Troop Seat Stake Pocket Gasket?

[houdel]

I pulled the troop seats out of my Deuce in order to give them a fresh coat of paint. I was pretty disgusted by the condition of the top surface of the cargo bed at the stake pockets - rust, chipped paint, and bare metal from metal to metal contact. What is needed here, I figured, is some sort of a rubber gasket to isolate the flange at the top of the stake from the top of the cargo bed.

Of course, the chances of finding such a gasket are about as good as finding a truck stop selling diesel for 99 cents a gallon. Making a gasket would not be as easy task either, especially making 12 of them. I measured the perimeter of the stake itself at 7-7/8", and the flange is about 3/16" thick. Now, it just happens that 7-7/8" is the circumference of a 2-1/2" circle. So I thought, how about using a 2.5" I.D. x 1/8" thick "O" ring? It would fit pretty tightly around the stake, and the weight of the troop seat should squish it into a pretty flat gasket.

What do you think of this idea? Is it worth the effort? Or does someone have a better idea?

 

[rdixiemiller]

Cut rectangular ones out of an old inner tube. Scissors make fast work of this.

 

[hot rod deuce]

just go grab some low profile gromets. Like you put in sheet metal to run wires through. They are round but im sure you could make it work. Some are very small in the "hole reduction" department.

 

[Elwenil]

Rubber will rot after a while. Best thing to use would be plastic from oil and antifreeze bottles. Pretty easy to cut, and will last forever. And since you can get them in black plastic, it should look pretty decent.