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Door Post "insulators":Good News/Bad News/Good News

Started by "Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364, February 19, 2023, 10:49:49 AM

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"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

The door post insulators (the plastic tube that fits on the post) on my 75 Cd Elegance were pretty shabby
and it was time to change them.
Good News: I had squirreled away 5 each 10 packs (total of 50+) of insulators I bought "a while back" knowing they might be hard to find.

Bad News: after trying a few and having all of them disintegrate virtually in my hands I realized that the plastic they were made of had long since lost its elasticity and were junk.

Good News Measured the OD of the insulators and the OD of the door post.  Bought 1' of PTFE plastic pipe with a 3/4 inch OD and 1/2" ID as well as a 9/16" drill bit.  Drilled out the pipe and cut it into lengths as required and now have enough for a while. Fortunately most of the other NOW parts I have stashed are not going to rot like the insulators did.
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

fishnjim

PTFE will outlast the Earth, so to speak.
It's a bit soft for this task so likely will groove out but won't stick!

I'm "guessing" they were "nylon" or something similar from the period without UV additives, so they degrade.  One of those minor details that is squirreled away somewhere in the past/archived. 
Crosslinked PE would be a good substitute, aka PEX, used for household water piping. 
The main info is the size OD & ID of those OEMs and needs preserved.

Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621

#2
10 to 15 turns of electrical tape around the door pin works perfectly. Nobody ever notices it. It will even outlast the original bushing.
A Cadillac Motorcar is a Possession for which there is no Acceptable Substitute

fishnjim

I thought about this some more, and a filled grade of TFE or nylon would also be good.  They use that for plastic gears so has more abrasion resist.
I'm surprised no one uses duct tape????   

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

In a daily driver with with an 800 pound (If I told you once I told you one hundred million, billion trillion times:don"t exaggerate) continuous door openings and closing it takes something more substantial than tape to last.
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621

Well in my case it's only lasted ten years so far... :)
A Cadillac Motorcar is a Possession for which there is no Acceptable Substitute