plastic sheeting inside doors

[littlejim]

I couldn't find any guidance on this topic anywhere proper. The bits I took out appeared to have been clipped to the top of the door in a couple of spots, and jammed under the glass in the carrier at the bottom. With only that one grey cell it was a bit hard to picture what the original setup might have been.

Seems like the idea is to provide a barrier to protect the trim on the door and to keep the rain from getting inside the car via the trim. So I'm going for a sheet of plastic just under the trim. The only useful reference I could find was:

www.vw-resource.com/plastic_sheet.html

I'm going to glue mine on but the blue tack is very handy for holding the plastic sheet in place while you mark where the holes will go and where you are going to trim it.

[Tony Millward]

I couldn't find any guidance on this topic anywhere proper. The bits I took out appeared to have been clipped to the top of the door in a couple of spots, and jammed under the glass in the carrier at the bottom. With only that one grey cell it was a bit hard to picture what the original setup might have been.

Seems like the idea is to provide a barrier to protect the trim on the door and to keep the rain from getting inside the car via the trim. So I'm going for a sheet of plastic just under the trim. The only useful reference I could find was:

www.vw-resource.com/plastic_sheet.html

I'm going to glue mine on but the blue tack is very handy for holding the plastic sheet in place while you mark where the holes will go and where you are going to trim it.

 

 

Hi Jim,

 

Not sure if you are planning to stick it to the back of the panels directly or to the door itself..the latter is the preferred choice as it stops all the damp (and noise) from coming into the passenger compartment.

 

Cheers

 

Tony

[RogerH]

Hi Jim,

this came up about a year ago.

I thought there was only one piece of polythene but apparently there are three pieces.

The idea is to keep rain water off all the mechanicals inside the door.

It's not really to stop damp on the trim as any water will eventually drain out the bottom of the door.

The original fitted between the rubber, at the bottom of the door glass, and the channel and went the full length, or as near as, of the glass.

Although not standard, it may be worth running a bead of 'bath' sealant along the top of the polythene where it comes out of the channel to stop water running into the channel.

Water may still get into the channel and make it rust away without the sealant.

It fits on the door skin side of the mechanicals

The bottom is left to hang loose.

Roger

Edited January 3, 2010 by RogerH

[88V8]

As Roger says, this is a three-parter.

Fortunately, it's the same as the TR6, so you can see the parts in the Moss cat

 

http://www.moss-euro...402&SortOrder=1

 

Unfortunately, I doubt you'll be able to buy them.

 

The three parts you see here are fixed to/in the doorglass channel and ride up and down with the glass, to keep the water off the winder mechanism.

 

It is also prudent to fit a poly sheet over the inside of the door to keep water/vapour from affecting the (hardboard) trim panel, and this is just stuck or gaffered to the inside of the door with minimal holes for access. Even with this in place, I would still varnish the back of the trim panel before fitting, as damp can run down between the panel and the door, and then the trapped moisture has nowhere to go except into the hardboard panel where it produces an interesting 3D effect.

 

All this of course presumes that the car will get wet, that involves something called rain which you will find on Google

 

Ivor

[Richard V]

I did the job with industrial strength double sided sticky tape (for aircraft carpets)

 

I used a sharpened piece of copper pipe to punch the holes for the trim clips before removing the backing tape and sticking it down.

 

Hope the pic helps.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard.

[RogerH]

Richard,

you still need the sheet that moves up/down with the window.

 

Roger

[stuart]

When I rebuilt my 4a there was sufficient of the original set up to use as a pattern. Originally the plastic membranes had strips of card (I kid you not) stapled to the top which was then clipped to the inside of the inner lip where the inner felt excluder is fitted. It is indeed in 3 sections and I spent ages faithfully reproducing them and really struggled to get them to fit correctly. They work well and do protect the lock at the rear , the winder in the middle and the winder handle and door actuator at the front. Only thing was I fitted them and then waxoyled the inside of the door . For years afterwards every time I wound the the window down and then up again I got a smear of waxoyl up the glass. Moral is waxoyl first then fit membranes. You do also still need one between the trim and the door frame especially with some of the board that trim kits are supplied with these days as they will soak up water like a hob-nob

Stuart.

[littlejim]

Many thanks for that information folks. Ivor thanks for putting me on to the TR6 pictures, would never have known what it was supposed to look like. I only found 2 bits inside mine.

Have made the bit to go over the door inside the trim, can now have a think about reproducing the inside bits. Found the bits of thick cardboard and clips Stuart described.

[Tony Millward]

Hi all,

 

It's amazing what you learn on this forum...I didn't take my doors and fittings apart (in cardboard boxes), so had absolutely no idea of these three pieces of plastic. I'd like to echo Littlejim and thank you for the info..

