Hard Top Seals

[Guest]

I have read through past post but cannot seem to get a definite answer. I will shortly be sorting my Hard Top. Needs only a small amount of work doing to it but my question is about the seals.



The dealers show the rear bottom seal being the same as the front top seal. The ones fitted to mine are different. The one that is fitted to the top front is almost flat, this is not due to use/age. The one that are offered by the dealers is more of a round section. Past posts seem to suggest that these round section seals can be fitted if the seal is persuaded to go forward when the Hard Top is fitted. I have my doubts as I don’t think that these round section seals would compress enough to allow the locating handles to pull the Hard Top down enough to engage. Also there are two seals that go against the B Posts; I cannot find a supplier for these. I am about to send samples to the likes of Woollies etc to see if they can help but thought maybe someone has the solution.



I know talking about a Hard Top at this time of the year may seem strange but apart for some cosmetic work I seem to have completed everything on my Stag.



As always many thanks for any replies and suggestions.



Don Kennedy

[Spurs]

imported post

Don,

I replaced the seals on my hardtop with ones from Rimmers earlier this year and as you say the profile does not let the locating handles locate ! I could get the front ones done up but even this was tight. The rubber itself, despite the profile difference, seems much harder and has less softness.flexibility to it.

Never concluded the problem as the sun came out and I took hard top off. Will look again in a couple of months.

Martin

[Andy Rundell]

imported post

It is the usual repro rubber seal problem - not limited to Stags....... i used Rimmer-supplied seals a couple of years ago, front and back of the hardtop.

I was able to get the locating handles to lock, by encouraging the lip and the front to sit facing forwards, and the rear one to face backwards, the rear i did with the help of some string - used as you would when fitting a windscreen seal to the frame.

I avoided removing the hardtop for a few months afterwards to help keep the placement of the seal - seemed to work ok, but i admit that it did not take 10 mins to do the whole job

Woolies are a good place to try for alternatives, they may have some which are more sponge-like per originals, another person to speak to may be Bill Davies of Rarebits4Classics, he has a good supply of extrusions/seals (no personal interest blah blah)

.........Andy

[jleyton]

imported post

Hi Don

I was in an identical position to you a few months ago. My front seal was the original 'flattened centre' type with stitching to keep it flat.

Although it looked in pretty poor shape, a lot of very, verycareful cleaning, also utilising very fine wire wool, has brought it back to virtually as good as new condition. Is there any chance that yours could be similarly restored?

I really thought mine was a lost cause before I started work on it

Cheers

Julian

[DJT]

imported post

Hi Don,

I have been chasing this seal problem for a while without success. Indeed all the suppliers list the front and rear as being the same. However the original seals were of a foam type rubber similar to the door seals, but all the available ones are of monofilament indiarubber and are a bit hard. The same problem affects the replacement seals for the soft top above the doors.

The original front hard top seal was actually stitched to give it a flatter profile, but these have been unavailable for years.

My hard top has the same seals front/rear. The front one does eventually sit flatter, but it can be a struggle to start with.

The seals against the b-posts are the same ones that fit at the rear of the windscreen a-pillar rain channel - 630755. It is a p-section seal.

Dave

[Guest]

imported post

Many thanks for the replies.



Looks like the one of the problems is due to rubber seals supplied nowadays being too hard. I will be contacting companies that look like they may help. Thanks to Tony for the Rarebits4classics link. Looks very promising.



This is one of the things I find that is “fun” about an older car, the challenge of finding parts, yes I know I am sad.



I will see how I get on and let you all know when I know but it could be a few weeks as I am off on holiday soon, what a bummer, a couple of weeks cruising around Greece, Turkey Italy etc. Maybe if I have a few Euros to spare I could buy Greece ?.



Don Kennedy