THE RUBBER PART OF A RESTORATION: NOT GLAMOROUS BUT VERY NECESSARY

Every vintage vehicle has a big list of rubber components that matter-a lot. Rubber has a pretty good shelf life, but it should always be replaced in a restoration project that you want to last.

Older vehicles will benefit heavily from new weather-stripping, windshield gaskets, or even the rubber stoppers under the hood.

Not to mention new engine rubber mounts under the same hood.

Wind noise is a basic reason for rubber replacement around the doors and vent windows. You will appreciate the difference if you drive your pre-restoration vintage ride down the highway at 70 mph. The noise from eroded rubber seals around the windows will remind you that old vehicles have a lot of character, but the sound of hurricane force winds is not a serenade you will like after a couple of hours.

These days the job of rubber replacement is a lot easier than it was twenty years ago when my brother Jerry found himself at the mercy of every surly flake with 1959 Plymouth rubber components. Supply and demand meant that these guys could supply him with precious product and demand a blood diamond ransom for their efforts.

Don't like the price? Go to the next supplier- oh yeah, right- there wasn't one. So Jerry accepted the reality of the situation and lived with legal robbery as a part of the restoration process. Call it battered customer syndrome and accept your fate, even if some of the components were not even the right ones. Like his rear window seal.

Step forward 20 years and the game has changed completely in this rubber replacement world. Steele Rubber Products have expanded into the market in a big way. They have listened to the multitude of car guys that have vehicles that are a little off the beaten path.

These days a car guy can contact Steele Rubber through their website and find a reputable and principled supplier for their unusual vintage restoration projects. Most guys want to do the restoration process once- and only once. So a rubber seal leak around a windshield or rear window can begin the rust problem again, if the water follows a path into the dash or trunk lid area. These are nightmare scenarios for anyone that has invested an enormous boatload of cash into a restoration. Rust never sleeps-just ask Neil Young, but water has to get there first, and a good rubber seal will prevent that intrusion.

Maybe Jerry got into the game a little too early to benefit from the internet world of commerce and the huge list of available rubber products from Steele Rubber. But that doesn't mean that you can't benefit from the dawn of a new era in rubber replacement.

Here's a link to the Steele Rubber website and online catalog.