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Poorly fitting door glass


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My driver's door glass is exemplary with nicely uniform gaps at front and rear to the windscreen and backlight frames whilst the top edge of the glass perfectly folllows the curve of the hard top and gives a good seal all along its length.

The passenger side door glass is a different story. When the glass is fully raised there is a 9.5mm gap betweeen windscreen frame and glass at the bottom but only a 2mm gap at the top. However, I have a uniform gap to the backlight frame of 9mm all the way along the rear edge of the glass. As for the top edge of the glass at the front it is almost fouling on the hard top and, in fact  when the hard top is fitted I drive with the window wound down a smidgeon otherwise the glass will bang on the hard top when passing over an unavoidable irregularity in the road surface.  At the rear there is too big a gap and the glass will not seal on the rubber. The attached pictures show the problem, I have stuck masking taoe along the glass edges to make things clear. 

A little thought tells me that I cannot solve this problem simply by adjusting the fit of the glass. I have concluded my only answer is to make a suitable template and have some 5mm float glass cut to my design and then toughened. 

I wonder if anyone has been through such an exercise and can recommend a company that could do this for me.

Tim

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It looks like the window channel mount at the top of the door by the b post might come down and back slightly - or the top of the channel is gripping on the weather seal -worth looking at before more drastic action ? 
 

I also wonder if the roof panel is slightly twisted and could bend downward slightly ? therefore you could pull the screen surround back a touch ? 
 

it’s surprising how much a difference a little tweak can make !
 

regards

Tony 

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How much gap do you have between the backlight frame and the lid on the driver's side...and have you checked for twist in the front windscreen frame....and does the lid fit squarely on the backlight frame.

Bottom line...your screen frame is probably twisted.

Edited by Malbaby
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Has the glass been replaced?  When a lot of these 4As were being restored you couldn't get 4a glass so many had TR6 glass installed which never quite fitted.  I had the same problem as you on my 4a so, when they were rebuilding my engine, I had TRGB replace the glass with the correct 4a pattern, and I now have a perfect fit.  

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Some years ago when my 4A was being restored by the previous owner 4A glass for the doors was not available so he used TR5 glass which apparently & surprisingly is slightly different in profile. Mine does not fit perfectly but is ok & does not leak.

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As stated by Colin and Monty, thats a TR5/6 glass by the looks of it, I had the same problem when I rebuilt mine back in the early nineties as they were the only ones available. You can see from this picture exactly the problem.

Stuart.

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If its not the wrong glass then there is some adjustment on the rake of the windscreen frame. On the passenger side footwell right up under the left of the windscreen there is a tube arrangement and a bracket (best to look at a parts catalogue to see how this fits. You can slacken the nuts and maybe push the top forward a bit. This will also raise the hard top at the front left corner a bit. You only need a small bit of movement at the bottom to give a few mm at the top. This adjustment requires great flexibility lying upside down in the footwell or simply feeling for the adjusting nuts. I used a C shaped spanner to reach the nuts on the securing bracket. Very fiddly job as I remember.

The maximum height that the window can be raised to can be done by removing the door panel and adjusting the mechanism. Some time since I did this so can't remember exactly what you need to alter. It will be in a manual.

Keith

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There is little difference in the gap between the hard top and backlight frame on both sides, as can be seen. I am aware that the windscreen frame is slightly more steeply raked on the passenger side than the driver's, the  angles between frame and door top being 57 degs and 58.5 degs respectively. Some time ago I tried adjusting the rake on the passenger side but this only created a problem in fitting the hard top. Also, when the hard top was firmly bolted in position it simply pulled the frame back to where it had been. I remain convinced that the solution is to have a piece of 5mm glass custom cut and toughened to suit so am keen to know of any company offering such a service.

Tim

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Ok intrigued now so what is different between the 4 and 5 to require different glass, the windscreen frame, door shell, and backlight are all the same (aren’t they?) I’m planning on fitting new glass to the 5 as the existing is all scratched but given I have a backlight of unknown origin I’m now concerned I will struggle to get the gaps to an acceptable state :huh:

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1 hour ago, tim hunt said:

 am keen to know of any company offering such a service.

Tim

 

 

Hi Tim,

 pop into any high street glazier and explain the problem. They will point you in the right direction.

 

Roger

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52 minutes ago, Graham said:

Ok intrigued now so what is different between the 4 and 5 to require different glass, the windscreen frame, door shell, and backlight are all the same (aren’t they?) I’m planning on fitting new glass to the 5 as the existing is all scratched but given I have a backlight of unknown origin I’m now concerned I will struggle to get the gaps to an acceptable state :huh:

As long as you get a 5/6 glass the rest is just adjustment. It also shows up more when you have the hard roof on rather than soft.

Stuart.

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9 minutes ago, stuart said:

As long as you get a 5/6 glass the rest is just adjustment. It also shows up more when you have the hard roof on rather than soft.

Stuart.

Tim, Stuart is correct. I would suggest you live with it unless perhaps you are likely to have the hard top on more than the soft. I have TR5 glass in my 4A but hardly ever have the hard top on & I do not really notice or worry about the slight gaps I have.

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Not speaking for Tim but that looks an original stainless trim strip. As far as I know there hasn't been a substitute strip found that's suitable ...as far as I know.

Mick Richards

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11 hours ago, Motorsport Mickey said:

Not speaking for Tim but that looks an original stainless trim strip. As far as I know there hasn't been a substitute strip found that's suitable ...as far as I know.

Mick Richards

Correct, there have been attempts to use MK2 saloon front trim strip but its not right. The cheap fix for a missing one is to use the old Mini side seam/wheelarch trim, it looks the part from 10ft away.

Stuart.

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I’m looking at having the stainless steel strip made for the Surrey top … as others have said, it’s probably the most difficult bit yet ! But I’ve found a company who can make them by hand from a jig, so it’s a matter of cost and quality 

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