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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - How to get those window rubber clips on?


Still putting my doors together. Doing the locks and frames was easy and I knew the challenge was yet to come. Those bloody clips for the window seals. I had no luck so I searched the archives and the suggestions were make up a J using an old screwdriver and then it's easy. Well not for me. How do I get it started? The width of the metal and rubber is quite wide so I can't get it going. I'm assuming these are the correct clips for the rubber.

More help please?

Greg H

Greg: It looks like your hook is made of metal with a circular cross section which means the little clips just keep falling off. make one with a flat piece of metal .. and a blob of blu-tak to keep them on until they are pulled up tight.
Worked for mine...
HTH

Good luck

Of course being "down under" they might just keep falling off 'cos you're up-side-down..

I'll get me coat!
David Cox

Similar to David, a piece of alloy about 30x2mm (or maybe 1.5) bent into a U that was a neat-ish fit round the clip and long enough to get a good firm grip on it. Worked really well.

U-section had to be wide enough for the clip to spread as it went over the rubber of course.
Paul Walbran

Actually it's a flat screwdriver so not a circular section. I don't think it's the tool as I can pull them with plenty of pressure but it's not really happening as I'm having trouble getting the clips started. Perhaps I need to spread them more first?

David thanks for offering to come down and help but you won't need your coat down here, just your passport and a pair of shorts, oh and your little tool of course. :)

I'll keep battling away then. I've got one on and it only took about an hour so a few more hours and I should be done.

Greg H

Once I made up the tools described by DC some 15 years ago, the job takes less than 5mins per door. I made sure mine grabbed the clip tight - being made of ally, very easy to bend; used a u-shape at top to make easy to lift clip into place.

Tool still on the bench ready for next time...

Not even nec to remove the card to retrieve dropped clips!

A
Anthony Cutler

Did mine recently using the tool from Moss. Should have made one though since this would have been much cheaper.

I held the rubber up against the top edge of the door so get the location of the clips on the door. I then put the clips on the door minus the rubber strip.

What worked for me was then starting at one end of the rubber strip, using the tool hold the clip in place and push the rubber in to the clip. Work your way along the rubber strip a clip at a time so that they grip the rubber strip. Repeat the process until you are happy the rubber is fully home.
TonyJH

I made my clip tool from a strip of brass. It was flat enough that I was able to slide it into the window slot easily to pull the clips up.

Using flat stock also made it simple to fine-tune the hook bit at the end so that it actually retained the clip without the use of goo. I tinkered with the tool until the clips would snap in and stay, then release when I pushed the tool down after fitting.

Tony's approach was interesting - fitting the clip, then the door seal. I pulled the clips up over the seal and door flange simultaneously, but made sure to press down on the seal to avoid pulling it up along with the clip. Plus, the more horizontally the seal is mounted, the better it will press against the glass and keep rain out.

That said, I still had to fish a few clips out of the bottom of the door during this little operation. Fortunately, I'll probably never have to do it again. :-)

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

I made mine in a a letter S, so that I could hook my finger in the top curve to pull it up. The bottom part that holds the clip needs to be quite a narrow curve so that it holds the clip quite snug so it pulls the clip up withought the clip moving backwards or forwards.
Cheers John
HALL JOHN

I made mine with a strip of flat steel banding off a local stack of recently delivered bricks.

Just bent back the last 3/8" of a strip and folded it almost closed then a Bob's yer uncle with the clip sat in the "vee".

A couple of times the low grade steel fractured whilst doing the job and the clip and fragment dropped inside the door.

A very quick fish around for the stray metal bits, bend a new "vee" and job done fairly quickly.

This banding isn't strong but came in handy for many automotive tasks and I always carried a couple of strips in the AA van.

Sorry to say I can't get my hands on any these days, all the houses near me have been finished for years but a neighbour having a brick extension might be useful for you.

The bend on your screwdriver just won't let the clip sit and wait for the necesary manouvering, make it sharper i.e a V not a U and you should be OK.

Oh yes

a sliver of blu-tak might be a useful friend too.
Bill 1

I did spread the clips slightly on mine before installing, and used some blu-tac to hold them onto the tool. Worked a treat.
Andrew Fraser

I did mine with a wire coat hanger doubled up and bent to shape at one end to take the clip with a large bend it the other end so that it did not slip through my fingers when I pulled the clips on. Worked well with only a few clips dropped in the bottom of the door.
Good luck
Dave
Dave Brown

Here's mine...

Strip of steel - actually it is the lip from my front inner wheelarch which I removed when fitting the Ashley bonnet, which is why it is Tartan Red.

D O'Neill

ok made up another tool not quite as elegant but it worked. After a bit of stuffing around I got them on. Still took me abour 2hours. So I was pleased but then I couldn't get the glass in so had to take the seal back off. Crap! So now I have the glass in but seems so much harder. The pic is before I took it back off.

So what's the correct sequence for puting the door back together.

1. frame in place
2. regulator temporarily fitted
3. glass in
4. rubber on - the bit that's shi**ing me
5. door felt - haven't tried it but I'm sure will sh*t me too
6. drop reg and fit on glass
7. put reg back in place
8. fit rear window guide. Haven't found it yet but suspect there is one
8. fit door pad along top

How's that sound?

I'm normally pretty good at working things out but these seem to be more of a challenge than they shoould be although I proably pulled the doors apart about 10 years ago so can remember too much.

Greg H

I found that the trick is to push the rubber (or felt) strip down so it protrudes below the metal edge that it will fit to. Use the clip tool (mine is a bent over screwdriver very much like Greg's first photo)to get the clip in place on the rubber and then pull both clip and rubber up together onto the metal edge. Takes about 5 minutes a side.

As for work sequence,
1.Fix the external door handle and key lock.
2.Put the quarter light frame in, but dont attach it.
3.Add the regulator, glass and rear channel, all just loose in the door at this stage.
4. Then with all the bits still loose in the door I fit the seals and clips, although this can be done later it is easier without the glass in the way.
5.Fasten in rear channel
6.Fit the glass into the regulator and hold it into the front and rear channels, bolting the quarterlight in, and with the regulator bolts in loose.
7.Wind window up and down a few times to align everything, adjust and tighten.
8.Add door lock.
Guy

Thanks Guy. So my sequence looks ok. I'll soldier on then.
Greg H

A couple of points to bear in mind...

The vertical channels may need adjusting so that they don't 'pinch' the glass as it is lowered.

The windscreen frame will need adjusting fore and aft to match the quarterlight.

The quarterlight will probably need to be adjusted in/out to match the windscreen frame.
D O'Neill

Guy,

try this procedure. It worked for me.
Credit to Norm Kerr again.

http://www.mgexperience.net/article/spridget-door-assembly.html

Si
Simon Ricketts

This thread was discussed between 10/11/2011 and 20/11/2011

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