Better Auto Rubber

[satch56]

Hi Guys wondering if any have used the Better Auto door seals. Just a couple of questions. The front door seal has a tap on the top curve that looks as if needs to be cut off.
The rear door seal catches on the B pillar would this need to be a door readjust? 
The inner seals are a different profile from original that I’m not to concerned about but wondering if the should be glued laying down (curve to door opening) or standing up (curve to outside)

Guys at Better weren’t really sure. Though tried to be helpful. Can’t beat experience.
Purchase thinking the rubber all came from same factory, wondering if should just go Rares. Interested in your experience in fitting the Better Auto Rubbers.
Thank you.


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[Ken's 57]

Satch....Have a look at the "Shed Talk" YouTube clips on the Rare Spares website. There are two related to fitting door rubbers to early Holdens (FJ & EK). You'll get some useful tips on fitting techniques and on avoiding common pitfalls. And of course, search this forum for help. As for rubbers, I bought a seal for my boot a few years back at a swap. Not a Rares product, but one of the other well known alternatives. A very poor fit....... too large, rubber too hard. So I have just removed it and have one from Rares ready to go in. Interestingly, the one from Rares is softer, hollow core rather than solid like the one just removed and slightly narrower. So my experience with boot rubbers is that they are not necessarily all the same.
Cheers, Ken 

[satch56]

Thanks Ken have seen the shed talk videos and the excellent pin post in the forum.  Unfortunately a little different from the Better rubber. The Better rubber has formed corners so the starting point is different. The outer seals are the solid type so am guessing might be part of my fitting problem. Thank you for you reply.


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[my8thholden]

G'day Satch ..I have Rares RDS1046/7 /8/9 made in Thailand for the outer door seals and Old Auto Rubber for inner..I did a dry fit yesterday ( doors off ) and the inners seem straight forward ..The windlacing will be more fun than the inner ..The Rares Outer seal has a moulded section that fits along under the scuff plate with water drain holes ready cut and has glued to that the hollow extruded section that fits in channel .. a few areas that has me scratching my head ,I haven't fully looked at forums items or spoken to Rares ,the instructions are pretty good ,but in my opinion lack precise instructions to get it correct with reference to ,fitting along the scuff plate area ,and where in the rear door opening at top hinge the channel stops and starts again ..The moulded section under the scuff plate has tapered ends ,so does the start of the channel ,so I guess you pull it gently front to rear so as the tapered ends wedge in the channel ,check drain holes line up ,glue couple spots NOT along the whole of moulded section yet, come back to that, and sit scuff plate over to check , and leave it ,then come back and work upwards in channel . I will talk to Rares about those two areas of concern and post answer here ..cheers Vern.
PS..any one who has done these and has comments would be  appreciated.

[satch56]

Hi Vern are your Better inners the same profile as mine? (Second pic) I found the rubber seems to find better in the channel laying on its side for the rear doors and on its end for the front. Weird?  I dried fitted the rear outer and it jammed at the B pillar though look as if it has duties correctly. Was wondering others experiences with the Better before I took the next leap of faith! I might go the same way as you and use Rare outer. Good luck with yours love to know how you go.


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[satch56]

Bloody auto correct. Find= fit duties=fitted.


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[my8thholden]

Satch ..My inners are Old Auto Rubbers at Penrith ,not Better ..and yes profile in much different than yours ,I can send image to your phone ,I cant post here ..You can view their catalogue on line you will see it there ..Looked at Shed Talk where they do a FB ..some clues there ,doesn't cover rear door..I will talk to them ..Vern 0405 703 413 .

[satch56]

That’s fine Vern I misread thought there were Better. Yours are most likely the same as Rares. Thanks for the reply.


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[mcl1959]

Regarding the rear door rubber down the B pillar. I always trim the rubber where it goes over the hinge. If you look at the original rubber you will see it is a very different profile here which is not in the repro rubbers.

Fit the scuff plates securely and then glue the door rubber to the sill ONLY. It should be a tight fit in the gap and be compressed slightly by the scuff plate.if you glue the rubber to the scuff plate you won't be able to remove the scuff plate later. This is a very good reason why you should not use contact cement, it does not allow you to push the rubber in to fit because it wants to grab as soon as it touches.

Ken

[satch56]

Thanks Ken excellent point about glueing to sill. The Better Rubber is a little different to the Rares. The rubber has formed corners at the B pillar and they are trimmed over the hinge area. When I dry fit the rear door they spill out at the B pillar. Wondering if need extra trimming or realigning the door will fix. The front rubbers have a triangle section around the top of the A pillar that look like it needs cutting off. I will ring them tomorrow to check. I spoke to them about the rear rubber and they reason that I shouldn’t need to trim. Was hoping for some rear life experience with Better. But if the the Rare is the way to go maybe I will admit defeat!!!


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[my8thholden]

Ken and Satch ..I can't comment if Old Auto inners are same as Rares ,I went there with club on trade night ,they are also Rares stockist ,my order was a mix of theirs and Rares .I believe I chose their inner ,as they demonstrated its better features ..I think that's correct,my memory is definitely slipping..however it is a good fit ..very soft ,extruded hollow sponge ,smooth outer ,end section looks like a fat letter ' R "  ..Imagine you roll that letter from right back to left ,so leg of the R is upwards ,the upright of the R is now base which you glue in channel,the leg goes to frame of car ,not door opening ..
Ken ..so you trim down the thickness of the rear outer seal at top hinge ,so it remains a continuous length  all way ,what do you estimate you reduce it by  40 -  50 % ..thx Vern .

[satch56]

Hey Vern my inners from Better are the one shown in my 2nd picture. (Profile I call a Loaf of Bread!!) Sounds different to yours. From asking around sounds as if it is normal for the outer to protrude at first and they need to settle with the help of Rubber Magic etc. I will see how I go worst case is start again with Rares!!! Thank you for you thoughts.


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