Doors slam shut

[Legal Bill]

This is in regards to my BJ8.

With the new MacGregor windlacing installed (and it is the "correct" version for my car per Mr. MacGreggor) and the new door panels installed (these come from Healey Surgeons)the doors must be slammed to fully close. This does not seem right. The doors closed fine before the panels and windlacing were installed.

The person who I am working with says that the door panel padding and the door seals will compress a bit over time and the doors will close easier. What have the rest of you experienced in this area? The car will be in storage all winter. Should I wait till spring and see if the material compresses a bit, or should I "adjust" the flanges a bit to give more clearance?

 

[HEALEYJAG]

I believe I had the same issue in the 80's with my BJ8...the material is a little thicker and newer.

I would not "adjust" the door, you may loose the correct gap and fitting.
Let it wear in, over time should be fine

Pete

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Legal Bill, the door seal from Macgregor is one of few repro parts that are better than what was supplied new. You shouldn't have to slam a healey door to break in the seal, the flanges need to be bent in so the door will shut easily yet with only a little resistance felt by the seal which only Martin's seal will provide. Take the seal off and shut the door , it should latch and fit fine. After you've done that inspect the gap between the door and the flange and adjust so it is uniform , sometimes just one area will need to be addressed. Slamming the doors causes secondary problems with paint and latches. Also how easily the doors shut is one of the most important aspects of the quality of a car. The seal that Pete refers too from the 80s is the old furflex crap that did require even the best of cars to have their doors slammec. Macgregors is a far superior product . Kevin

 

[Keoke]

Hi Bill, take a good look at the slotted locking mechanism which is attached to the door mounted lock it may be loose on its shaft and must rotate farther than necessary to lock. If so it can be proerly ositioned and then brazed to its shaft to remove the excessive free play--Fwiw--Keoke

 

[Legal Bill]

Pete, I would not adjust the door. You are right, the lines are where they need to be. I would adjust the flange on the door sill frame that holds the windlace.

Kevin, your thoughts are the same as mine. It should not be too hard to deflect the flanges enough to reduce the amount of force needed to close the doors. You also raise a good point about studying the entire contact area to determine where I have the greatest interference. I may only need to adjust one area. My biggest concern is that I will have to reposition the aluminum trim that holds down the seal along the threshold. That would mean drilling new holes in the sill.

Keoke, my car is in the final stage of a complete restoration. All the parts were inspected and either replaced or repaired before they were refitted.

 

[Johnny]

Being naturally lazy I encountered the same problem with my BJ7. After careful examination I realized only a small portion of the seal, near the hinges, needed to go in. I just took a suitable section of wood and with a dead-blow hammer pounded it in. Worked just fine without any adjustments.

I have to agree that doors shouldn't ever be slammed, it will loosen the latches inside the door.

 

[57_BN4]

Before doing any further adjusting, rub some talc (baby powder) on any rubber seal that contacts painted surfaces as the door closes. This allows the rubber to slide a little as it settles just as the door closes. If I hadn't witnessed this myself I wouldn't have believed how much it changes things.

Andy.

 

[Keoke]

Well Yeah but slamming the door can cause that cam to loosen on its shaft. Johnny"s solution might work too--Keoke

 

[TimK]

Welcome to the forum, Kevin (Brinkerhoff). You sound like you have a lot to offer.

 

[AUSMHLY]

This is in regards to my BJ8. With the new MacGregor windlacing installed (and it is the "correct" version for my car per Mr. MacGreggor) and the new door panels installed (these come from Healey Surgeons)the doors must be slammed to fully close. This does not seem right. The doors closed fine before the panels and windlacing were installed.

The person who I am working with says that the door panel padding and the door seals will compress a bit over time and the doors will close easier. What have the rest of you experienced in this area? The car will be in storage all winter. Should I wait till spring and see if the material compresses a bit, or should I "adjust" the flanges a bit to give more clearance?

I just ordered some replacement Bristlflex from Martin. Seems he has changed the style of the door seal Bristleflex. His older stuff, had a round bulb. New stuff has an open flap style. Which one do you have?

I believe the original "correct" style is with the round bulb. His older style. Other's may chime in with their thoughts about what was original.

Good luck Bill,
Roger

 

[Legal Bill]

Good question, Roger, but I think I have the new stuff. I just bought it a few months ago.

So, back to my question, I guess no one else ever waited to see if the materials compressed???

 

[AUSMHLY]

Good question, Roger, but I think I have the new stuff. I just bought it a few months ago. So, back to my question, I guess no one else ever waited to see if the materials compressed???

Bill, do you have the flap style (photo below)?

As far as the materials, are you referring to the door panel? If yes the door panel, then yes, I have an indent line where the rubber makes contact. The reason for the indent line is, there is a thin sheet of foam behind the vinyl that gets compressed against the wood. So compression is only going to be the thickness of the foam.

If you're referring to the material as in the rubber of the seal, then that will compress only to the thickness of the rubber when compressed flat.

The door should close with a nice click with the door panel on and without the seals. That's the first step. Have you tried that? Have you tried closing the doors with the Bristleflex on and no door panels? It may be your door panels are too thick?

Then as others have said, once the seal as been installed, find out where the seal is pushing too much against the door panel and look into that area. Maybe the door panel clips are not going in all the way? Maybe the door panel has too much foam behind it, or the panel wood is too thick?

Once everything is correct, the door should close easily with a nice click, like new cars do.

 

[AUSMHLY]

This is in regards to my BJ8. The person who I am working with says that the door panel padding and the door seals will compress a bit over time and the doors will close easier. What have the rest of you experienced in this area?

Bill, here's a photos showing how much the seal has made an impression in my door.

 

[Johnny]

Good advice Andy, the baby powder/talc is a good way to see where the flanges that hold the seal should be adjusted. Never thought of that.

 

[Britishautobody]

This is the sort of thing I run into all the time. Aftermarket parts that are so far off from the shape/ size / or materials they were originally constructed from. Why is it such a challenge for these manufactures to duplicate exactly a already existing part? People would pay a premium for exact premium parts. We all don't desire crappy modified parts on a premium car. I just don't get it??????

My 2 pence.

 

[Keoke]

Hi Roger
That seal you have shown will most likely work . However, it is not like the original seal. The original seal had a small one piece hollow closed tube. Mcgregor has the correct part design. Those seals will also compress but the time will be somewhat longer.Most of our other sources stocked an inferior product where in mostc ases the closed tube was too large.-Fwiw--Keoke

 

[Keoke]

Well yeah most of it is way off base. However, are you using the Macgregor products they are as close to correct as you are going to get.---Keoke