Morris Minor Owners Club

To all who gave me advice and tips re the leaking boot problem, thanks.
I've found all suggestions useful and have fixed the problem as a result of using the data.
Thanks again
sloopjohnrb

Where was the leak?

The leak was from: A, a badly fitted replacement seal, B. the lid badges and hinges.

Which seal was it, and how did you fix the leak?

I had a new seal fitted to the bootlid, and the lid is a to shut... I'm hoping that it'll ease after a while, but I'm not liking having to slam the bootlid to get it to close...!

BOOT SEAL.
I write this in the hope that it will be of use to anyone contemplating replacing their boot seal.
My boot seal problem was a long standing one, and I now know that I made several errors initially, which hopefully the reader can avoid.

There are 2 seal types, the earlier one fitted to the bodywork of the car and is a thin piece of rubber of the push on type.
The second one is a much larger square foam type, the interior resembling an Aero bar, the outer covered with rubber.
To ascertain which one fits yours check and double-check with your supplier.

My boot seal was the second type with which replaced a "fabric" type seal that was on the car when first bought-some say this WAS a standard Moggie fixture, the other school of thought that it was something the previous owner had put on-it's immaterial anyway, as it obviously wasn't working.

My first attempt, with hindsight, was so naive, so I offer the following
to help you avoid the pitfalls I fell into.

1. Remove the boot lid.
This is important to get a proper seal fitting and for an easier job all round. First time pitfall-no matter how good the adhesive, it will not defy gravity and trying to fit seal whilst lid in situ means one has to work FASTER than the adhesive.
I saved having to remove the light fitting by disconnecting the 2 wires and back threading them through the aperture, then going on to remove the braided wire loom from their clip ons.
I then took the rear light chrome and glass off for cleaning and inspection.

2.Perfect the surface.
When the old seal is removed, the vacant place will have lots of little mountains of old adhesive, old rubber and so on. These aren't obvious until looking through a magnifying glass (which I did), remove EVERYTHING.
Sand down to bare metal with usual sandpaper grades.
Check and recheck the rounded corners.

3. Apply undercoat.
Let this dry completely.
The boot lid is going to be off for a few days so the proper drying of the undercoat can be taking place .

4. Fitting the seal.
When the surface is ready, collect together 40 or so clothes pegs and your prefered adhesive. First time pitfall- using Superglue in the hope of a quick job. Don't use Superglue.
I used Araldite adhesive, which I mixed in tiny amounts at a time.
Drape the seal loosely into posistion with the join at the BOTTOM of the boot lid.
Using the pegs, get the seal into a rough template posistion, you may use strips of cloth to prevent the pegs marking the outside area of the boot.
Work 3 inches or whatever small area you're comfortable with starting at the top middle, work out to the left corner, then work out to the right corner, pegging as you go. Force the seal firmly against the boot lid and don't forget to glue the side that goes flush with the boot lip as well as the bottom of the seal.
Let each section "settle".
Then work down the left side, then the right.
Tuck and glue in the right bottom corner, then the left, still keeping to a short bit at a time and pegging.
Then work along the bottom-cut the overlap generously in the seal's favour-you will make a final snip later.
When the bottom is done, make that final snip to the seal to cut off the overlap.
Try to make the ends perfectly flush without having too little (gap) or too much (kinking).
When the seal is all pegged up-leave it overnight to fully dry.
First pitfall -I tried to fit it straight away and eneded up gluing it to my forehead.

5. After an overnight dry, touch up the rear of the boot where you may have over-sanded and so on.

6. I took the opportunity to remove badges, rear light and number plate
from the boot lid, clean all these areas.
I also discovered that the badges were letting in water so I made a template (out of the old non working thin type seal) to fit the prongs of each badge. reinsert badges, press onto the prongs the rubber template, and if a good fit, remove template, apply adhesive and reattach.
Press badge fully into template, press template fully into boot lid rear.
Give it a time to dry.
I then used a sealing compound around the rubber template and prongs-be careful not to snap the "1000" badge as it's delicate.
Let the compound dry off again, perhaps, overnight.



7. Fitting the lid back on.
Remove all pegs, check sealant is dry.
Whilst the boot lid is off I took another opportunity-replace the seals under the boot hinges, 2 per hinge the "finger" on the boot lid, and the "knuckle" on the bodywork.
The right hand side one on mine has an electrical connector possibly as an Earth, so observe in what order they all come apart.
With the help of another, refit the boot lid by just getting it into place.
Lie on your back in the boot, with 2 securing nuts ready.
Put the 2 nuts on medium loose, one on each side, then the other matching 2,
Gently test the bootlid by lifting up an inch or so.
Pitfall on first time-I tightened everything up tight and wondered why the lid was screw-whiff.
Adjust the boot hinges at the fingers and the knuckles until the fit is good.
Tighten the four screws to the fingers, then the nut to the knuckles,
See if the boot will close, and lock.
Make adjustments until it is both closing and locking.
A good measure is the boot lid stay-if you put this into posistion it acts as a benchmark for how the bootlid should fit.
Then, when satisfied, finanlly tighten the 4 finger nuts and the 2 knuckle nuts to make a sound and sturdy fittimg.
I overtightened the knuckles and the closing and opening made a "clunk" sound-if this happens, slightly slacken off the knuckle nut.

Reconnect wiring and rear light chrome and glass.

Thanks to the members of MMOC and advice from DSN spares, the boot closed and locked perfectly first time on test.
This may not seem to be a "big" job, and is probably easy to some, however it is very fiddly and difficult.

PS When I took the car to a garage, the mechanics could only come up with the solution of the non closing boot by packing washers behind the boot lock to make it stand proud and thus fit. This is not an ideal solution as the rain still got in.

I tested the boot lid by puring jugs of water over the boot, and it remained stone-dry.

I hope this is helpful and will assist in avoiding the mistakes I initially made.
Gladys is a March 1962, 4 door.

Very comprehensive - nice job!
Hopefully that might help others with the same problem!!

Evostick Timebond (or similar) is also quite good for the job - It gives just enough time to get the whole thing on in 1 go, and it was still working after 10 years.
Yes - superglue is a very bad idea - I tried it too!

Wow, you put some effort into that post Sloop, great!

That was brilliant! I wish all instructions could be that comprehensive, could you do some more?

Elaine

I agree with Elaine, please take your car apart so you can give a total indepth report on every little detail of minor maintenance You should put that up in the Technical Tips section. I know i'll be trying it when the rain stops.