1973 GTO/LEMANS HOOD TO COWL SEAL FOUND

I HAVE TWO {2} 1973 PONTIAC GTO'S...ONLY 4,806 WERE MADE...SO MANY PARTS COMPANIES DO NOT MAKE CERTAIN PARTS.

I FOUND THIS TRUE OF THE "HOOD TO COWLING SEAL". THEY MAKE THEM FOR ALL THE PRIOR YEARS, BUT THESE ARE FROM 54" TO 59 INCHES LONG...MUCH TOO SHORT IN LENGTH FOR THE 73 GTO/LEMANS.

THE HOOD TO COWLING ON A 73 GTO/LEMANS IS "65 INCHES LONG". AFTER A LOT OF RESEARCH, I ACTUALLY FOUND AN ALMOST IDENTICAL MATCH

PLEASE READ THE BELOW COMMENTS ON WHERE TO LOCATE THIS PARTICULAR SEAL...AND ALSO HOW I FOUND COWLING CLIPS THAT ACTUALLY FIT THE COWLING HOLES FOR THE 1973 PONTIAC GTO.

AFTER CHECKING MANY ON-LINE SITES & SPEAKING WITH DIFFERENT PERSONS ON THESE SITES...ONE HELPFUL PERSON SUGGESTED I CONTACT "SOFTSEAL.COM" AND SUPPLIED THIER PH# 1-800-426-0902.

AS ALWAYS, THEY ASK FOR THE MAKE & MODEL...& THEN REPLIED THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A "COWLING SEAL" FOR A 1973 GTO....NO SURPRISE...I'M USED TO THAT RESPONSE...BUT, THEN, AND THIS IS A FIRST...THE OPERATOR SUGGESTED I CHECK THEIR "UNIVERSAL PRODUCTS"...THAT SMALL COMMENT LED ME TO WHAT I NEEDED.

THE SUBSEQUENT PRODUCT PHOTOS I REVIEWED, LED ME TO AN ALMOST IDENTICAL SIDE VIEW AND EXACT DIMENTIONS THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR

...ADDITIONALLY, IT WAS NOTED THAT "SOFTSEAL" SELLS THIS COWLING SEAL IN 10 FOOT LENGTHS...WELL OVER THE 65 INCHES REQUIRED...BEFORE, ALL I COULD FIND WERE SEALS THAT WERE TOO SHORT...NOW I'M BEING OFFERED A SEAL WAY TOO LONG...SO I ASKED IF I COULD HAVE THE LENGTH INCREASED TO 11 FEET...GIVING ME ENOUGH COWLING SEAL TO ACTUALLY DO TWO CARS.

{PERSONALLY, I THINK THEY WILL OFFER IT IN A SHORTER LENGTH, BY THE FOOT, IF YOU ASK...SO I COULD HAVE ASKED FOR 6 FOOT, AT A LOWER PRICE} DOESN'T HURT TO ASK. ANYWAYS, I ORDERED 11 FEET, SINCE I HAVE TWO 73 GTO'S.

I THEN WENT ON-LINE TO EBAY AND ORDERED "COWLING CLIPS...COST $ 12.00...ONLY TO ARRIVE & BE WAY TOO THICK TO FIT MY 73 GTO COWLING HOLES. THEY WOULD NOT EVEN HAMMER INTO THE HOLE....{THAT WAS $ 12.00 WASTED}

I THEN WENT TO "LOWES" HOME IMPROVEMENT...DON'T LAUGH...THEIR HARDWARE DEPT, {WHERE THE SCREWS ARE}...ACTUALLY HAS 10-14 DRAWERS CONTAINING BLACK, AS WELL AS STAINLESS STEEL AUTOMOTIVE SCREWS & CONNECTORS, EVEN RUBBER WASHERS THAT CANNOT BE FOUND IN THE PARTS STORES

...A VERY HELPFUL WORKER HELPED ME LOOK THRU VARIOUS "GM PUSH IN“ FASTENERS...A LITTLE BIT OF TRAIL & ERROR AND THE RIGHT FASTENERS WERE FOUND...AND AT A MUCH CHEAPER COST THAN ON-LINE.

BELOW ARE THE SPECIFICS OF HOW I LOCATED THESE ITEMS..."STEP BY STEP"...I HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL TO SOME OF YOU.

…01-14-2013…ORDERED HOOD TO COWLING SEAL FROM SOFTSEAL.COM
…MEASUREMENTS FROM MY TWO {2} 1973 GTO’S…LENGTH: 65 INCHES
…HOOD TO COWLING: 65 INCHES….12 HOLES...ORDERED FROM SOFT SEAL.COM…1-800-426-0902

TO VIEW UNIVERSAL SEALS ON SITE…DO NOT SELECT CAR MANUFACTURER OR MAKE & MODEL
SELECT FROM LEFT HAND COLUMN…GO PAST CAR TYPES…
…JUST BELOW CAR TYPES…MOVE "MOUSE" TO “UNIVERSAL PARTS”…

THEN 4 SELECTIONS APPEAR…MOVE “MOUSE” TO “EXTRUSION”…THEN "DOUBLE CLICK" WILL SHOW APPROX 180 TYPES OF SEALS

…VIEW PHOTOS & SIDE VIEWS OF VARIOUS RUBBER SEALS.
…ON PAGE 4…PART THAT MOST MATCHES PROFILE FOR 1973 GTO/LEMANS
***PART # SR E 10710 …10 FEET @ $ 37.91
…$ 3.00 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL FOOT + SHIPPING

01-14-2013…I ORDERED 11 FEET…ENOUGH FOR TWO {2} CARS.
***10 FEET IS 37.91…EXTRA FOOT IS ENOUGH FOR TWO CARS

…SOFTSEAL, INC…104 MAY DRIVE, HARRISON, OH 45030
PHONE# 1-800 426-0902
SOFT SEAL.COM
NOTE: CLIPS BOUGHT ON E-BAY WOULD NOT FIT.
COSTS # 12.00 + SHIPPING…BETTER SOLUTION BELOW

01-24-2013…BOUGHT GM COWLING CLIPS AT “LOWES” …12 FOR $ 4.80...
"HITMAN" ...GM PUSH FASTENERS H# 881201 LOT # HO 1866145
“2” GM “PUSH FASTENERS” {BLACK} AT .80 CENTS PER PACKAGE
…NEED 12 FASTENERS…= 6 PACKAGES= $ 4.80 = TAX = $ 5.14

PUNCH HOLE W/NAIL THRU SEAL…TOOK LESS THAN 5 MINUTES TO INSTALL