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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
I need some advice from those that have replaced the outer window sweeps. The '82 has some pretty nasty looking sweeps now, so I need to replace them.
While checking eBay, I found prices as low as $38 to $200. I also found manufacturers from AM Autoparts, PR, 1AAuto, Fairchild Industries, etc. The biggest thing I found is that the prices even vary among the same seller!!
Does anybody know which ones are decent? I don't want crap! Thanks
But when looking at the their ad, they all have different part numbers and a different manufacturer listed. If every single one is the same, then the PR branded, for $38, is the way to go. I just don't want ill fitting pieces that will look like crap in 6 months. I need actual confirmation that they are all the same, manufactured by Fairchild.
Occasionally, NOS pop up as well. I bought NOS and paid around a hundred bucks. I bought the inner sweeps from 1A and the quality and price were both good. The outer sweeps are probably good too.
If it's made and branded Fairchild Industries, I'll buy it before it's branded with any other name.
I don't know who makes what,... but I've found that Fairchild branded seals fit better than any other seals ( of the same type ) that I've ever tried. I don't remember the names of the other seals that didn't work; because I only remembered the name of the one brand that always fit the best.
Be mindful when you get them there may be some fitment issues, I had to re drill and screw or rivet mine into place for a few holes. That aside, the ones from 1Aauto are great quality.
Be mindful when you get them there may be some fitment issues, I had to re drill and screw or rivet mine into place for a few holes. That aside, the ones from 1Aauto are great quality.
If they're manufactured to GM spec, they should fit perfectly. I don't want anything that I need to modify to make fit correctly. If the ones from 1AAuto require work to make fit, then I will not buy from 1AAuto. That's the information I'm looking for.
Who has the best replacement window sweeps? I will buy those. Thanks
If they're manufactured to GM spec, they should fit perfectly. I don't want anything that I need to modify to make fit correctly. If the ones from 1AAuto require work to make fit, then I will not buy from 1AAuto. That's the information I'm looking for.
Who has the best replacement window sweeps? I will buy those. Thanks
Scott - I used original GM and not all the holes lined up perfectly.
The problem is that at the factory there was very likely some pretty wide "allowable tolerances" with respect to where the tool behind the tool drilled the self-tapping screws in. Such that every vehicle is not the same. So regardless of whether you *want* to modify it or not - you will be modifying it if you want to use all the screws that came out. I just used a small drill bit and punched holes where needed and evenly spaced the original screws in appropriate positions. As noted the official GM supplier likely changed over the years and so even "factory" seals are not going to line up perfectly with respect to the mounting holes.
I just bought an ACDelco brand new alternator for my third gen. It's made in China. I guarantee that was not the case in 1986. It worked fine but the fitment wasn't *perfect*. That's just the way it is.
Heck the body panel and interior fitment on a third gen is some of the worst in the history of automobile manufacturing. Made at the height of overpaid, lazy, American auto worker union jobs. And the F body probably got the more skilled labor of the pool GM had to draw upon. It was a flagship product. The fit and finish of a third gen is deplorable by modern standards.
GD
Last edited by GeneralDisorder; 06-02-2017 at 06:29 PM.
My A1 Auto sweeps are too short on the screw strip, i.e. the rear of each sweep is too short for that last screw. Will need to drill new hole for each door.
But maybe worse is the passenger door installer must have been hung over on Monday June 18, 1984 because half of the screws missed the factory holes and were installed low through the strip. Self tapping screws. Some holes can be redrilled in correct location, some will need to be installed in the incorrect "factory" location by drilling through wrong spot on strip, outside the sweep holes.
If you can find sweeps that you don't need to redrill that last hole because sweep screw strip is too short, then do it.
I compared my Precision brand made in Taiwan sweeps from 1A Auto to those at the factory showroom at Metro Moulded parts in Coon Rapids, MN. Their strip was also too short at rear end. I don't know if Metro manufactures their sweeps. They were different from Precision only in had brass rivets instead of Precision silver. I think GM had silver rivets, too. But should not be a deciding factor because small and not visible.
I plan to use the 1A sweeps because getting too close in time to putting side glass back in. Can live with the short strips because need to redrill a few other holes anyway. None will be visible.
It's also possible that my factory sweeps are unique for a period during manufacturing. Perhaps the correct more common location is the shorter reproduction strip holes, and in '84 Van Nuys were longer for a while.
