Someone (I've deleted the letter) asked about the lower door
metal retainers for weatherstrip. My 57 TF had them both
sides. They were quite rusty and I replaced them both with
parts from Carter. He shows two different part numbers, one
for 47-55 and a different one for 55-59, so I imagine these
years all had them. The ones he sent me were identical size
and shape with my old ones. I believe that they are to
control the weatherstrip seam at the bottom.
The retaining screws were rusted tight. With three or four
weeks of repeated soaking with Marvel Mystery oil and
tapping and twisting I got all the right door screws out,
but two of the left door ones would not budge and eventually
I snapped them off with a pair of vise grips. These screws
were very hard and I could not get a drill bit to bite into
them so I ground them flat and moved over about 3/8 inch and
drilled new holes for the replacement strip.
It is possible that your doors have no holes because someone
snapped the rusted screws off long ago. If so you may still
be able to see the pointed ends sticking up into the inside
of the door through the access panel with a mirror.
Four additional tiny sheet metal retaining clips control the
weatherstrip on the latch side of my TF truck doors wherever
it bends sharply. They are about 1/2 inch square with
little hooks on one side and each is held in place by a
small sheet metal screw. I have seen two types, both with
the same shape but stamped with either the letters BTC or
MC. I have a jpeg of a sketch I made showing the location
of these clips on the TF door that I will send to anyone who
is interested.
Chuck Smith
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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