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MG MGB Technical - Roadster door seals

Hi all,

I am nearing the end of my Roadster restoration and I have just fitted the doors. When I come to fit the door seals the doors are extremely hard to shut.

I believe the seals are originally off a GT as I had to cut them down to size (bought from an auto jumble)Are the seals different for GT and Roadster?

Any ideas appreciated

cheers
Steve
Steve D

The GT door seal is a continuous piece that goes all round the door, up the pillars and across the roof. On this picture http://www.ukmgparts.com/browse.aspx?CID=A06AAB03-5EBC-49D9-A937-A6D8ADFCE6C1&SID=DF6EC746-35D0-4CCF-948C-C589D3BACF8A
you can see the roadster seal at the top left and the GT one at top right.

Having said that, the cross section of the two seals is identical. I wonder why you had to cut them? I never had to do that. Can you ease the problem by moving the lock slam plate outwards a little on its slotted holes?
Mike Howlett

Mike, the doors shut reasonable if I move the striker plate but I want the doors flush. I will probably leave them closed for a couple of weeks and see if they settle.

I had to cut the seals because i used GT on a roadster

Steve
Steve D

I've heard of this before. It's quite possible the profile and/or the material is different on current seals to the original, i.e. fatter and/or harder. Don't forget, cars of this era originally needed a good slam to shut them, not the gentle click of moderns. I remember seeing Sir Stirling Moss give the door of the just announced MGF a good slam at Gaydon many years ago, and overheard someone comment "You can tell he drove cars in the 50s"
Paul Hunt

I understand Steve. On my recently finished GT the doors need a good pull to shut them properly. It is important to have the door flush with the body, if only for appearance. I hope the seals squash a bit for you. I suspect Paul is right about the type of rubber being different.
Mike Howlett

Steve,
I had the same problem after the shop finished the bodywork on my BGT. The doors fit great until I installed the new seals and then I could not get the doors to close and fit. I tried leaving them closed for a few weeks and it did not help. I ended up carefully tapping/bending the flange that the seal attaches to and it worked perfectly. I used a plastic hammer and worked the flange back just enough to still allow a tight door fit.
R Stegs

I have now had the doors shut for a couple of day and I have just tried them - they are a lot better if you shut them again straight away. If I leave them for 10 minutes they are a good slam fit again.

I will try the idea of slightly bending the flange

thanks
Steve
Steve D

Yes that's a common problem. Just tap the flange in a bit with a piece of hardwood all the way round and then do another trial and see what happens. If it's not enough then tap it in a bit more.
Iain MacKintosh

I have the same problem.
I've done a bit of flange bending - where the gap looks a bit smaller. I also used a spray called Rubber Magic (made by Rare Spares in Australia) - it is supposed to soften the rubber. The doors close (when slammed) but still are not as flush as they were without seals. The recommendation was to leave the doors closed and the seals will gradually ease. Sounds good but the jury is still out.
I think I will investigate whether the BRISTLEFLEX FUZZY door seals have a smaller profile and hence a better fit. Anyone tried these??
John
John Minchin

"The recommendation was to leave the doors closed and the seals will gradually ease."

They will, over many years. I didn't mention that both of mine, with 20-year-old seals at least if not original, close far easier than ever I remember period BL cars doing, even easier than modern cars.
Paul Hunt

You need to do all the body work with the seals in place to get the doors to fit correctly.

I have new seals from Moss UK and they seem fine. I am about to reinstall my doors for good so will see how they fit then.

Simon
Simon Jansen

This thread was discussed between 27/06/2009 and 07/07/2009

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