Boot Seals, again!!

[Gareth]

As it was raining outside, I thought I'd nip into the garage and have a look at Phyllis' boot seal.

The boot has never fitted very well, always being proud of the bodywork towards the bottom. After the repairs to the rear end, a new rubber was installed which made closing the boot very difficult, and I altered the catch... Well, I've now found that the seal is very tight at the top of the lid, but there is a gap further down.

I've tried to compress the seal and it's very hard. The seal itself is rubbery, with a smooth exterior, but very very fine holes inside. Not like Aero bars - it's much denser than that, almost like Styrofoam.

Thankfully, she's not been out in the rain much, but before I start finding a home for this CD changer (on order... ) it might be a good idea to sort out the seals!

I was thinking about removing this seal from the boot lid, and putting a push-on seal onto the body flange, which would mould to the contours of the lid, and should fit better, in that it will compress at the top the required amount. I recall the Riley 1.5 had a bubble seal, as do most modern cars. Our Metro and 75 both have large bubble seals...

I don't think it's simply that the rear end is out of shape, but the boot lid has never fitted properly, even before the shunt, and new metal was let into the surround, and I had a new bootlid, not a repair panel.

What do you reckon?

[57traveller]

Should your car have the seal that fits on the body flange anyway Gareth? It seems to work better. Thought it was only the earlier cars that had the lid seal.
Is there any movement, front to back, in the hinges if you slacken them off? If so could you try carefully shutting the lid with the hinges slack and see how it sits then?

[Gareth]

I thought the later cars had the one stuck to the lid...? What does the other one look like... is it a push-on thingummy?

I'm not sure that adjusting the position of the lid would make much difference, and it seems to fit square in the aperture... it's just that it site proud because of this flippin' seal...

[Willie]

Order the early Minor push-on seal, it works a treat on my '57
car. I tried the sorbo rubber type and,like you, could not close
the boot. you will have to glue the push on type and,obviously,
have the join at the bottom centre of the opening.

[Theo]

The seal itself is rubbery, with a smooth exterior, but very very fine holes inside. Not like Aero bars - it's much denser than that, almost like Styrofoam.

I have the same, glued in the lid. It's a little bit to hard, but I can see the mark of the body flange all arround. Closes perfect.

It's probably the exact fit (lucky me) of the lid on the body that makes it work.

[salty_monk]

Ours sits proud, has the seal glued to the lid but appears to seal ok too... guess we're just lucky!

[Scott]

I purchased one of the UK ones & found it just like Gareth described .
The local one made here is the same cross section, but is hollow. It seals well & doesn't affect the closing of the lid .
I've had the early aperture seals & find that eventually they become mis-shaped, especially at the top corners.
The MM & SII cars had the aperture seal, the 1000's had the "glue on the lid" seal.

[Gareth]

Right, I think I'm decided - it'll have to be a push-on thingummy... I've got the dimensions, so I'll be off to my parts place in a mo'. I live close to the David Manners empire, which has in the same building, Triumph, Mazda MX5, MG, Mini, Jaguar and the Birmingham Minor Centre, so I shall go and bother about seven people at once! Hurrah...

Failing that, Woolies do one at £2.50 a metre, Holden at (gulp) £5 a metre, and I'm sure East Kent Trim could sort something, but I prefer waffling face to face - especially when I don't know what I'm talking about.

Glad to know I'm not the only one with this problem!!

[57traveller]

We seem to be having differing results, I've done same as Willie. My saloon had the lid seal and was always full of water. Changed to push on body fit and now dry. I was told by a Minor parts supplier that the body seal was correct for '62 saloon.

[Cam]

Hmmmm.............. My car ('69) came with the wrong seal (body type) and like Scott said the top corners bent in and became distorted. I glued them down but it did not help, so I replaced the seal with the lid type and it's sealing better but I am still getting leaks. I don't think it's the seal though I think it's the boot badge and the wing mounting bolts.

Gareth,
Let us know how you get on at David Manners then we can repeat your experience if it's a good one!

[Gareth]

Ohhhh.... I thought the bootlid seal came in at '60.... I'll ask my local lot first, methinks...

Well, Phyllis was restored some time ago (probably) and had the lid seal when I bought her... It was replaced like-for-like after she was assaulted by that Rover, so I presumed it was right for the car...

