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MG MGB Technical - GT tailgate inner seal

Installed new outer and inner seals of the tail gate. Is the inner seal (goes around entire tail gate) supposed to close on the body lip (flange) or is it supposed to lay entirely in the "channel" on the body?

Thanks,
Tom
Tom Custer

It is supposed to press against the edge of the flange, not go inside the channel. I had some difficulty with mine because it didn't touch the flange at the bottom corners and exhaust fumes got sucked in the gap. I overcame it by padding the rubber out with some more rubber strip glued behind it to alter the angle at which it sits.
Mike Howlett

Thanks for the info Mike. I'm having a devil of a time getting the tail gate to close and latch. I wonder if it's because the rubbers are new.

Tom
Tom Custer

Tom,

New seals are not conform to original ones. They are a pain to fit and tail gate is almost unajustable.

Cheers,

Jean G.
Jean Guy Catford

I'm interested here, as am just having BGT bare-metal painted. Will of course be fitting new rubbers, inc. tailgate - any chance of a photo of the seal you describe, correctly fitted? - I've seen the usual exploded diagrams, but a photo is so much more illustrative of the correct way to instal. Regards, John Hall.
J.P. Hall

Tom, does adjusting the catch on the bottom of the opening help? I put new rubbers round my tailgate last year and apart from the exhaust getting in, there wasn't any problem with shutting the gate.
Mike Howlett

Ok, got it sorted, more or less. Ordered all the rubber parts from McGregor last year including windscreen and rear qtr lights. Called Martin and told him I was having a problem. He asked me if I was using the push-on seal that goes on to the lip on the body. Of course, I had used the original-style inner seal (from Moss) and totally forgot that I had the push-on seal. That's what happens when you order a lot of stuff and then don't get to it for awhile. Anyhow, he said the later-style push-on seal is the way to go and if I'm having fit problems it's most likely related to the body or hinges. So I removed the inner seal, installed the push-on seal, and then adjusted the hinges as best I could and the tailgate fits much better. The latch does not give much adjustment but I have it all the way down so that the tailgate closes very tight. Martin said that most of the original-style tailgate inner seals that are being made now are not molded properly and are too dense which causes fit problems.

Attached is a photo of the LH side showing the upper outer seal which is held in place with the aluminum piece and you can also see the later-style push-on seal that goes on to the body lip. Both seals are from McGregor.

BTW, Martin is very helpful -- he walked me through the installation process. His "as-original" rubber parts are a bit pricey but very well worth it!

Tom Custer

Tom

Isn't Martin a neat person to work with. I ordered all the seals for my 67 from him. He literally walked me through on the phone how to properly install the door seals. Made it a much more professional job.
Bruce E Cunha

Bruce, yes Martin is indeed very enthusiastic and friendly and also very knowledgeable. Such a pleasure to talk with him.

Tom
Tom Custer

Thanks for the photo Tom - I can now check my pile of seals which have been sitting quietly in a corner - I wonder which ones I bought! I'll revert to you if I'm in trouble. Regards, John.
J.P. Hall

So Tom, As I understand it the "later" push on seal Is this the same seal used for the later Roadster Trunk push on seal? As I do not see a late or push on seal listed in the catalogs for the GT's?
Thanks
Mike
MK Mike K

Yes, that's correct Mike. Sorry I wasn't clear about that. If you have questions about the seal you can call Martin and he'll fill you in. And he may even have a good story for you on how things were done on the assembly line!

Tom
Tom Custer

Well, I've never seen that, the seal on the body. It makes a lot of sense to me. I bought the original type seal that goes on the door from MGB Hive and it worked OK, but lots of you have obviously had trouble with them.
Mike Howlett

I too bought original Inner and Outer seals and installed them. I could not figure why my hatch would not fit flush with the body of the car . I have seen alot of Gt's with a nice flush fit. I am also still getting a little water in the back corner. Hope this change of seals solves the problems.
MK Mike K

Right, can we clear this up please? The seal that goes round the body lip, as shown in Tom's photo, is that a recognised MGB part, and if so, what is the part number? It seems to me that if you used the lip seal from a roadster trunk it would be too short. But Brown & Gammons show a roll of seal part no. AHH7833 which they say fits both roadster and GT. (http://www.ukmgparts.com/product.aspx?CID=a06aab03-5ebc-49d9-a937-a6d8adfce6c1&SID=c4c0d773-4268-42ff-8677-bf5f42c54f31&PID=a29006b5-a8ec-489e-9ab2-1c193cb9bca6).

Is this the component? The reason I ask is a perpetual ingress of exhaust smell round the tailgate using the flat seal attached to the tailgate. My exhaust steams when the engine is cold, and if you drive away you can see in the mirror the vapour curling up the tailgate, so if there is any gap it will come in - and it does!
Mike Howlett

Mike H, the seal I got from McGregor, which is a push fit on to the body lip, is cut long -- you have to cut to correct length for the bgt. With the original-style inner seal, which fits to the rear hatch, there was a noticeable gap at the lower corners of the hatch which would probably allow fumes into the car. With the body-lip seal the hatch closes tightly and there are no gaps that I can see. Of course, when I finish the restoration and drive the car, I'll find out if the seal indeed works as intended!!

Tom
Tom Custer

Thanks for that Tom. I'll order one tomorrow. My wife and I are due to go on a tour of the Scottish Highlands in a few weeks and the last thing I need is a perpetual exhaust smell.
Mike Howlett

This thread was discussed between 15/03/2010 and 28/03/2010

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