FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Both my front and rear windsceens are leaking badly , (only when it rains) rare spares have the rubbers for these ,has anybody used these and are they ok or is there another supplier of preference ? my local windscreen obrien shop has a laminated windscreen in stock and I thought of fitting one while the original is out to fix the leaks   ;)  thanks Steve.

The R/S screen rubbers are good copies, but even original windscreen rubbers are difficult to fit.  Fitting a front screen to an FE or FC special is not for the fainthearted.
One thing I have learned is to take the rubber out of the packet and leave it stretched around an old screen for a few weeks, preferably out in the sun.  This removes the kinks from the rubber and therefore helps the chrome trims stay in place while the screen is being installed.

A lot of people blame the product for being no good when in reality it is their skill level which is lacking.  Same goes for door rubbers and other repro parts.

Ken

Rare Spares are fine, as long as the rubber is 'fresh'.  My sedan had daylight showing between the rubber and the body when I bought it.  Got a rare spares rubber for the rear screen, and all our problems were solved. :)  If you aren't in a hurry, I reckon rubbers are the biggest bargain amongst restorers because everyone buys them early in the resto, loses interest, and they end up at swap meets for 20 percent of new price! (edit:  Or am I stuck in a pre-ebay world?)

Go for the laminated screen if you can.  Just check first, the one in the car may already be laminated.

All the best, Shayne.

Thanks Guys ,looks like it is rare spares for me , Steve  ;)

I dont know about that ken, I bought a tailgate rubber about 8 years ago and it was a couple of inches two big for the hole.
my sill looked like a peice of s$%t compared to the peter jackson sample ED gave me.
have you fitted a rare spares wagon rear quarter glass rubber yet, the one at rare spares looks a little wrong, it only has 3 corners, it looks like a sedan one but with 2 1/2" height added. should I buy it?

I dont mean to knock rare spares stuff, some stuff has actually fitted well.

are those new windscreens plain or do the have a tinted band up the top and how much do they cost?

The laminated screen has a tinted blue band about three inches at the top ,they quoted me 240 dollars fitted not including rubber with a no leak warranty,seems like a pretty good deal to me ! Steve   ;)

FCCool, read my post.  I said the windscreen rubber was fine.  I didn't mention the wagon rear seal or the wagon side window rubber or the sill for that matter, which has been discussed in another thread?
Anyway, yes I have fitted all these and they fit quite well.

Tailgate opening - the length of the rubber can be made longer or shorter depending on how much you compress or stretch the rubber when you are gluing it in.  Don't expect that you can just apply glue and push it in.  Do a dry run first and get the length correct and then apply guide marks every 150 mm or so using tape or chalk or whatever, so that you know how you are progressing as you are gluing the rubber in

Wagon side window - a difficult rubber to fit, even NOS rubber is difficult to fit.  There is one less moulded corner in order to make the rubber a little cheaper to buy.  The lack of this moulded corner doesn't affect the performance at all.  It is very tricky to pull the cord around the sharp corner at the front of the glass.

More tricks that I use:  
1. Silicone spray. the rubber will slide through the opening easier.
2. The pull cord has to be about 3mm in diameter, round shape and fairly firm.
Once again I will repeat what I said in my previous post - It is not for the faint hearted - Don't expect that you are going to do this job in half an hour.  Sometimes you can spend an afternoon until it is right.

True story from Rare Spares - a guy rings up about his door rubber for an EK.  He starts abusing them that there product is rubbish, he wants a refund and has told all his mates that the rubbers are S**T.  Much swearing and shouting from the customer later and he finally agrees to let Bob from Rares replace the rubber at no charge and Rares guarantee it will fit.   When Bob sees the car the customer has got glue all over the place and has the rubber glued in UPSIDE DOWN.  Bob put a new rubber in for free and it worked perfectly!  The custome probably still went away and told his mates that the product was still junk anyway.  You just can't win with some people!

Rare Spares put up with this on a daily basis and 99% of the problems are caused by the person attempting to fit the product.   1% of the time there is a genuine fault.  Who out there can claim that their product is 100% fault free?

Ken