FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

I’ve been struggling with the Rare Spares rubbers trying to get the moulds to fit correctly. I have been back and forth to a customers place wanting to get the screens back into the car. After contacting Rares at Prospect and being told they are aware of the problem, they had to get the updated rubbers in from the supplier only to find out that nothing had changed. In all fairness to the staff at Prospect, the overall changes are made and endorsed by Melbourne head office
After another failed attempt today on the “updated” rubber, I am awaiting feedback from Rares. In an effort to get my customer back on the road, I drove to Old Rubber Company at Penrith to try their rubber. After talking with the guys there and trying a sample on the mould it looked promising. After buying one of their rubbers, I fitted it to the screen and fitted the moulds within 10 minutes. Although the rubber was a bit on the tight side, I went back and told them the problem and suggested adding a bit more to the length. To their credit, the guys bought out a roll of rubber and we fitted it to the screen so it didn’t fall off. They will change the length of the rubber listed on the computer, enabling them to make the changes to future production.
I will be fitting this rubber on Thursday, so I will let you know how it goes.
Regards,
Jim

Hi Jim ..This is a bitter sweet story ,I am looking forward to Thursdays result with the Old Rubber Co seal as my car is one on your list , it is very disappointing how Rare Spares have handled this ...Thanks for the effort Jim you have put in to resolve this issue  ..cheers Vern

Had a call from Dean at Rares this afternoon, he has heard back from Melbourne re the problem with the rubbers. They can see the difference between the original and their rubber from the photos supplied, and said they will look into the problem and try to find out why there has been a change in the tooling and rectify it.
Dean will keep me informed of the progress and the outcome.
Jim

Just returned from fitting Steve’s rear screen, had no drama at all. The Old Rubber Company rubber fitted beautifully, so much so that the whole job too 1-1/2 hours from start to finish. I started the job at 9.30 by dry fitting the screen first to see how it all looked in the car, then removed it and sealed the body and screen and reinstalled it back into the car. Sealed between the glass and rubber and then cleaned it all up and refitted the Venetian to the interior, all done by 11am.
To say I’m happy with the outcome is an understatement as it took longer than this just trying to fit the moulds into the Rares rubber. I’m glad for Steve, as he can now enjoy driving the car again and that all the hassles are finally over.
As for Rare Spares, I will be waiting for the results and the outcome of rectification of their tooling and then see if we have a winner or back to square one.
WATCH THIS SPACE
Jim

Great outcome Jim, well done.
Cheers
John

Thanks Jim for sharing.
I hope they appreciate your contribution at Christmas time.

Good to know. People have been having similar issues with Rares FB and EK front and ute rear screens as well. Same solution, old auto rubber co.


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Hi Errol, I thought they had fixed the front rubbers? It’s all the ute rear rubbers up to EH, the rubbers themselves aren’t to bad it’s the joiner bar sections that are out. I just drill out either the top or bottom hole to let the bar fit into place.

Jim
You are probably right that the issue has been resolved with the front screens on FB EK. Though nothing been posted on the forum as yet.
Cheers
Clay

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Thanks Jim for posting the outcome ..I will order the same seal you got for Steve from Old Auto Rubber at Penrith and make a time for you to fit front and rear ..I will return the Rares seal ...Vern

Harv spoke to Dave Ryan from Rare Spares recently and passed on that there is still an issue with the FB EK front rubbers.


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Thanks mate, as I said, I haven’t done one for a while. The last one I did was a van and I used the rubber that was in the car, the owner said it was about 3years old.

Now that I think about it, the fit was a bit tight!!

Better than loose I suppose 👍


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Gents ..Whilst on the subject of sealing rubbers ,I fitted the Old Auto boot seal rubber ,and it does not seal at all ,during installation we became suspicious ,sure enough ,water just poured in..also fuel filler neck seal is totally incorrect ,I suspect wrongly packaged ..I spoke to Mark at old auto ,and to his credit he was straight up front ,they have a new supplier who supplys extruded product in rolls and they just supply a length in the bag and you make your own splice ..pity cause its a nice neat extrusion..I am sure they will fix it and I will liase with them ( as they are NO longer a Rares Outlet ) ..I see the Rares rubber is a different profile ,so gents question , has anyone recently successfully fitted a Rares sedan boot lid seal ,or is there any other supplier than the two aforementioned...all the best Vern..

It has always been tricky getting a seal around the front corners hasn’t it Vern. Are they sitting up proud at all? I haven’t fitted one in years but I well remember. Such a generic profile to the seal that it is hard to imagine them getting it wrong. Quality control is what it is all about. That is what one pays for these days and blaming the supplier really is poor form on the part of the retailer.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191220/c913e0b096cdb705ced23952e90c0b96.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191220/d97bdb85f7b1de241440849f6abee539.jpg)
This is an example of the rubber I obtained years ago from rares. It is the same profile for the outer door seals, other than the bottom bit next to the scuff plates of course.


