Window felts - '68 with deluxe interior + reveal belt moldings

[DAVEN1256]

I'm wondering if anyone has found a decent set of inner and outer window felts for a '68 that has both the deluxe interior and the reveal belt moldings on the tops of the doors and quarter window area.

I have bought two sets and looked at another and they have all had issues. The most recent ones I tried were bought two or three years ago and the others were before that. So I don't know what improvements may have been made since them.

1st set: Ordered from Steele Rubber and got a box of Repops brand inside of a Steele shipping box. The problem with these was with the triangular shaped tabs on the outer felts that fit into slots on the reveal moldings and then get bent over. They were not stamped completely through and could not be pried up.

2nd set: Don't remember the brand but I looked at them in person at Eckler's facility in Titusville, FL. The same tabs on the outer felts that I mentioned above did not match up with the slots on my reveal moldings.

3rd set: These are PUI brand and pictured below. The outer felts fit my reveal moldings fine and other them not being as thick as I would have liked them (I wish the whiskers were longer), they are OK.......

The big problem with these is with the inner felts that attach to the door panel and rear seat side panels. The flat stainless steel bead on these that extends over the top of the door panel is not wide enough. Actually, it is the same width as the original GM but is offset and covers an 1/8 inch less of the top of the door panel than the original GM one did. That wouldn't be a big deal except the original stainless steel bead left a permanent indentation in the vinyl running the length of the door panel. The PUI piece doesn't cover it and it stands out like a sore thumb!

The short inner felt that goes on the top of the rear seat side panel for the quarter window has even more issues. It is 5/8 inch longer that the original GM piece. (Geez, how can you screw that up?) And also, where as the original GM piece was made with a gentle curve to exactly fit the curvature of the side panel, the PUI piece was formed as a straight piece and then hit with something to curve it. The whole piece is distorted at the curve and the curvature doesn't match the side panel. The fit is terrible!

So again, I was wondering if anyone has found a manufacturer they are happy with that didn't have the same issues as the ones above.

Thanks...........Dave

[cook_dw]

Idk of anyone out there that makes them 100% correct but from what I recall is the PUI is the best option unfortunately..  Sucks too..  And finding NOS is next to impossible at a reasonable price..  I think I recall someone I know (which I will keep his username silent aka "BLOODHOUND") scored a set off ebay not too long ago for his car IIRC..  But I might be miss-remembering..

[68camaroz28]

Great job Dave in showing exactly what is wrong. I have std. interior with the outside moldings and was fortunate to have NOS pieces from back in the 70's, but when I did review differences (bead, etc.) its hard to find anything that suits the need.
Good comparison again!

[DAVEN1256]

I will take a look on Ebay.

I know this has been said thousands of times before but if these companies are going to go through the trouble of making these parts, why don't they make them right?

It's hard to make sense out of it!

I don't want to put the originals back on but it might come down to that.

The attached picture shows the PUI outer felt attached to the reveal molding. The fit is OK. The "whiskers" are about an 1/8 inch thick. I have reproductions door windows and they have less curvature front to back than the original GM's. I was thinking that thicker "whiskers" might help fill the gap created at the center of the window by the flatter curved glass.......Has anyone found outer felts that are thicker than 1/8 inch that have mated up the reveal moldings without a problem?......I've seen thicker ones installed in cars but have no idea who made them

Thanks.....Dave