'75 duster windshield gasket

ok guys, this is gonna be long, so hang tight, but you said you love mysteries!

I have called Precision gasket, which is who makes the gasket, and they say basically that they have never had this problem before and there must be something wrong with my car. Now, this car is original, never had any real metal work, especially around the windows, and has only been repainted and had a new vinyl top put on. I do not know if the window was out because I didnt do the work, it was done before I bought it. But, there is a little bit of surface rust around the window channel, so I'd bet a paycheck it had never been out. I have reused the windshield, trim, and I never took the clips out or moved them at all! Now this gasket won't fit, and it fit perfect before. Unfortunately, I threw my old gasket away 2 years ago because they were remaking them. In fact, the new gasket self zips at the bottom, and I definitely do not remeber that. Stupid me. Now, onto my detective work.

Precision is apparantely the only one that makes a gasket for a duster, period. I have found out, this is from their mouths, that the 70-73 duster had a different chrysler part number window gasket than the 74-76 dusters, Interesting! However, they never actually fitted it on a new model duster to see if it fits. They received both part numbers from chrysler and said they looked the same, so they put it as one part number for all years when they tooled them. Oh it gets better.

I call year one and steelrubber, who sells the same precision gasket as their own, and talk to their tech guys. Steelerubber calls me back later in the day and said he found that from 74 and up the duster used a different part number for the windshield gasket, so they said they are no longer advertising it for a 74-76 duster. It gets even better

Year one says that their R&D team actually fitted all these gaskets on all the a bodys of to see if they fit, and found out that the same gasket precision says fits all dusters, will not fit a 74 and up duster, something about the lock strip being different. Year one has only listed the same gasket as a 70-73 duster windshield gasket, and says there is not one available for the 74 and up. They said they've known this for around 10 years now. Glad to know precision did their homework.

So, I have a gasket that does not fit my car, does not look like it should fit my car, and does not look like what I remember the original one looking like, with comfirmation from the people who sell their gasket that it does not fit my car, and yet precision gaskets say that there is something wrong with my car. So, I would like you to tell me your opinion, is my car a one of a kind
f*&*ed up car, or is precision full of it.

P.S. If someone tells me how, I'll post some pictures of this train wreck!!!


Thanks guys,

Will