MTFCA Forum

Has anyone tried a pencil diameter type of weather stripping or felt under the deck lid on their coupe to keep water/rain out? Washed the Coupe for the first time today and used a fine spray to rinse off and was somewhat amazed that water made its way inside though the lid fits nicely and there is a rim around the opening.

Something self sticking under the lid would not be seen and easily removed if necessary.
Any thoughts? Can’t have the labels on the moonshine getting wet…….

Michael, McMaster-Carr has some self-stick foam strips of varying thicknesses and widths that are self stick. I used one for sealing the firewall to the top of the cowl on my '23 runabout and am very happy with it's fit and effectivity. It is stuck to the inside of the firewall and presses against the cowl where the almost-always-missing felt goes.

I'd suggest playing with a very thin version and applying it such that it sits directly on top of the raised lip to form the seal. You may wish to experiment with some clay to figure out where the greatest gap is and what the gap at the upper/hinge area is so as to select the correct thickness. I would not call it "easily removable" so plan to experiment with some short strips of various thicknesses first.

Scan to the bottom for some choices: https://www.mcmaster.com/strips/multipu ... -strips-6/

Depending on the type of foam material some of it doesn't hold up well and falls apart by crumbling. You may want to look at a rubber type window or door seal material. The rubber would hold up better and shed the water rather then absorb it. Look on the internet or at a big box store.

The coupe trunk deck lid is not intended to be water tight. The side chanels are rain gutters, and there should be holes in the floor at the end of the rain gutters for the water to flow out. The bottom lip of the deck hid overlaps the lower trunk panel so as long as you do not spray water in an upward angle, water should not go in. The top edge of the deck lid does use a seal, it is the same upholstery windlace that goes along the inside of the rear door pillar. Adding a foam or rubber seal along the bottom or sides of the deck lid is not necessary and may end up trapping water.

Jeff, How is the upholstery windlace held to the upper deck lid? Tacks? I assume it can be found by one of the Upholstery vendors? I have never seen original Coupe windlace. The ones in my Coupe are huge and would not work for the upper deck lid. Pictures? Thanks…..

The windlace is black vinal over a foam round core. Cross section of the round part is about 3/8. A metal strip holds it in place by sandwiching the windlace between the metal strip and the deck lid, all held together by round head screws and nuts. You will see the holes on the upper edge of the deck lid. Once the deck lid is installed you will not see the seal from the trunk.

Jeff, are you describing a '26-27?

I have a '19 and a '23...each are different but of similar design philosophy...what you're describing is entirely foreign to me...thus my question.

Yes I have a 1926 coupe, my posting relates to the 26-27 model T only.

I can't remember what size weather strip I got other than I had to slice it in half to fit, took the lid off, ran it all around and hasn't leaked since.