Windshield base channel material

[1983Pinin]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what should go in the base channel of the spider windshield? It is a 1983 Pininfarina. I looked at it after I pulled the windshield but I didn't touch it-- a black material that I assumed was silicon, which I bought, but when I started to remove it to clean the channel it seems to be almost like a plumbers putty. I got most of it out and was able to make a ball of all of it--flexible like putty. Is this correct? Is there a manufactured seal that was supposed to be in there and the PO had another idea? Base channel looks nice and clean--no rust. I want to get the car back together but don't want to do the wrong thing here.
Also, do people put lock tight on the 4 hex head bolts? Is there a torque spec for those bolts?
Thanks for tiops.
--Peter

[Boris61]

I found the same putty material in my 84 and asked the same question about three years ago. I also reused the original material when I put the frame back on, but I don't drive in hard rain so not sure how well sealed it is. I'm traveling and away from my trusty repair manual but I expect someone will chime in with torque values, if they are specified for these fasteners. I didn't use thread sealer because if these loosen up I think it would be obvious and they aren't too difficult to access.

[klweimer]

I'm not a window guy, but I know on one of my other cars the installers used a "warm" melt adhesive in a caulking gun. The van they drove actually had an engine coolant heated compartment where they kept tubes of the stuff. I don't believe it's a silicone material, maybe a butyl rubber material? If the adhesive is too strong, you'd never be able to pull out an old windshield.
Kirk

[1983Pinin]

Thanks for the replies. I may check in with a collision repair shop to see if they have any ideas. I feel that this is not an adhesive really-- could it just be a cushioning agent? I think if it was any type of butyl rubber I would not have been able to scrape it out so easily, and the fact that it is in a ball (like a clay material) that I can roll back out, it must be some sort of putty.
Any other ideas are welcome--I really need to put the car back together since it's summer here and I want to drive it!
--Peter

[1983Pinin]

Hi Folks,

I had some input from my local collision shop. They tell me in the 80's they sometimes used a material the shop guys call dumdum (dumbdumb??) which is a forever-pliable material to prevent leaks, so as others had suggested I will take what I removed, roll it out into a thin snake and push it back into the body channel where the windshield will rest. I was considering 3M window ribbon part #08610,08611, etc , from NAPA Auto , but decided not to use that because frankly, I want to finish the job.
Thanks and if anyone can tell us more, please do.

--Peter

[DRUMMOND]

here are some photos of my window channel just after I pulled the rubber gasket. as you can see there is a small amount of black butyl in the bottom of the channel. hope this helps.

[1983Pinin]

Thanks for posting thise pics Drummond. Yes, that looks a lot like the material, although the stuff I found, while pretty old, was still pliable and sticky--I was able to accumulate it into a baseball-sized ball.
As I mentioned above, I did reuse the material by rolling it out and pushing it back into the channel.
My mistake was thinking that this stuff was a cushion for the windshield, but clearly this isn't the case and I believe this is just to minimize water pooling under the windshielf and rusting the channel.
Thanks!!!
--Peter