned anything from my Educational Apprentice! After 8 years of work, I had to start from scratch and come up with an entirely new topic for my PhD.
At the time, there was an alternative learning theory called "Communities of Practice." However, it really didn't have any theoretical framework, it simply observed that people can learn better in communities. Since my bachelor's degree was a double major in Philosophy and Physics, it occurred to me that perhaps the role of communities in learning could be understood through some of the existential principles developed in Martin Heidegger's work Being and Time. I ended up exploring these ideas in the realm of scuba diving classes because I could see that very intense communities would form and disintegrate over the period of the class.
Obviously this is very heady stuff and it didn't sit well with all those established Cognitive Science professors. Worse still, there were bickering among the supporters of the Community of Practice theory. That was enough for Cognitive Science camp to basically dismember the Community of Practice supporters. Out of luck, I had to go back to software engineering.
Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence in academia and it means that the status quo is always favored and innovative ideas are frequently rejected before they have any chance to demonstrate their merits. I think we all pay a very heavy price for the complacency of higher education. Effectively, they spend their time replicating themselves instead of making a serious effort to understand the world.
Such are the conditions that prevail.
Oh well, . . . Edouard
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Edouard,
Sounds like another case of wasted potential. And I think it's not exclusive to higher education. I understand the frustrations. So, now you're working with that computer brain instead of human brains. Somehow it's not the same, is it?
Chuck
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I don't know if 65's are the same as 66's, but the 66 used the w/s with chrome bead, UNLESS it had the beltline moldings, in which case it used the black w/s.
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I’m unclear on felt trim chrome or black now. My 65 red GS vert had chrome and my 65 yellow Special vert also had chrome.
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Edouard ,Chuck I was just reading Edouard's take on learning. What I think was being said is that people learn better in communities and Cognitive Science works like a computer, you can't get information out without putting in the information in first. That being said community based learning can be aided by computers but not solely taught by computers. In my many years in the field of educational discipline. the willingness to learn can overcome many barriers, social & economic. But in most cases the educational systems in place are too complacent and don't think outside the box and don't ask important questions !! Yes the mind is like a computer in some ways but to get a computer to work you must first turn it on... Communities that ask Why, How & What are the on buttons for higher learning at any age....
Tony
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I have a more basic question. The Steele catalog shows the window felt kit that does not have the chrome (stainless) trim on the top of the door. Not sure what you call that. My car is a the coupe and does indeed have the bright work on top. I am unsure as to what to get here.
My window motor stopped working so I need to get that window mechanism out (somehow without cutting off a finger). I plan to buy a correct motor from OPGI than finish it off with the proper window channels and felts.
Can someone shed some light on my situation? What do I need to get? My car has been through hell and back before I bought it, so pretty much every bit of rubber and felt that I haven't already replaced will need updating.
My car has the wide beltline molding as well, what you're calling the "bright work on top". You need a set of window felts for your coupe and you need two beltline kits from Steele. Those are the rubber sweeps that "wipe" the outside of the window and are installed into the wide beltline moldings. Beltline weatherstrip for the front doors is Steele PN 50-0496-61. For the quarter windows the PN is 50-0497-61. I believe you trim them to fit.
:cheers2:
Chuck
Thank you Chuck. I'll get those parts on order.
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CARS is still waiting on an answer from Repops on the color of the metal bead in their window felts. While waiting, I was talking with my friend who is restoring a 68 GTO and he shared that he's had a miserable time trying to find original style and fit window felts for his car. He buys most of his stuff from Ames and had complained to them that they don't have any quality window felts. They called him the other day and said they were sending a new brand to him. He received them and found them to be the best quality and fit that he's seen. They matched his originals perfectly. The brand is Top Catwhiskers, which neither of us had heard of before. So I started searching for this brand and could only find parts available online for Mopars.
Finally, I found a company in Pennsylvania that sells this brand, so I called them to inquire about felts for a 65 Skylark convertible. He checked and said that they have a pattern this car, so yes, I can buy a set. I confirmed that they are Top Catwhiskers brand, then asked what color the metal bead is on the felts. He checked and said I can order them with either Stainless or black. They are handmade using originals as patterns. So I ordered a set with black beads. Since they are handmade, he said they wouldn't be available for about a week. A week for handmade parts seems unreal to me. And the price is very competitive. $110 for a complete set, including the outside rubber sweeps. Since I have the wide belt moldings that use the special sweeps from Steele, I asked if I could order just the inside fuzzies. Not problem. Only $60 for the complete set. And they come with the stainless staples required to install them.
I'll post more on the parts after I receive them, but my initial impression is fantastic. The company is called Restoration Specialties: http://www.restorationspecialties.com (http://www.restorationspecialties.com). If you contact them, ask for Matt; he's the guy with all the info.
Fingers crossed that this works out well!
:cheers2:
Chuck
EDIT: Just got an email from CARS and he said that Repops can make a kit in black. Another option for anyone that might prefer Repops brand.
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Sounds like your persistence will pay off .
Thanks for the leg work Chuck,
Loren
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I've visited the Restoration Specialties tent at the Carlisle, Pa swap meet for a few decades! I used to buy the window felts in 6' lengths and make my own. Nice to see they will be offering ready-to install kits.
Here's one pic of their windowfelt stock, listed for 66-72. Maybe they are using it for the 65?
The ones I bought way back then had thinner felt than the originals, didn't seal against the window but left a gap. The new version looks thicker at 7/16"
I've also used R.S. for rubber bushings for my core support and some body mounts. They also had the spring clips for the corners of the 66 dash pad.