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Fitting draft excluders

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DerekJ

DerekJ

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I decided to pretty up the interior and replace the worn draft excluders, which were of the new type. Not wanting to pay £160 for 8 feet of 'Bristleflex' I bought the standard offering from AH Spares. It is an absolute pain to fit and its seems to me that basically, the system doesn't work. In other words the small grip clips don't grip and simply folding back the metal tabs does not provide enough grip to the steel edge.

The biggest problem I'm having is up the rear shut face, facing outwards. My aluminium shut face has about an 1/8 of an inch edge which is turned over faces the front of the car. Behind that is the edge of inner body work. I am trying to attach the clips to that inner edge as it is impossible to fit them to the turned over aluminium edge which is to wide. Is this correct? Maybe my car was restored differently in this area.

Any other tips about how to fit these **** things!
 
Derek, It sounds like the stuff you are using in the same as what I got from Moss and had the same experience. I then bought the good stuff from McGregor in Canada. Pushes right on all the appropriate knife edges and stays where it is put. Dave.
 
HEY!!
If it is Bristleflex It will work and it is the only known product that stays on.
Do not mess with the clips you are shooting yourself in the foot.
Tap it vigorously in place with the heel of your hand
 
The shut face vertical seal should go on the steel flange, not the aluminum shut face cover. Moss sells the extra clips to help keep this stuff on in the MGA section. It involves an extra steel clip every so often that the aluminum clips on the seal can go over. Then the seal can be crimped over the steel clips that have small teeth to hold it in place. MGA door seal search will lead you to an illustration.
Bob
 
Keoke

It isn't Bristleflex, its the other stuff. I wasn't prepared to pay the £160 as my car is also a track car and does not have a stock interior anyway. I imagine the Bristleflex sold by AH Spares is similar to the stuff sold by McGregor. I'll have a look next time I visit them.

Bob,
Thanks for confirming that. I have plenty of clips left so I will put them at much closer intervals to see if that helps.
 
I fitted non-Bristelfex seals to me Healey.
When you get to the areas on the lower part of the doors you'll be making some pretty sharp bends and the aluminum clip stuff won't hold the seal tight enough.
I took a flat screwdriver, about 3/8" blade, and twisted the seal opening up the gap in these areas. This allowed me to make those tight corners with the seal seating/bottoming out, to the metal flange. After the corners were done I took a pair of pliers and taped the jaws with masking tape and then carefully squeezed the seal on the steel flange. To date, it's holding but there's another issue. The rubber "bulb" on the seal is not large enough to seal against the door panel face. I will probably be getting the Bristelflex later. It's just so dang hard to get samples!
 
I tried some windlace that had aluminum clips in it__it's in a land-fill somewhere (where it's producer should be too, but I suppose that's a little harsh...).

Bought the stuff from McGregor and it has not budged a bit since being installed. Proof-positive that steel retains its memory (and tension) and aluminum just does not.

I even pulled it off and put it back on a few times while convincing these panels to fit (Moss had inverted the wooden strips alongside the door, as well as fitting them to opposite sides; LH on RH pnl, and vice versa) and the clips still maintained tension, without requiring any additional squeezing.

You might have a racecar, but the windlace DOES help to keep the doors tight to the latches, and stops them from shaking and rattling about.

IMG_2976.jpg
 
DerekJ

Spend the extra Quid it is worth it--Keoke
 
I have the same problem. I too decided that the Bristleflex was far too expensive and bought similar door rubbers from a Uk trim supplier for a lot less.

Its usually come off every time I get in the car and catch it with my leg/side.

How is the bristleflex any different? Ive not seen it but imagine it to use a similar design to attache to the car body?
 
I believe Bristleflex has a sprung steel 'grip' inside it which firmly attaches to the edges. The force of the sprung steel grip keeps the pressure on the edges. With the cheap system there is no pressure at all from the aluminium tabs, and the clips don't really grip either.
 
DerekJ said:
I believe Bristleflex has a sprung steel 'grip' inside it which firmly attaches to the edges. The force of the sprung steel grip keeps the pressure on the edges. With the cheap system there is no pressure at all from the aluminium tabs, and the clips don't really grip either.
Click to expand...

That is jest what I been tryin to tell you. Get them Bristelflex things and you will be good to go.--:highly_amused:
 
Derek,

Have you tried McMaster Carr?? I too had problems with the stuff from AHSpares, nasty stuff, and I too had problems with the cost of the Bristleflex, but McMaster has a good product that will stay in place, and a nylon sheath that is durable, with different size bulbs if you need to fill an over large gap. Its black, but looks great. Look under door seals, used on tractors I think. www.mcmaster.com Mine has been in place now for 2 years, still going.....
 
Lotuswins said:
Derek,

Have you tried McMaster Carr?? I too had problems with the stuff from AHSpares, nasty stuff, and I too had problems with the cost of the Bristleflex, but McMaster has a good product that will stay in place, and a nylon sheath that is durable, with different size bulbs if you need to fill an over large gap. Its black, but looks great. Look under door seals, used on tractors I think. www.mcmaster.com Mine has been in place now for 2 years, still going.....
Click to expand...
About the early 80's I found a seal that was black that worked really great for the top. It was called: Chrysler #300 windlace. It might still be available somewhere.
 
How's that saying go, you get what you pay for.
Go cheap then complain about the product. And so much so that usually it get's thrown in the trash because you can't get it on or it just keeps coming off.
Bristleflex is proven to be the go to product, but some people think it's not worth the price, till....they have all the problems with the other brands.
How about saying, Bristleflex works perfectly and it costs X, which is the going rate for a quality product.
Why do people judge Bristleflex as overpriced when the other products don't work. As if that inferior product is the benchmark price.

When I was shopping around for a bodyshop I didn't go cheapest I could find. Again, you get what you pay for.
Earl Schabb, Macco or Miracle. They'll paint the entire car for less then what I paid for a gallon of Healey Blue paint.
If it seems to good to be true or the price is so much lower than the good stuff, buyer beware.
How about this for a slogan. Miracle auto painting, if it's a good paint job, it's a Miracle.
 
Bristleflex is proven to be the go to product,

I already told em that ROGER----:jester:

DerekJ

Spend the extra Quid it is worth it--Keoke
 
BPNW sells a door seal which I've used on several cars including my 100. "Door Seal Furflex" think you can buy it by the foot. Quite cheep.
 
If someone wanted to know what the Bristleflex from McGreagor looks like, here some pics. It look great and works great. It's been on there all summer and someone drags their foot across it now and then and it stays put. The tensioned steel is inside the fuzzy part which slides unto the steel edge around the door. the Aluminum shut face finisher just slides behind the rubber part. You'll have to ignore some of the butchery on the aluminum finisher as it was chopped up pretty bad from before and I too want to guard my dollars. Buying new ones would not have made the car ride or drive and more enjoyably. Also at the top I was not knowledgeable about how it was to be finished and I cut it off at the wrong spot then had to make do.
 

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