Hard top seals??

[kp texan]

I'm about to pull the hard top on my '88 K5 for the first time and I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna need new seals before I put it back on. After reading alot of posts saying that the GM factory seals are much better than LMC, I tracked down the part numbers and prices which are as follows:

Header Seal, shell side- 15590455, $36.93
Header Seal, body side- 357490, $33.97
Rail Seal, DS- 358589, $50.68
Rail Seal, PS- 358590, $50.68

Bear in mind that these are discount prices from someone I know at a Chevrolet dealer. I've decided to buy both OEM header seals but is there any sort of aftermarket seal that can be used in place of the GM rail seal (I'm talking about a certain type of topper weatherstripping that can be bought in a roll)? I'm not really cheap but $50 a piece seems pretty steep for the bed rail seals and I know people seal aftermarket fiberglass tops all the time on truck bed rails with some form of roll foam or rubber seal. Let me know what you guys have done to seal the top to the rails.

Thanks,

Wes

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

My top didn't get taken off for the first 25 years of its life and all of the seals were in good shape and sealed fine. I would wait to see what yours look like to decide whether or not to replace them.

 

[kp texan]

I'm guessing mine probably aren't that good. I've got a bead of clear silicone that the original owner put between the top and the cab (by the way, how hard is it going to be to get that stuff off the paint on the back of the cab?) and whenever I push my finger into the seal between the top and bedrails, it seems pretty brittle and not flexible. So anyone else have experience with the seal between bed rails and hard top?

Thanks so much,

Wes

 

[AZ79K5Project]

Check Amazon for generic. Really cheap and free shipping.