MGB-GT MBG GT door seals

[Lynn Kirkpatrick]

I have had my '68 GT for about 10 years. This isn't a new problem, I'm just getting around to it.

To close the doors, I have to slam them. The PO reworked the interior, including the rubber seals around the door frame. I think they are too thick. If I pull up the felt strip and rubber seal so they are out of the way the door closes great.

Is there another seal I can use? The Moss site has a closed "bulb" style and an "open" one. The open looks like the answer, but it's $229!! NAPA has a generic style that may work for $50, but I don't think it will fit under the felt doodad.

I could spend a lot of time checking doors at a car show, but I thought I would ask the experts. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!
Lynn

 

[DrEntropy]

MacGregor in Canada.

 

[bob67bgt]

Are the panels made by a local type shop and too thick or the same thin material and backboard like the factory used? You may be hunting the wrong problem. Just a thought. Bob

 

[PAUL161]

MacGregor in Canada.

I agree with Doc! His seals are top shelf in my book and look very much like the originals. PJ

 

[Lynn Kirkpatrick]

I wondered about that panels. They have some padding in them, but I don't really know what is standard. As I pull the door shut, I hear a squeak as the door contacts the seal first. That's what pointed me toward seals.

Is there a way to check how thick normal panels are? Maybe before they are squished?

I'll check MacGregors. I saw some adhesive backed tubing @ O'Rielly's this am that might work, but I'm still wondering about the panels.

Thanks guys

 

[bob67bgt]

Original 68 panels had very little padding. Any sign of excess padding will show up when you go to roll the windows up or down. The handle will catch on the piping if its the original style panel. I have purchased Moss 69 MGB panels and they are overstuffed with padding. The doors still shut good. I think the real question would be the thickness of the backer board. Did you try a little Armorall on the seals? bob

 

[Lynn Kirkpatrick]

The windows are hard to roll up as you describe. Now I remember the PO saying the new panels are thicker. At the bottom the panels are about 3/8" thick midway between where the screws squeeze them.

I checked the seal. It is not round as the Moss or MacGregor pictures show. At the sill my seal is about 3/8" thick x 1+" wide and it is NOT hollow. All around the door it is one piece but the shape looks different at the top (maybe because of the window squishing it).

The Armorall helped a little, but the door feels really tight when closed. The door jumps out when I push the button to open it.

I'm thinking of pulling the panels and removing the padding. It will fix the "window rollup" and see if that also fixes the tight door. Or am I setting myself up for a real mess. Has anyone tried this? ("What could possibly go wrong?" - Jeremy Clarkson)
Thanks
Lynn

 

[mk2sprite]

Lynn
That is interesting what Bob brings up. I just measured a original panel and it is just a hair under 3/16" thick. Pretty thin. I used a thin plywood for mine and I'll bet it is almost 1/8". Maybe that's why mine are a little tough to close. Removing the door panel is not a big deal. Just be careful to ease the panel clips out of the door easy so you don't crack the panels. The Macgregor seals are high end in look and fit.
Mike

 

[bob67bgt]

up to 69 MGB's used screws to hold the panel on and plastic clips after that. Lynn will not have a problem since its a 68. Unless its a real firm padding i do not think it will help with the door closing issue. If you remove the padding the panels may look loose and baggy when you are done. Proceed with caution. If your seals are not hollow could you cut some of the rubber off with a exacto knife and not muck something up? Bob

 

[RGarcia]

Lynn,
I just removed the panel doors of my MGA in process of resto, but I noticed that the panels are cushioned and one of the doors doesnot close at the touch, looking for a replacement I am planning to cover the new panels with vinyl only, no foam, I think that change may help to the door to close better!
Mine does not had sealers for some time, and today I went to Kragen looking for samples of door sealers and I think that they have the same type of sealer that Moss does, at least the configuration looks like the same, the price $29 dollars for more than 4 yards.

 

[DrEntropy]

Bein' the purist that I am (yeah, sure), I used 0.125" plastic sheet for a backing on this latest B. Threaded inserts and stainless 8-32 machine screws to replace the rust prone sheet metal ones. Padding is a thin, closed-cell foam. Same thickness as original. NOTHING to hold moisture and rot.

