TR4/4A Rubber Door Gaskets

[KVH]

As may be apparent, I'm restoring a 4A and I'm running into every issue imaginable. Now I'm finding that two sets of rubber door seals (I actually ordered two) from one of the big retailers just "fall out" of the steel channel track holder in the door jams. There is no way they will work in my channels.

So, I pulled my old seals back out of the trash and measured them. Below are pics. They show my old seals as quite a bit more substantial (visible to the naked eye), and a caliper shows the new ones also to be considerably more narrow. The supplier to the US retailer is Rimmer Bros., and that sort of surprises me since they are, of course, out of Britain.

Anyway, please take a look and let me know any thoughts. I don't want to glue the new seals in place because I could have a mess five years down the road. Any ideas as to what I can do next or how this happened?


First pic: new seal .275 inches Second pic: old seal .315 inches



Old Seal is More Substantial

 

[TR3driver]

Glue would be my solution, specifically 3M weatherstrip adhesive. If you need to remove it later, they offer a solvent that will take it off without damaging the paint.

 

[KVH]

On my way to O'Reilly's right now. Thanks Randall--just needed some purist to tell me it was OK.

 

[charleyf]

I have restored two TR4's and used TRF without the problem you are having.

 

[KVH]

I called to speak with them. You can see from the TRF Website that the channel seal they offer is item 650310. That's the Rimmer Bros part number and seal that is too small. I have two full sets that don't fit, both labeled with that number. I think there's a problem in manufacture. I found another post on the Net with a guy noting the same problem--the seals wobbled and just slipped out. I sent Rimmer a note. I'll follow up if I learn more. Maybe they've had some bad batches over the years.

 

[Geo Hahn]

I had no problem with those when I fit them (from Moss or TRF, probably the latter) but that was 17 years ago and as you note, suppliers and batches change.

 

[TR3driver]

On my way to O'Reilly's right now. Thanks Randall--just needed some purist to tell me it was OK.

I'm certainly no purist! And whether it's OK or not is entirely up to you. It's your car!

One of the issues I've noticed with TRF is that they frequently change suppliers. Charles prefers as original as possible, which includes "made in UK" when possible. Because of that, he frequently buys from small operations (we aren't a very big market after all). But small operations are more apt to get interrupted by illness, etc; so they have to go looking for another supplier.

There was a fellow in Canada that was reproducing some of the old rubber patterns, and doing a very nice job IMO. I bought a bunch of Stag seals from him back around 2000 and was very happy with them. ISTR his name was Ian MacGregor, but I'm probably wrong about that.

Anyone else know who I'm talking about? Is he still in business?

 

[KVH]

I do trust 3m. The seal has gravity pull along the windshield, so that's my main concern with adhesive. If it's tough and strong, I should be fine. I have a note into Rimmer and will see what I learn.

 

[Rut]

I'm certainly no purist! And whether it's OK or not is entirely up to you. It's your car!

One of the issues I've noticed with TRF is that they frequently change suppliers. Charles prefers as original as possible, which includes "made in UK" when possible. Because of that, he frequently buys from small operations (we aren't a very big market after all). But small operations are more apt to get interrupted by illness, etc; so they have to go looking for another supplier.

There was a fellow in Canada that was reproducing some of the old rubber patterns, and doing a very nice job IMO. I bought a bunch of Stag seals from him back around 2000 and was very happy with them. ISTR his name was Ian MacGregor, but I'm probably wrong about that.

Anyone else know who I'm talking about? Is he still in business?

Yep, best quality rubber parts along with a lot of other stuff. Best to call him and discuss/order...his website is not up to date and email contact is hit and miss.
Rut
https://www.macgregorukcarparts.com/