New year, new energy, new opportunities–that’s how Steele Rubber Products, based out of Denver, North Carolina, is viewing the situation as January comes to a close and February eagerly awaits. The company’s longtime successes in crafting quality parts have yielded great fruits in terms of understanding trends, making great products, and gaining lifelong customers who turn to SRP in times of need.

Founder Lynn Steele. Photo credit: Steele Rubber Products

Steele Rubber Products was founded over fifty years ago by Lynn Steele, a tool and die engineer who made his first mark producing parts to repair his aging 1931 Cadillac. Word of mouth got his business off the ground, and soon folks were seeking out Steele to buy quality weatherstripping and rubber products for their own rides.

As time went on, SRP grew its catalog out until it became a little too hefty for its own good. As explained by vice president of marketing Eric Saltrick, “Steele [used to produce] a massive two-pound and 600-page catalog of every rubber part we offered. However, we’ve since realized that most car guys only need a few pages of the catalog for their own project.”

That’s why, in 2014, the company started offering personalized catalogs catering to each individual request. “Each custom catalog includes only those selected parts for your exact car, truck or street rod, along with notes and recommendations from one of our Product Specialists,” said Saltrick. “The custom catalogs are fully illustrated, professionally bound and available in both electronic and print formats”

Thus, instead of getting a massive tome filled with all 15,000 or so of SRP’s products, customers can have a catalog that stays comprehensive without becoming cumbersome. And it’s worth noting that each and every one of those products is meticulously tested and developed to have outstanding fit and finish.

“Steele Rubber Products is unique in that we only make parts from originals,” said Saltrick. “Every part we manufacture has been researched from an actual part, and then tested back on the original vehicle for fit.  We control the entire process of parts development in-house, from parts research to building our own molds and tools.”

A red-on-black ’55 Chevy was awarded the SRP Master Builder Awards at this year’s Autorama show. Photo credit: SRP Facebook

Lately, the market has come around to appreciating vans and station wagons of the 1960s and 1970s, and SRP has been there to fill the void. “Very often the rear windows and tailgates of these vehicles require precise engineering of rubber seals, and Steele has recently completed many of these weatherstrip seals,” explained Saltrick.

Meanwhile, hot rodders have seen the benefits of the Peel N’ Stick line of weatherstripping, which uses 3M adhesive tape with over 400 different sponge and dense rubber extrusions to cover cowls, doors, trunks, roof lines, and more. Whether fiberglass or solid metal, Peel N’ Stick can find a way to work on a myriad of makes and models.

Yet SRP isn’t content to merely showcase their items online or in a catalog. Representatives of the company will be out and about come summer, with plans to appear at such events as the Goodguys Nationals in Columbus (July 10-12), Syracuse Nationals (July 17-19), and NSRA Nationals in Louisville (August 6-9).

In the meantime, you can see for yourself all that SRP has to offer by visiting its website, as well as its Facebook page, where photos, announcements, promotions, and more can keep you up to speed.