Does anyone know the purpose of the
 

elastic trim sewed to the windshield side of the original dash? On mine, it appears as a faded purple elastic cloth that the windshield sits on. I doubt that the W/S actually sits on it, because the W/S is sitting on the butyl seal. Is it something to keep the dash from chaffing on the W/S as the dash expands due to solar heating?
Mine is unsightly after all these years, and with the W/S out, now is the time to replace it. I am not sure it is even visible because of the black band at the bottom of the W/S. I am thinking of replacing it with some foam tape. Any comments?

Everything i've read on this forum about that stuff says its to stop the from chafing and squeaking against the windshield.

As far as replacing it, there's a thread on here somewhere where a guy with an 87 300d actually had his wife sew on some sort of piece of cloth she had in her sewing kit.

THAT would be a labor of love!

That is to keep squeaking and rattling down, you can look for felt tape for that.

Felt Tape!!!
I was thinking foam rubber, but you are right, the felt tape would be a better choice.
Thanks.

felt tape is an excellent noise supressant where two parts are just touching - MB used a lot of it where two panels come together like the A pillar trim edges. I think pieces of varying thickness felt tape is mentioned in the service manual to be applied in case of noises.

Got some.
Thanks.

Did you use your 50% off one item at JoAnns?

They are a resource sometimes.