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Spitfire Spit Hardtop Seals

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dklawson

dklawson

Yoda
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I'm sure this has been covered before but please indulge me.

I just picked up a very used hardtop for our project '72 Spitfire. As with any 35+ year old British car part, it requires attention. All the seals will need to be replaced. I know Spitbits has the seals but I'd prefer to invest a little less on the new rubber parts. Originality is not as important to me as functionality.

Are there generic seals available from other sources? For example, on other British cars I've used continuous length windshield seals that I had to cut to the correct size and bond the ends. Are their generic rear glass, quarter window, and door window seals I can purchase and bond as necessary?
 
Doug, you can look at JC Whitney, they carry a mixture of rubber seals, and I'm sure something that will work, but I think you will find none are cheap and if it doesn't seal why bother.

Wayne
 
Thanks Wayne. I had been looking at the JC Whitney seals before posting. I've also been looking at what's available from McMaster-Carr. I have yet to check an online trim shop I used to buy from.

I figure I will give the generic seals a try as I'm certain I will be able to make them work... once I choose the right one. The bulb seals will be easy. The rear glass seal is the one I'm really focused on. It's $140 from SpitBits. Generic seals from JCW are around $40. I'll be loosing the chrome dress-up strip but I think I will do without it to save $100.
 
Doug, I'm in the same boat as you with my Spit hardtop. I would be very intrested in hearing about your results. Good luck.
 
Best of luck guys. These seals are expensive and you need a lot of them. I think Rimmer brothers may be a better deal.

I bought a nice hardtop two years ago. What a bargain. $200 for the top and $600 for the seals, headliner and mounting bits.

I purchased all from Spit Bits. Nice folks. All the products were good.

My only bargain was my kid painted it for free. Otherwise I would have had over $1000 in my bargain top.

However, that top changes the car. We think it makes the car a little stiffer. It is also now always dry and toasty warm in the winter.

Larry

77 Spit
63B
 
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