 

Cheers

 

Tony

[TR NIALL]

Tony,you will hardly need the plastics unless you will be dipping it in the pool

[Smokey]

Thanks, all, this is great information. I have the plastic under the door panel, but was unaware that the three curtain pieces were to keep the door mechanisms dry and are needed as well. The TR4 Spare Parts Catalogue (Plate AM) shows these three curtains, but it appears that only the middle one is directly affixed to the channel assembly of the window regulator, because the curtian runs the full length of the channel. Are the front and side pieces (611818 and 611819) affixed to the door itself? There doesn't seem to be any way to attach them to the glass with the clips.

[Tony Millward]

Tony,you will hardly need the plastics unless you will be dipping it in the pool

 

 

Don't be silly!......I'd need a bigger bit of plastic for that..

 

Tony

[littlejim]

Smokey,

I'm still trying to nut out what the TR people had in mind. I've finally got all the bits back inside the door (after trying every possible combination of back to front and upside down - boy are there a lot). I'm finding it hard to see what they achieve that the glass itself doesn't do.

if I clip them to the metal on the outside they will channel the water down their inside surface on to the workings below the glass, if I clip them to the inside I guess they will catch the water that runs off the bottom of the glass and keep it off the workings. Plus the one jammed in the glass channel will also run the drips to the other side of the workings.

By George I think he's got it!(Think another grey cell has just cleared its plugs.)

Edited January 6, 2010 by littlejim

[88V8]

By George I think he's got it!

Yes, I think he has.

And I'll wager that if you look inside any TR door, 95% of them will have the water curtains missing, so you're now in a select minority.

 

I'm in the 95%, as by the time I found out about this the doors were 'finished' and I was blowed if I was going to take them apart again

 

Ivor

[stuart]

Thanks, all, this is great information. I have the plastic under the door panel, but was unaware that the three curtain pieces were to keep the door mechanisms dry and are needed as well. The TR4 Spare Parts Catalogue (Plate AM) shows these three curtains, but it appears that only the middle one is directly affixed to the channel assembly of the window regulator, because the curtian runs the full length of the channel. Are the front and side pieces (611818 and 611819) affixed to the door itself? There doesn't seem to be any way to attach them to the glass with the clips.

 

The front and rear pieces are attached to the inner top lip where the inner felt is attached and its a very difficult operation as the front one also is retained by the upper bolt of the door slide (The one on the upper forward shut face) and the rear one is also retained by the upper rear window slide retaining bolt. In other words they wrap around the the slides outside of the channels. God knows how long it must have taken them to assemble them on the line but its easy to see why they dont get refitted

Stuart.

[Smokey]

Thanks, Stuart and littlejim. Not knowing the exact configuration of the front and rear curtains aside from the perspective drawings in the Parts Catalogue, it will be an interesting exercise in fitting them. My initial guess from looking at the inside of the door (which is uncovered awaiting the new drop glass) was that the curtains clip to the bottom of two openings in the inside door pressing. I'll just figure out what needs to be kept dry, and work accordingly. Using the window track mounting bolts would also keep the door lock dry, so that makes sense. No wonder there were so many strikes in the old days. Could you imagine being the installer of these curtains on the production line?

[littlejim]

I've decided to join Ivor in the wimps club. No signs of rust on any of the bits the plastic sheet is meant to protect, 2 degC of global warming coming up, Moss carry the bits if I'm wrong.

Leaves Stuart with one of the World's unique TRs.

 

Will spend the equivalent amount of time solving the problem of the glass carrier not gripping the glass. Going up OK, going down only working on days when gravity is high. Hoping the contact cement does the job.

[88V8]

Will spend the equivalent amount of time solving the problem of the glass carrier not gripping the glass. Going up OK, going down only working on days when gravity is high. Hoping the contact cement does the job.

 

In my 6, what looks to be the original glass (with period scratches) in the original channel, is held in place by being jammed in with some sort of original felt.

This affords the possibility of gentle adjustment with a hide mallet.

 

Ivor

[RogerH]

Hi LittleJim,

as you know the glass is held in the channel by the rubber 'U' shaped thingy.

If the the glass is still loose then the channel is not pinching it all together - or your rubber is on the thin side.

 

The channel can be squeezed slightly to give that extra pinch.

If the channel is rusty then this will allow the channel to open up.

 

There is no need for glue etc.

 

Roger

[stuart]

Hi LittleJim,

as you know the glass is held in the channel by the rubber 'U' shaped thingy.

If the the glass is still loose then the channel is not pinching it all together - or your rubber is on the thin side.

 

The channel can be squeezed slightly to give that extra pinch.

If the channel is rusty then this will allow the channel to open up.

 

There is no need for glue etc.

 

Roger

 

If you do remove it to squeeze it up do remember to accurately mark its position on the glass, as if it doesn't go down to exactly the same orientation it wont line up with the screen the same. I have on odd occasions been able to rectify alignment problems by canting the glass in the holder slightly.

Stuart