[57traveller]

You are probably right Gareth. The lid rubber is for later cars. However this type was fitted to my saloon and as I said the boot filled up with water (not literally!) and I replaced with same type. I had to then use excessive force to shut the boot which I thought unacceptable, stress on hinges etc. I then contacted my usual parts supplier for advice and they said I should have the body type, maybe incorrectly, but that's what I then fitted. Yes the top corners do distort but the lid shuts properly, I can just turn the handle shut gently and release the handle, no leaks.

[Gareth]

Right, the plot thickens... The BMMC hadn't got any of the earlier type 'lip seal' in stock, but I was after a bubble jobbie, so I'm not sure it would have been any use. But, the boot rubber has been removed, the catch adjusted, and lo and behold the boot fits almost flush with the bodywork!! I got a sample of the boot rubber fitted to MGBs (maybe the GT?) but it's only got a 10mm bubble on it, and it's not quite enough. Holden do a nice squashy 19mm or 25mm bubble but they're all the way over in Bromyard, and they're expensive.

Our 75's in for service this evening, so I might harangue our dealer about Metro boot lid seals, or something... see if I can get any joy out of MGRover :sarcastic smilie:

Will keep you all updated, for anyone that's had the trouble.

[Willie]

Well,we all seem to get different results with our different types
of boot seal. It only proves to me that it is very worthwhile when
doing your rebuilds to drill some drain holes in the lower rear
section of the boot floor. I have drilled four 3/8" holes then coated
liberally with Waxoyl, once you have spent happy hours replacing
a rear boot floor section you do not want it to rust away again.

[iwant1]

Well, i did have the seal stuck to the boot lid, but had to rip it off in an act of rage so i could paint behind it and.. er re shape it a bit witha hammer! I found that the seal was still iintact so i re-used it but thought it would be better glued to the car rather than the lid and its worked fine for me.

[ColinP]

My Moggie has a damp boot, but it's not the boot lid seal!

There are a number of little things -

The wiring for the rear lights runs out of the inner wing - the rubber grommets here weren't doing their job, so there's a drip route along the wiring into the boot.

Also, the bumber mounting post seals are persihed, and there's leakage along these into the boot. A bit of silicone sealer has helped, but it's still a bit damp in the pouring rain...

Colin

[Gareth]

Well dodgy seals shouldn't be my problem, I've had the last 3 feet of the car replaced!!

I've fitted a large 'bubble' seal to the opening flange. The large bubble is only on the load-bay area, however. Fitting it to the lower half made it very difficult to close the boot, so I split the rubber to get a lip-seal for that area, like the earlier cars. It appears to make a good seal all the way around now, but I'll know more when I was the car this morning.

I had to go to Holden Vintage and Classic for the seal (I'll post a link in a while, but their site appears to be down for maintenance), and although it was a long way and they were a bit more expensive than other places (who hadn't got it in stock...) it did mean I could have a blast along the A44 from Worcester to Bromyard. Wow! What a fantastic drive, known forever more as a Great Wee Road - good surface, loads of twisty bits, hills and views right across Herefordshire...

I may have to go again!!

Oh, back to the bootlid: it fits a little better than before, but the rubber is much more pliable than the original-type, so I'm hoping that in a while I'll be able to readjust the catch.

[Scott]

Don't forget the fuel filler neck seal, this is a pretty poor design & can leak quite readily .
The only thing holding it tight to the body is the filler neck hose.

[57traveller]

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the lid fitting seal on my saloon's boot made it difficult to close so I fitted the older type body fitting seal. I've decided to revert back to lid seal - the body seal is becoming too distorted and pulling away from the flange when lid is closed.
I've purchased a new seal and although not fitted yet noticed it is much thinner than the previous. This should ensure the lid fits easier but hopefully makes a complete seal. I wonder if parts suppliers are using different sources or because of lid shutting problems are now specifying a thinner section? This thinner type might have been better for your boot Gareth.
Will report when fitted.

[Gareth]

I tried a thinner seal and sitting inside the bootlid (back seat folded, of course... ) It was very snug at the top, but as the bootlid headed floorwards, there were gaping holes allowing angelic shafts of light to fall upon the cord carpet in the loadbay.

I should be able to adjust the seal that's on there, now the boot's quite easy to close, but I left her out in a torrential downpour this evening and whaddayaknow - a dry boot!!

Have a go with the other seal though, 57 - and please report back. I'm sure it will help others for, as we know, no mog is the same!