I got mine from Hawks. Don't know the brand. They were not too short but the holes weren't even close. A few on the ends lined up and most of the rest I had to drill to match the new strip. Not really a big deal though. They look and function correctly.
Well Tony just FYI, I bought a pair of the outer window seals from GM dealer decade ago, Had them professionally installed and one of the felt pieces came loose and scratched the f$@!% out my window glass
So I finally purchased some window sweeps and I got them from 1A Auto. Not sure if I got a good deal or not, but based on what others have said, I went with it. Like everyone else, I had holes that didn't align. I even laid the new set on top of the old set and the holes were perfect, but not so much when put on the door.
Now, the work I'm doing is on the '82. I think I ran across more 1 year only stuff. The screws that hold the molding to the door are philips head screws! There are two screws behind the window that aren't easily accessible. These are the same two that I'm sure everyone has issues with, but mine require a screw driver and not a wrench. The window doesn't go down far enough for a regular screw driver and the opening isn't wide enough to pull the the window in and get a 90* screw driver in there. What a pain!
I also noticed that the front triangle assemble doesn't install the same as I found on the youtube videos. I was able to remove it fairly easily but I have a ghost nut I need to find now. There are the two 10mm bolts that are near the top (Location A, no biggie there), there is one bolt that is accessed from inside the door (location B), near the top that keeps the triangle properly angled, and there is one bolt and a nut/washer about 1/3 way down the door that stabilizes the bottom of the assembly (location C). That bottom bolt screws into the bottom of the triangle assembly and the nut/washer attaches to the inside of the door frame. I dropped that nut/washer inside the door and I can't find it! How do you lose a 1" washer with a nut attached inside the door? There is no place for it to hide and I can't find it. I put everything back together except that washer/nut. Blows my mind that it fell inside the door and can't be found. There's no place to hide!!!!
Different factories did things different and they changed stuff at will and according to on-site management and availability of fasteners, etc. I have two 1986 Trans Am's that are nearly identical - Both LB9 automatic, BW 9 bolt, etc. One is white and one is redish copper colored.... the rubber side moldings on the car were identical but one had all rivets, and one had all tiny Phillips screws... why? Because they needed fasteners and something changed - riveting tools broke down, or couldn't get rivets, ran out, etc. So they switched to screws. It's just the way manufacturing goes sometimes.
The mounting screws are still phillips in '84. I saw no way to remove some without a lot of window track disassembly. I don't recall if I had to remove glass rivets before full access to the screws, or only removing door track with window attached from rest of window lift assembly. GM design of the Bic lighter disposable car.
When I did my 84 I just removed the plastic lower window stops
and lowered the window below the opening to access the phillips
head screws.
Yes I had to unbolt the corner triangle piece to get to the screws
under it.
The only issue was punching a hole or 2 in thesweep to line up
with the factory holes and having to drill one new hole thru the
sweep AND door to secure the end of the sweep near the end of
the door.
Without thAt extra drilled hole the end of the sweep would of been
loose and easily moved or bent out of shape with daily use of car.
You may be on to something. My glass was coming out anyway so I must have missed that option. But I do know the only plastic parts in mine were the rollers. Everything else including the stops were steel. Not sure why my car was different.
I thought I had posted photos in my repaint thread, but see I did not. At present those photos are on another computer. I can update my repaint thread with that info one of these days.
On second thought there may have been plastic stops riveted to something. Now I'm more curious about it.
I found a few reference photos and posted them at above link. Yeah, my car is different than yours. My only plastic stopper keeps the window from rolling up too far.
Downward the glass bottoms out at rubber bumper of track hitting bottom of door, so glass always goes down as far as it can, unless start to pull rollers from tracks to get the front of window lower. But access to front screws is not the issue anyway, except for pulling the triangle out of way.
I think I still might have a set of original GM around somewhere. $500 and they are yours. I bought 2 sets a long time ago, one is on my 87, the other was going to go on my convertible... might have to find them tho.
I think I still might have a set of original GM around somewhere. $500 and they are yours. I bought 2 sets a long time ago, one is on my 87, the other was going to go on my convertible... might have to find them tho.
I don't know what the going price is now, but a few years ago, I paid about a hundred and change for NOS outer window sweeps. I think I got them from Third Gen ranch. He is selling repro now, so they might be hard to get.
