Issues replacing the tailgate rubber seal on a RRC

Seasons greetings everyone! Although, having just spent three hours fighting with the back end of my 2 door RRC tailgate, my inner Grinch is calling.
'Tilly' is so dangerously close to completion that I could weep. She is road-legal but has been confined to the garage until I can sort out her leakage issues around the tailgate. One leak really, but, as the spare-wheel well was filling up every time it looked a bit cloudy, it is quite a major one.
I tried 'rejuvenating' the seal by inserting 10mm foam tubes (don't laugh.....it worked for some guy on youtube and I was desperate).
I tried adding secondary seals to the tailgate and surrounding area. Nope.
So I bought a Britpart seal and, today, tried fitting it.
Then I realised that this was going to be nigh on impossible unless I removed the upper tailgate....Christ but aren't they heavy!
I then fitted the seal and re-fitted the tailgate....did I mention they are heavy?
Imagine my surprise then, when neither the upper or lower tailgates would close!
I have managed to re-jig the fittings on the lower tailgate with spacers so that it closes (just).
How the hell do I persuade the upper tailgate to close?
It is close. Very close. But it must be putting one hell of a strain on the hinges already.
Any assistance gratefully received.

Ed whats-is-name off Wheeler Dealers did the push foam tube into the old seal thing on IIRC an Aston Martin & that appeared to work.

From another website:
Several part numbers are given over the years.
My 1977 parts list shows the seal as 392584
Microcat 1986-1991 part number MWC2929 up to VIN GA441003 and MTC2398 from GA441004
Microcat 1992-1994 MTC2398 up to VIN JA624754 and ALR3213 from KA624756
The only part number that appears to be currently available is MTC2398 & various websites list it as superceding the other numbers.

I've just tried fitting a Britpart MTC2398 to the rear of mine.

The lower tailgate closes with some effort.

The top tailgate won't latch at all, even with the top hinges screwed right out. I've backed the nuts on the rear up inside the roof right out - any further & the tailgate would fall off! - and the side catches are out as far as they can go.

A comparison between my original & the new reveals that the rubber on the new is quite rigid & difficult to compress.

External diameter of the new is approx 22mm, the original approx 19mm.

Wall thickness of the new varies between 2.71mm and 3.14mm, the original between 1.70 and 1.96mm

Whether this fits any better on later RRC I have no idea, but it certainly doesn't mine. Old one back on

Hmmm...thought the Britpart one looked a bit 'robust' compared to the original, but I had put that down to 40 years of compression.
Like you, I can sort of get the lower tailgate closed, and was already figuring out the logistics of loosening hinges etc. However, if you have already tried this then I'm guessing it's not worth the effort.
Back to plan A then and continue stuffing my original seal with foam?
I might give Phoenix Supplies a call. They have a rubber trim in a similar profile. If it is closer to my original seal, I'd 'only'' have to sort out the mitred corners.
The other minor issue is that the channel that the rubber sits in had rusted out on the upper, horizontal part of the goalpost, however I'm not convinced that this was the cause of the issue.

Perhaps consider alternative sources for the seal? Get a robust but soft rubber. I had the same issue with series doors. Off the shelf parts can be poor.

If the channel has gone then the seal won't be sealing unless it's glued to the metal to prevent water getting past it.

JJKM said:

Perhaps consider alternative sources for the seal? Get a robust but soft rubber. I had the same issue with series doors. Off the shelf parts can be poor.

Click to expand...

Replaced the door aperture seals on my RRC a few weeks ago. Bit of searching of the net found an identical size on ebay for a sensible price. OK so it doesn't have the fluffy material finish of the original but it does a very good job - no more draughts! - & it isn't a concours car.

Ratae said:

If the channel has gone then the seal won't be sealing unless it's glued to the metal to prevent water getting past it.

Click to expand...

I see your point, but, as the tailgate won't even shut, I am a long way from worrying about the water tightness of the seal. Long term I'll look at using sikaflex or similar. Cheers. Rich

I finally opted for using half of the new seal on the bottom of the goalpost (lower tailgate) & cutting the old seal & using it's upper half to do the top half (upper tailgate).
Not ideal but the best I could come up with at the time.
The channel is in good condition & it seals against water ingress.
I keep meaning to have a search for a suitably profiled rubber seal to replace the lot with something as near as possible to the original but as it's OK it's been on the back burner.

Depending on what Phoenix has to offer I can see myself creating something similar.
How can this be so difficult? Rant Rant.
I distinctly remember buying a replacement car door seal for a Spitfire a few years ago and....it fitted perfectly!

Ah yes, but I don't think Britpart do Triumph stuff....

Not sure which tailgate seal you are talking about, upper or lower 'gate?
Body (with 'gates closing against) or the seal fitted to the bottom edge of the top 'gate?
If it's the latter the channel holding it on my 4-door was rusted out, so the seal was removed (still in decent condition) the fixings holding the channel drilled out, copious amounts of rust-converter applied & the seal refitted using a professional mastic compound.

nb. this seal is now unobtainable new, but the other seals (or copies of) are.

It's the goalpost seal, the one that fits to the body & the tailgates close against.
MTC2398 is still available new from the usual suspects but only as a pattern part by Britpart - which is a rubbish fit.

The rubber blade at the bottom of the top tailgate & seals onto the top of the bottom tailgate is MXC8422 (from MWC2189). There are earlier part numbers & FF suggest one is thinner.
Listed on their tailgate kit page. I fitted one of these kits years ago & it's still perfect. https://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/partslist?veh=rrc_70_85&sec=tgate&sub_sec=seals ) I wonder if FF have had some of the seals made?

Ratae said:

It's the goalpost seal, the one that fits to the body & the tailgates close against.
MTC2398 is still available new from the usual suspects but only as a pattern part by Britpart - which is a rubbish fit.

The rubber blade at the bottom of the top tailgate & seals onto the top of the bottom tailgate is MXC8422 (from MWC2189). There are earlier part numbers & FF suggest one is thinner.
Listed on their tailgate kit page. I fitted one of these kits years ago & it's still perfect. https://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/partslist?veh=rrc_70_85&sec=tgate&sub_sec=seals ) I wonder if FF have had some of the seals made?

Click to expand...

I'll give them a call on Monday to see if they have anything different to the Britpart monster.

OK, spoke to FF. They have their own seals made (they don't rate the Britpart version...strange that) and use them on their own restorations. £32 posted. I'm going to clean up, respray the channel area before I fit it, but will let you know the result once it is on. Cheers.

I'll be very interested to know how you get on - they might have another customer!

I'll try and post comparison cross section photos of the original, Britpart and FF seals as well. Thanks for the suggestion! Fingers crossed.

Could you not soften the rubber in situ (with warm water or something) then close the tailgate and it should take the shape?

RangeRoller dt said:

Could you not soften the rubber in situ (with warm water or something) then close the tailgate and it should take the shape?

Click to expand...

That is my plan B if the Famous Four seal doesn't work. Because of the limited access, I'm not convinced you can do it in situ, however mine is already off and will be going in a large bucket of hot water. I'll then try and push it back into shape using clothes pegs.

Pegs have been known to work surprisingly well on RRs, honestly
I have gigantic super duper ones especially

The New Famous Four seal has arrived!
In the images left to right: FF, the old seal, the Britpart monster.
Looking at it side by side to the original, I am now a bit concerned that the FF version might actually be too small, but at least it has some 'body' to it.
I'll post results once I've tidied up the channel and tried fitting it...think I'll try a dry run first without sealant.