I didn't really want to get involved in this discussion but I feel compelled to clear up a few misconceptions.
When I jumped back into the Fiero world 3 years ago, I bought an '87 GT that had a ratty trunk seal. I went to buy an OEM piece only to find they had long since been discontinued. I wasn't about to pay $300 for a N.O.S. piece as synthetic rubber, especially the foam rubber that the factory units are made of oxidize. Even if sealed in a bag, they still decompose. Having a very long time client in the rubber fabrication business, I cut a piece from my stock seal and asked them if they could replicate it. Initially, I was only looking to make one for myself but I decided if I was going to make a new seal I would improve on the original equipment to either eliminate or at very least delay the failure points which I think I have accomplished. In my extremely extensive research I discovered a few things about weather strip construction and rubber fabrication that I dare say most don't know, nor understand.
Basic tooling for extruded gasket usually runs about $400 however, because of the complex shape and construction on the factory trunk seal mine ran 20x that when factoring in the 3 sets of tooling made. Second, a hybrid molded piece (both EPDM and foam) like the factory seal can be made in 2 stages but the tooling would cost upwards of $50K (but generate a very low part cost). A "corners only" mold would be less costly for tooling but more expensive per piece. As far as matching the original, that was never my goal because some of the characteristics of that part were never needed.
The weep holes were not there to let out water they were there as a byproduct of the inflation nozzle from the injection molding process. Foam rubber when molded will collapse on itself if unsupported during curing (something we fought with in our extruded parts) Nitrogen is injected to "inflate" the foam outward to hold the gasket against the sides inside the closed loop mold. As a side benefit these holes also allow air to escape from the seals "balloon" when compressing the gasket by closing the deck lids. Mine have these holes but they are the single most common failure point on the factory piece. My extrusion is considerably stronger than the factory compound and I do not anticipate failure at the weep holes. Second, my initial run of seal were made in a continuous extrusion and then cut and mitered. After literally dozens of bonding agents I came to the conclusion that while the mitered corners look far nicer than the lumpy factory gasket, there is simply no way to bond them strong enough to match a molded corner. My initial run was 5000' of extrusion (the minimum the fabricator would produce) That is enough material to produce about 450 seals and at $3.00+ a foot you can do the math. I decided to make a molded corner that could be retrofitted into my existing extrusion for 2 reasons. First to make a better product and second so that I wouldn't abandon those that supported my project in the first place. I didn't want innovation to leave them with an inferior product and I have offered to upgrade their seals with new corners for the cost on my materials provided they ship me the original back. Shipping delays have stretched the patience of many that bought my Gen III (understandably) but I am finally catching up on back orders and nearly up to date. I found it curious that after I did the R&D, invested in tooling and extrusion and publicly posted my findings suddenly there is another sleeping giant in the market. While I have no ill feelings toward TFS for producing and fabricating trunk seals, this is after all just business, I do however, find the timing of their product launch and their emailing nearly every person that posted on my thread suspect. Being big enough to squeeze anyone that encroaches into the parts market and drive them out of business is not a model I want to follow. And certainly not by letting others do the innovating and development and then sweeping in with a cheaper (in quality more often than price) part to do it. TFS's part and mine are completely different and I have nothing to do with their product. TFS does not owe me a thing and never will. It's business.
My trunk seal project has been a very bumpy ride and I certainly haven't been the best communicator throughout this run. A relapse of colon cancer sure hasn't helped the situation either. I have however, produced a good product at what I feel is a fair price. So let the critics and cheapskates be the first to step forward and put up
their own money to develop and produce a product.
Pax,
Will
P.S. Angel your seal shipped today
[This message has been edited by infinitewill (edited 07-09-2011).]