John's just trying to recover some costs from this summer that I think he blames me for? He came to visit and goes home with a new car!
The costs of the repro sets are still about the same and they look identical to original. The problem with original is that the rubber is still at least 25 years old, so I'm not willing to put them on my car.
John's just trying to recover some costs from this summer that I think he blames me for? He came to visit and goes home with a new car!
The costs of the repro sets are still about the same and they look identical to original. The problem with original is that the rubber is still at least 25 years old, so I'm not willing to put them on my car.
I used the NOS and the rubber was still soft. But I had holes that did not line up right and the repros do look good. If I was buying today I would probably go repro.
It seems that the holes aren't lining up on any of them. I would have to ask why that is. I took them off the '82, laid them out on top of the new ones and they were a perfect match for the holes. When installing, I found the same issues as others that new holes needed to be made, including at the rear of the door where the molding was too short to fit the existing hole.
How is that even possible that they are an exact match until installation?
I would be interested to hear how people are installing them, where do you put your first screw etc. Suggestion, don't tighten any screw until all screws are started.
I originally put the first screw in at the front of the door, but found none of the screw holes lined up. I removed that screw and restarted at one of the middle screws. That allowed the majority to be installed except the very front and very rear, which required new holes to be created.
for the two screws behind the glass, I used a small ratcheting socket and one of those detachable screwdriver heads to put them in and take them out, was not an easy project but it got it done.
I finished the passenger side today and took some pictures of what everyone seems to be experiencing. In the first pic, you'll see my comparison of the old and new. The new molding is just slightly raised due to the angle of the photo. You can see all of the holes lined up, except the hole that attaches at the rear of the door (at the top).
The second pic shows just how far off that one screw is. You can see that the notch in the molding is cut longer than the original, thus the hole being in the wrong place.
Lastly, the finished product. It came out looking good and makes me feel so much better about the exterior of the car. I just need new tires, and the exterior will be complete. Then I can start on the mechanical!
I bought Fairchild's kit to replace the rubber around the door and sweeps. I was hoping to put them in this summer, but a remodel of a duplex took longer then expected.
I will wait until warmer weather to do all of it next year. I was at least able to install new seats and fix several small problems. Sweeps and new rubber seals all around the car are on my list for next year. So glad this forum is around. It makes it so much easier so see what others have done and had to do to keep these cars in good shape and running!
My A1 Auto sweeps are too short on the screw strip, i.e. the rear of each sweep is too short for that last screw. Will need to drill new hole for each door.
But maybe worse is the passenger door installer must have been hung over on Monday June 18, 1984 because half of the screws missed the factory holes and were installed low through the strip. Self tapping screws. Some holes can be redrilled in correct location, some will need to be installed in the incorrect "factory" location by drilling through wrong spot on strip, outside the sweep holes.
If you can find sweeps that you don't need to redrill that last hole because sweep screw strip is too short, then do it.
I compared my Precision brand made in Taiwan sweeps from 1A Auto to those at the factory showroom at Metro Moulded parts in Coon Rapids, MN. Their strip was also too short at rear end. I don't know if Metro manufactures their sweeps. They were different from Precision only in had brass rivets instead of Precision silver. I think GM had silver rivets, too. But should not be a deciding factor because small and not visible.
I plan to use the 1A sweeps because getting too close in time to putting side glass back in. Can live with the short strips because need to redrill a few other holes anyway. None will be visible.
It's also possible that my factory sweeps are unique for a period during manufacturing. Perhaps the correct more common location is the shorter reproduction strip holes, and in '84 Van Nuys were longer for a while.
Thank you for this! My 1984 passenger door sweep was too low when I bolted it up. I mangled the new sweep too much when I tried to get the rubber lip over the frame. So, I get to buy a new one. And when I get it, two holes in the sweep will need to be extended vertically. And the last hole will need to be re-drilled. This project is taking waaaay too long!
This worked for me on my 1984 passenger side. I used a drill and dremel to extend three window sweep holes vertically. I extended the last hole horizontally. The sweep fit in the factory drilled holes. The screws were still able to grip and secure the sweep when tightened.
the driver side will fit by only extending that last hole horizontally.
05-30-2017, 05:59 PM
Same Here,One Hole Was Off With Original GM Part Bought From The Dealer. 
