windshield seal alternatives

In a different direction, has anyone looked into the possibility of having someone besides BMW manufacture the part? For example in the the vintage Mustang world, Daniel Carpenter Mustang Reproduction Parts produces excellent windshield weatherstripping for mid to late 1960's Mustangs. I realize that the Mustang market is larger, but if this crowd is looking at paying $500 per unit, you are a lot closer than you think to covering the tooling cost.
 
I spoke to a couple independent places who make gaskets. Smallest amount I would have had to front to get it done was like $20,000 worth. Most places said they had no interest for that model car. Seems crazy we can't get them, I wrote BMW Mobile Traditions as all I got was put in orders and we'll see.
 
to be honest, I haven't called the dealer to see if they are in stock yet. I'll try to do that tomorrow or Thursday
 
Thanks for the reminder. I just ordered four of the window crank plugs (22 left in the U.S.) I'll put in my seal order when I pick them up.

duct-tape said:
okay, but what do you do when there is NONE?
what do the old hotrodders do when nobody has made a part they need for like 40 years?
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I've often wondered that myself but have never gotten deep enough into the industry (NOT hobby at this point) to find out. What do the guys like Leno and the Peterson Museum do for NLA parts? Or the guys that do Duesenberg's? They're not going to use some cheap knock off stuff
 
Bwana said:
Thanks for the reminder. I just ordered four of the window crank plugs (22 left in the U.S.) I'll put in my seal order when I pick them up. I've often wondered that myself but have never gotten deep enough into the industry (NOT hobby at this point) to find out. What do the guys like Leno and the Peterson Museum do for NLA parts? Or the guys that do Duesenberg's? They're not going to use some cheap knock off stuff
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edited reply below
 
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okay folks heres what I know;

I've made 9 phone calls to BMW mostly resulting in people who were very confused about how things work and what NLA means. lol
BMW has a standing order for 460 of the later 8284 part number, they were supposed to be fulfilled on March 1st and shipped but from what I have found, they were not ever produced.
I don't know where that leaves us, but at this time, I'm going to work on modifying the e12 gasket I bought to test out. I bought it here;
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-uro-parts/windshield-seal/51311822185~uro/
 
Here is how the e12 gasket fits. It's correct at the bottom corners and about 2 inches too long at the top. I plan to make a cut and remove 1.5 inch, glue/cure and then test fit it. If it's still loose, I can take out more.
 

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dp said:
The parts are almost always out there. But public forums are seldom the place those high end guys look for their parts needs, despite what we see on velocity television.
Public forums are entertainment for a lot of people, but every one of us know the potential for a collossal waste of time in them. The high end guys don't b.s. around much, heck thats probably why they are high end! hah! Now, its likely 3/4 of the Bavaria fans reading this are on one hand totally excited to think the E3 is "getting deserved attention" but on the other would immediately balk at 3-400 bucks for a windshield weatherstrip and just get totally outraged...even though that weatherstrip (early or late style) hasn't been available from BMW for up to 5 years, and even if it would be needed to finish a 3000 dollar car just to keep the rain out, or a 950 point gorgeous restoration. But you can't even chuckle about such dichotomy without some anonymous netizen getting their panties in a bunch, or some rat-bastard-hating SSR-type deciding to be amusingly offensive. Friends hanging out in a garage together most of us ain't. So, the people who have the stuff don't go out of their way anymore to publicly proclaim their stash. -30-
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duct-tape said:
Here is how the e12 gasket fits. It's correct at the bottom corners and about 2 inches too long at the top. I plan to make a cut and remove 1.5 inch, glue/cure and then test fit it. If it's still loose, I can take out more.
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Will you be using this in an early or late e3 and what trim do you think will fit?
 
I have early trim. From what I understand, the depth of the trim is the same, the width is different, but should fit. The early trim is narrower.
No promises because my time seems to be managed by other people, but I will try to get the trim pulled out and test fit this weekend
 
Bwana said:
Thanks for the reminder. I just ordered four of the window crank plugs (22 left in the U.S.) I'll put in my seal order when I pick them up.



I've often wondered that myself but have never gotten deep enough into the industry (NOT hobby at this point) to find out. What do the guys like Leno and the Peterson Museum do for NLA parts? Or the guys that do Duesenberg's? They're not going to use some cheap knock off stuff
Click to expand...

Been to Leno's a few times...he can either make, in house, or have made whatever he wants...it's good to be the king..:) unbelievable place.
 
My local dealer (Woodlands North) was able to ID the part and confirmed it is NLA but has put me on the backorder list. So it's still available for backorder which is better than some parts that can no longer be accessed in the system at all. So we'll see what happens. Only 399 left to order!
 
there's actually 460 already preordered. which is why it was supposed to have a run done in march.
 
Lack of windshield seal availability seems to be a frustration for many of us. I know I would love to replace my screen (slightly cracked on the passenger side), but without a replacement seal I'm not sure I would want to chance it even If I had the new glass on hand.

How does the cross section of the e3 seal vary from an e9 or e10 chassis? Sounds like the e12 gasket is close, but is this a size issue or a shape issue? Shortening it and sealing it with some windshield urethane seems viable if the shape is right and the trim can fit. No problem to urethane any questionable areas to prevent leaks in my mind, as long as the result is presentable.

It is hard to imagine that anyone other than BMW would be interested in tooling up to manufacture these seals. Realistically, there are probably less than 100 people on the planet right now who would genuinely drop $800 for a E3 seal (probably would need to cost more for the manufacturer to make any sort of margin). Once the seals are finally produced and become available, everyone who needs one buys them, and then what? Hard to imagine it being a profitable affair.

Right now, BMW has the tooling available, so it seems like encouraging a production run is the best option. Wonder what it would take to get them to reproduce, obviously ordering through the dealer network is not cutting it. Anyone have a contact at the ivory tower or mobile traditions? Making these seems like much more of a favor to the enthusiast community than a viable business decision.
 
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I would encourage everyone to contact mobile traditions. I did so over a year ago and got a "get your order in and good luck" response. Maybe if they hear it directly enough they will get off the dime. I'm not sure BMW has the molds for this, Alexander at W&N told me the previous supplier is out of business, which may be the issue holding up making a run. Here is the reply I got from BMW:

Dear Mr. Haas,



Thank you kindly for your email.

We are pleased about you contacting the BMW Classic Part Shop.

Readily we investigated the availability of the part number 51 31 1 823 080.

Unfortunately we have to inform you, that this is not given anymore. You have the possibility of a pre - order at your BMW dealiership.


If you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to contact us
via email or telephone.
Our opening hours are: Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (CET).


Yours sincerely,



Aysun Kazan
--
BMW Classic Part Shop Customer Service
Aysun Kazan



Tel.: +49 800 – 60 70 700 Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (CET)
Mail: [email protected]
 
How do we find out who was manufacturing these seals for BMW? I suppose if BMW was contracting the production out (makes sense), and the last run was two or three decades ago by a now defunct group, the tooling may be long gone by now. If one could find out who mas the manufacturer, the tooling could likely be tracked down, maybe even purchased.

Based on that email from Aysun Kazan at BMW Classic, chances of production feel very slim. Probably need to get in touch with someone a little higher up than a CS rep to get any real answers.

@duct-tape -- How did the test fit go?
 
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