Okay to use one (and only one) URO seal on the hardtop????

[Bracq-Broke]

Hi all. I thought replacing headliner would be a weekend job. NOPE! Thanks to the technical manuals here i now know the procedure is 5 stars difficulty and the hardtop is now in a professional upholsters hands. I'm definitely replacing all the window and upper seals with MB original seals.

BUuuuttt.... my question here is in regards to that one lower seal along the rear bottom sitting against the car.

Of all the 7 seals the hardtop has, this on represents 80% the total cost of the other 6. Crazy. $800 or so from classic center and pelican parts etc.

However PP also has the URO equivalent. I've shied away from URO seals elsewhere but in this case it's $90 vs $800.
Being as this is a lower seal, i am considering saving some $ on this one and only this one.

Good idea? Bad Idea? have you had real direct experience with it? thanks.

Tom


$90 URO: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/1137900083.htm?pn=113-790-00-83-INT
$800 MB: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/1137900083.htm?pn=113-790-00-83-MBZ

(fwiw all the other hard top seals will all MB original... just asking about this one big ticket item above )

[johnk]

$90 vs $800 seems like a no brainer to me to at-least try it.

[Peter]

Very strange, I see that the official price in Europe is € 1.094,29. This looks like a mistake or day light robbery. Go for the less expensive one, its not a critical part.

Peter

[Bracq-Broke]

Agree. I remember when i bought my car and needed a first pass at restoring, seeing the MB grill star being $1000 and thinking wow! well, i guess there are no copies since that's a brand mark, but also thinking come on, MB, you're basically just proving you've got us where you want us. I now have 2 Bracq designed cars (fully restored 280C and 230SL) and you know how it is i can't help it, but, for a rubber gasket that isn't that critical, i'm going to get off the ride for a moment, indulge in a URO seal for that one only, and for the others, i'll plunk down double-URO prices but still reasonable prices for the other seals. Thanks for the advice, solidarity and camaraderie Tom

[Tomnistuff]

I used a URO hardtop to body rear seal for my hardtop restoration.  It was about 1-1/2 inches too long but I solved the problen by shortening one of the two identical ends of the seal.  It required a little trimming and sanding before applying rubber glue and pinching the end in a bench vise and litting it cure for twenty-four hours (just to make sure).
Before shortening it, I was unable to convince it to follow the long u-shaped path while compressing it to be the right length.  After shortening it, it did not try expand out of its needed path. It followed the curved path without the need to expand.
I don't like having to modify something I have bought in order to make it work but in this case there was no choice.
If yours fits without shortening it, It should work even better than mine.
Tom Kizer

[lowpad]

My once piece of advice from replacing the same seal last winter is to invest in good adhesive and closely follow the instructions (IOW, give the glue a chance to "set." I used a MB-brand adhesive I bought on eBay that didn't seem all that different from contact cement. The classic 3M black weatherstrip adhesive might also work. Be patient -- and try not to create a mess (I used masking tape to protect the inside of the top)! I was able to make it work (with a factory part) and it's now much better.

[66andBlue]

Agree. I remember when i bought my car and needed a first pass at restoring, seeing the MB grill star being $1000 and thinking wow! well, i guess there are no copies since that's a brand mark, but also thinking come on, MB, you're basically just proving you've got us where you want us. I now have 2 Bracq designed cars (fully restored 280C and 230SL) and you know how it is i can't help it, but, for a rubber gasket that isn't that critical, i'm going to get off the ride for a moment, indulge in a URO seal for that one only, and for the others, i'll plunk down double-URO prices but still reasonable prices for the other seals. Thanks for the advice, solidarity and camaraderie Tom

Any further news on this URO seal? Did you buy it and how well did it fit?
Thanks!