It doesn't have that old English car smell any longer, tho. :smirk:

 

[Lynn Kirkpatrick]

Well I talked to Moss. the guy thinks the padding is glued to the vinyl. I think I'll pull a corner loose on 1 panel and see what it looks like. If you see a mushroom cloud over Indiana, you can guess things went badly.

Has anyone else tried searching on the Kragen site? It always wants your zip code and car, and then doesn't find any parts. I tried MG's, Chevys, and Fords. I even tried the zip code for Beverly Hills, so that it would think I am important. nothing worked.
Thanks

 

[DrEntropy]

I use that zip code with regularity, Lynn! Well done!

 

[RGarcia]

Lynn,

Sorry, I did a mistake mentioning Kragen as a provider of door sealers, forget that, the true is that the store is Autozone. That sealer is a generic part, not necesary for a particular brand, and you better go in person to take a look of the items, as you said going internet they do not register all the beuty cars we own! Or give a try looking for door sealers in their web page.

 

[PAUL161]

Bein' the purist that I am (yeah, sure), I used 0.125" plastic sheet for a backing on this latest B. Threaded inserts and stainless 8-32 machine screws to replace the rust prone sheet metal ones. Padding is a thin, closed-cell foam. Same thickness as original. NOTHING to hold moisture and rot.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 9pt">It doesn't have that old English car smell any longer</span></span>, tho. :smirk:

I used to use "Old English" after shave! The wife didn't like it. I guess she thought it smelled like an old wet MGB. Geesh, after all these years and I finally found out why people looked at me funny. <span style="font-size: 9pt">Thanks Doc!</span>
I use this now! Makes me feel like I'm running on 12 cylinders!

 

[Lynn Kirkpatrick]

To finish the story:
I didn't take the foam padding out of the panels. It would have fixed the window windup headache, but the vinyl would have sagged and looked like crap. (The foam wasn't glued to the vinyl, so it would have come out easily, had I done it.) Plus the extra thickness didn't affect the tight door closing. The seals that were in it were low and contacted the door metal, not the panel.

When I pulled the seals out and put the fuzzy welting back in the doors close pretty nice. They should have, when I closed them with a strip of paper between the door and body/welting there is no resistance. That's probably OK, since this is a fair weather car. But I bought a 10' weather strip from O'Rielly's that looked like what was shown to be MG correct at some of the websites. It had a tube about 1/2" in diameter with a rubber backing strip. It was too thick for the door the shut. So I cut off the tube and glued the backing strip to the rocker panel seam. Then I put the welting back in place, it's thicker because it now straddles the seam and backing strip. The doors shut easily and they seal, using the paper test.

It just took a lot of fiddling.
Lynn

 

[Jagboy69]

We have the SAME issues with the door seals on Jag E-types. Have you been able to get ahold of mcgregor? I've been trying for months with no luck.

The replacement seals are too thick and causes issues with closing ect. I've told XK's unlimited and they claim there is no problem! BS!!!

If you find a suitable replacement, please post it here. My doors are still screwed up. Thanks
Jason

 

[Lynn Kirkpatrick]

I couldn't get ahold of MacGregor, but I ended up not needing as much strip as they show on their page.

For my B I just ended up making the fuzzy welting (?) thicker on the door side. I pulled it up, pulled out the rubber seals and then put the fuzzy strip back in place. To get an idea of how much space there was between the door and fuzzy strip, I used modeling clay to make 2 "turds" about 1/2" diameter by 2-3" long. I layed them at a 90 degree angle to the strip sort of near the front and sort of near the back ends of the door so that they would be squeezed. Then I shut the door. After opening the door I could see there was almost no space because the clay was squeezed real thin. (It would be good to put the clay in a sandwich bag, it does get into the fuzz a little and you have to brush it out.)

By making the fuzzy strip a little thicker, maybe an 1/8" thicker, on the door side it closes nice and seems to seal. I wouldn't want to get into deep water, it's probably not water proof by a long shot, but I hope the wind doesn't whistle thru the space. (Plus there are probably lots of other areas for water to get in.)

Hope this helps.
Lynn