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Errol ..I have not fitted a FC boot lid seal before ,so can't comment..However I have fitted seals to other makes ..It seems to me Old Auto Rubber at Penrith are still a relatively new management team and are evolving ..Yes it would be the case in an ideal world that components are designed and fit for purpose and test fitted.However Jim's visit there and them allowing him to test fit on the premises concerning the rear screen rubber is a good thing.it seems to have resolved that problem ,to the benefit of all parties.The boot seal that came out of the car was clearly wrong when I inspected it prior to purchase ,I have retained it and re looked at it last week ,it bulged in places and had been clearly trimmed with scissors along its length..what I probably should have done was unpack my order when I got it last year and test fitted everything,I have done that now ,and it appears the only questionable items are the boot seal and the fuel filler neck seal ..And it will be resolved ..I was talking to OLD BLUE and he tells me he has used the Rares boot seal successfully ..me being me I always ask who else offers products so I can see the whole picture..Unfortunately your images are very grainy.cheers Vern

As you say Vern, sounds like the seal profile isn't right. Interesting that my the photos are grainy as I just subscribed to a free trial of tapatalk pro to enable upload of larger images.

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When I used a generic rubber length for my boot seal it took some adjusting of the boot lid to get it seal properly. I locked myself in the boot to check it, that was fun!
Don’t forget to put the seal up the right way, which I think is the pointy part of the profile facing towards outer lip of the channel. Sorry if you already know this but it had to be said. Good luck Vern.


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Was going to make the same suggestion about getting in the boot but I installed rubber with pointy bit in. Always leaked so I don't know.

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Thanks for your replies fellas ,are the seals you have fitted Rares or another make ? If the Old Auto Rubber seal I have was say another 3/16" deeper ,so it would sit that much higher in the channel I think it would be a good seal,there are no seats in the car so to look in boot closed is easy,when we got in could see daylight before even putting torch on..as far as the lip orientation ,as there is no instructions ,we concluded the lip would be on the inner edge as it rises and curves outwards and when crushed by the lid closing it would then be flattened ,form a seal ,and when lid opened it would rise with the lid and form a barrier/gutter for any water to run around the seal and away rather than over it ,were it mounted the other way around ..I do tend to over think things a bit ..anyway I'll come back to boot seal after Xmas ..Jim, FC Wrangler is coming today to fit front rear screens..cheers Vern 

Refitted Vern’s front and rear screens on his sedan today with another good result with the fit of the rear screen using the Old Rubber Co. rubber. The front on the other hand was a little problematic, the Rare’s rubber didn’t quite fit as it was a bit tight in the body which wouldn’t allow the rubber to pull all the way over the lip on the inside. The screen appeared to fit relatively well form the outside as the moulds sat down flush with the body but the inside sat reasonably well down the pillars and across the bottom, but sat a little proud across the top. I am a bit disappointed with the outcome as no matter how I tried, the rubber wouldn’t pull over any further whereas Steve’s screen fitted well.
Jim

I'm about to order new front and rear screen rubbers (along with a few others required) and wondering if I should try Old Rubber Co or Rares?

Cheers

Ben

Hi Ben, there has been no word from Rare Spares regarding the change in the rubbers. Old Rubber Co. only do the rear rubber and use Rares for the front, so you are limited for choice at the moment. You could try Betta Auto Rubbers, but I’m not sure if they use their own or Rares. I’all ring Rares and see if there has been any updates.
Jim

I am reading this thread now ,I thought I posted a job well done by Jim the FC Wrangler on my screen rubbers back in December ,can't see it here ,so another can't hurt , Jim did a good job ,even though he would have liked a better result ,you cant pick it and all trims fit and no leaks ,so i'm happy ..No one wrangles FC's like Jim does ..stay well ,take care ..Vern

Thanks Jim,

Look forward to hearing what they come back with. 

I need to replace the following in my daily:
 - front & rear screens
 - both quarter vents
 - all 4 x doors & wind lacing
 - boot & bonnet

I was going to buy a "kit" but probably wouldn't use half of what's supplied and keep reading mixed opinions on all the suppliers and quality/fit etc...

Ben ..See my last image posted ,cars under resto ,I have just done all of that ,the front 1/4 window seals are Rares and went in well..inner door seal is Old Auto ..outer are Rares ..windlacing is Daleys ..they don't offer a metallic thread in the lacing like factory fit..Vern ..

The man is a windshield whisperer. By some sort of magic voodoo sorcery, he takes an impossible task and makes it look easy. I have significant respect for his work.

Cheers,
Harv

Thanks Vern I’ll check it out.

Finally have an update on the retooling of the special rubbers. New stock is expected in July, so I have marked it in my calendar to check in then and see how they go.

G'day Jim,

A quick heads up that Rares has retooled the EK front windscreen rubber. They have some early production ones, which trial fit on their test body pretty well. They are sending one down to Sydney for us, with one of the FB/EK gentlemen volunteering to give it a trial run. Will let you know how it goes.

Cheers,
Harv

Thanks mate, the last one I did was fairly tight

Did they get to trial fit this yet Harv and if so what was the verdict?

Any update on this at all, I need to buy front screen rubber again as I gave mine to someone in a pinch a few months ago.