Correct installation of hood seal

[David Cashel]

I have found various information in published books on the correct placement for the glued join on the hood rubber.
My car is a 1960 Roaster and i would appreciate some feed back on this topic.
Information so far has been sourced from; Technical and Restoration guide Vol 2
and Neils Book and talking to other owners.
The Technician currently working on my car has many years experience with Porsche in particular 356 restoration. In his experience he believes the join in the rubber should be at the left hand rear corner of the opening inside the horse shoe retaining bracket about 2 inches towards the LH wiper post.
His reasoning is backed up by historical data based on the 20 or so cars he has restored from the ground up. He assures me all the T2 cars through to 1964 have 2 holes about 2 inches apart in this location, which he insists are there to support with screws and washers either side of the glued join.
Thank you in advance for your advice

[Barry Brisco]

See this article to answer your question: http://porsche356registry.org/resources ... ation.html

[roy mawbey]

David,

I reckon your guy is correct. The info Barry gave in his reply is very useful and correct but it does not identify the position for the 2 ends to meet. I installed a new seal I guess about 2 -3 years ago on my 'A'. Following that procedure, it worked well but I decided to put the the 2 ends together in the middle of the windscreen end using an adhesive.

This is not the best way. Over time the rubber moves a lttle and although the 2 edges are still together one has slipped a little against the other.

I bought new 'horseshoe' shaped corner pieces and really wish I had put the joins under one of these as your guy has already done before. Its correct, the screw holes are closer together which would also help.

I also found a new seal looks super but its so important the hood closes down on it correctly. It surprising how my old rubber was sort of flattened over years and the new one gave me trouble getting the hood 'gap' correct. The hood sat too high when closed and only now after time has it lowered to be correct. Maybe some some rubber seals are more flexible than others or there is a trick in fitting.

Hope yours goes well.

Roy
RHD356A super75 106954

[Barry Brisco]

The info Barry gave in his reply is very useful and correct but it does not identify the position for the 2 ends to meet.

Hi Roy,

The diagram shown in the article I referenced does indicate where the ends are joined. See below on the left where it states "Seal union between screws 1 & 2".



Best regards,

[roy mawbey]

Oops sorry Barry, I never noticed that even when I did it I should always read instructions more carefully!!
It proves though that this is the correct way to do it.

Cheers

Roy
RHD356A super75 106954

[Bruce Baker]

The Factory B book in 1BO, comment #1 says that "The strip is glued to the body and held in place by screws." That's pretty clear, but there may be variants, of course.

Abetted by the Factory's air-brushing of minor details in Workshop Manual pictures and seeing several 356s with 'original' gaskets joined inboard on the horseshoe between the last 2 screws, I tend to disregard those who only want to believe there is only one way anything was done on a 356's assembly. ( )

Joining the rubber hood seal's trimmed ends is hard enough, so I usually make the joint where it is less noticeable, around the corner toward the cowl instead of the fender end but still within the metal horseshoe. (My version of airbrushing or fulfilling an 'outlaw' tendancy. ) This is facing forward, on the right side of the 356.

Ron Roland mentions in his book that the seal's joint should be on the fender end of the curved reinforcement on the right side of the 356, but specifically includes a mention of that being for left hand drive cars, so perhaps the joint on the RHD 356s is on the left....but I don't know why that would be important as a detail switch...but I guess "when in Hong Kong, do as the Hong Kong do."

[Barry Brisco]

It proves though that this is the correct way to do it.

Roy, no worries, but to me it only proves that the writer of that article, Manuel Campuzano, believes that is the way to do it. Others may agree, or may not agree.

What I believe is that Porsche did not necessarily do it that particular way 100% of the time on all 356s. I'm sure there were variations. But I think in most cases that is the way it was done.

Best regards,

[Tom Scott]

EVERY original 356 that I have ever seen, that numbers at least 50 cars, has had the hood seal joint on the passenger side, half way between the first and second screw on the horseshoe corner, as shown in the Barry Brisco diagram above. The secret to having a tight fit at the joint is to cut one end about 1/4" longer than necessary and have the ends butt up against the other and smooth the slack out along the rest of the seal. Also, for some reason I have never understood, it is almost impossible to make the joint at 90 degrees to each other. I cut both of the ends at about 92-95 degrees, with the excess to the outside. Also, before making the final cut, do a cut on the excess piece of the seal and test fit the end. If you don't like the fit, do another until it is perfect. Then use this angle for the final. I prefer using a good pair of scissors
for the cutting.
These procedures results in some of the most beautiful joints I have ever seen, almost perfect I must say.

Dr. Screws

[Barry Brisco]

EVERY original 356 that I have ever seen, that numbers at least 50 cars, has had the hood seal joint on the passenger side, half way between the first and second screw on the horseshoe corner, as shown in the Barry Brisco diagram above.

Thanks, but credit where credit is due: Manuel Campuzano created the diagram shown in my post, not me.

Barry

[David Cashel]

Dear All thank you for the time spent with your response to my question and I will be installing the hood seal as per the drawing.
Kind Regards
David Cashel
1960 Roadster Hong Kong