TR2/3/3A Windscreen seal

Hi all, it's my first post in here, so please treat me gently.

I have a 1960 TR3a, which has had a body/chassis refurbishment along with a new loom, the mechanicals are good but not show quality and the trim needs work. I bought it like this and I'm going through it slowly to bring it up to a good standard without being a show queen. I've stripped and replaced the brakes, stripped and refurbed the carbs, done the valve gaps, filled the orifices with grease and done all of the other obvious reliability stuff first

One item is bugging me. There is a 1/4" gap between the top of the scuttle and the sealing strip at the bottom of the windscreen. It looks like the windscreen lower frame is too high, but for the life of me I can't see what is wrong. The stanchion corners follow the body line round the wing properly and "trap" the seal so I don't see how they can be moved, the screen lower corners are down against the stanchions, so the frame won't come down anymore. That can only leave the lower frame is too curved, or the scuttle is too flat. Either of those would have to be 1" out to make up the difference, but the lower frame must be driven by the windscreen size.

Has anyone else seen this problem, and if so, how did you fix it? - please put me out of my misery.

Thanks

JOhn

Welcome! Could you post some pictures of the problem? It's hard to visualize what the problem may be.
Bob

The infamous windscreen seal problem!

You're not alone. Take a look:

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...l-orientation-again&highlight=windshield+seal

Seems it's easy to have the seal installed backwards.

Welcome to BCF!
Tom M.

Probably never a tight seal even in the best of times. Mine is fit correct way 'round but I still have a couple of gaps -- possibly exacerbated by lifting the seal over the windscreen wiper bezels as I (frequently) remove and install the pre-TS60K screen.

Not really an issue until you're driving in a hard rain - then the inside of the car is like being in a submarine that's been hit.

+1 on the seal being installed backwards.

Thanks for the responses. I've added some pictures that show the effect. One has a circle drawn on it which is the area I was talking about where stanchion curls around the wing (fender??) and the screen frame meets. If this is correct (which it appears to be), then it must be the lower frame rail, scuttle or seal.

I will have to have the windscreen off to add some tonneau clips this weekend, there isn't anything saying "rear" on the front of the seal, but then I don't know where the seal came from. The seal will have to drop almost vertically from the lower frame rail to meet the scuttle, right now it follows the same angle as the screen.

This is my Le Mans chariot this year for the classic, I go every year (alternating full race and classic) and I'm sure it won't be 100% dry, hence wanting to get it fixed.

Thanks

John

From your photos it's very visible that it is installed incorrectly. Slide it in the groove to make it slant towards the inside of the car, then when you install the windshield flip/fold the seal towards the front of the car. It will snap tight to the cowl and seal correctly. Mine was "like a submarine" when I first had installed mine using logic instead too. After, it seals.

edit: If you look at the end profile of the seal, you will see that it is not a 90 degree "T" - the "T" is slanted to one side. Install with leg of the T slanted/facing the rear of the car, then flip the bottom edge of the rubber seal towards the front as you reinstall the windshield and frame. This is what gives it the pressure to seal - and keep you dry.

Yes take it out and flip it around. Do you have the corner inside end pieces? Plus you might have to shorten it some; it looks bunched up. They come out and in with effort some time. I use wd40 to help it slip.

Good point. Don't trim it until it's installed either.

Fantastic help guys, so obvious if you know - looks like I'll be up to my armpits in lube this weekend.

Here is mine after 12 years or so.

Konrod said:

Fantastic help guys, so obvious if you know - looks like I'll be up to my armpits in lube this weekend.

Click to expand...

If you can get your hands on it, Wurth makes a product called Rubber Care. At the shop we use that stuff on ANY rubber hose going onto a fitting, or trim/seal rubber going into a channel. It'll make it so you can get the proverbial golf ball through a garden hose.
Also keeps the rubber nice and soft if applied every so often to weather seals.

F.Y.I.
Never used the product but here’s the link:
https://www.wurthusa.com/Chemical-Product/Cleaning-and-Care/Rubber-and-Vinyl/Rubber-Care-10-0-Fl-Oz/p/0890110

Thanks everyone who responded, seal reversed and it looks great. I'm now ready for the British weather Also took the opportunity to fit the tonneau studs on the scuttle.

Really appreciate the support - next job is the gearbox replacement.....................

Your car is RHD?

Looks like it is. He is in the UK so that would be normal over there.

David

Yep, RHD standard over here, although LHD is allowed and when we go to mainland Europe we use our RHD cars on the right hand side of the road - no big deal. We are part of an exclusive club including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Large parts of SE Asia, old luxury French cars (long story), Ireland and some of the west indies.

Most of the cars here are manual (stick shift??) although with emissions rules biting and good auto boxes becoming available, automatics are becoing more standard.