The 'E' Type Forum

When my FHC went to the trimmer the rear hatch fitted to perfection. When it cam back to the very critical eye the hatch is slightly proud of the surrounding bodywork. This may be the addition of the rear hatch seal but I cannot recall, and now cannot see due to the trim panels , whether the hinge can be slid downwards slightly to close the aperture. Clearly I can adjust the latch but is the hinge end adjustable ?

This is a job that can only be described as a pain in the arse. There is some semi-vertical adjustment available via the end of the hinge attached to the bodywork, while you can get some lateral movement at the end attached to the boot lid. It's very easy to damage paint while doing this, so I always taped the edges of the lid and the hatch opening. As you mention, it is possible that the new hatch seal hasn't bedded properly, so unless the problem is severe (and the hatch leaks) I would give things some time to bed properly before messing with the hinges.

Hi Andrew as Mark said above......it took me hours to get mine ok......it seams to move in every direction you dont want it too....in the end it took two of us.....i was inside with the hatch closed...loosened the hinges and without opening you friend outside moves it slightly into position....from inside you then tighten up....hope this helps

I did exactly as Steve said.... with pain anyway !

Thank you chaps. This sounds like a right old pita and in addition I would need to remove the trim inside the car which I am slightly reluctant to do. I must check with Mick Turley to find out whether he took the door off the hinge or the hinge and door off the car. . That's a shame as I would like to get it back to spot on. .

right or wrong, I had to add washers between the lock and the door to make it shut AND approximately aligned
seems the boot seal is either too big or badly placed (by myself)

When I put my tailgate back on a few months ago (bare metal repaint & new seal) I shimmed it into position in the opening using equal amounts of plastic shims side to side, and top to bottom. The shims were about business card sized and cut from old table mats (made of single thickness plastic sheet). I've often used old business cards too, albeit brand new ones, just wrong title or logo.

Then after I'd shimmed it to my satisfaction, e.g. even gaps all around, I lent over the back of the seats and installed and tightened up the hinge bolts, from the inside, without moving the tailgate at all. Hinge trim covers were obviously not in situ. I do remember that the tailgate was riding high on the rubber seal, so I took a soft rope across the rear, from wheel to wheel, and used a foam block to pressure the tailgate downwards onto the seal, to get a good flush condition to the surrounding bodywork.

Went around the back again and check the opening angles, no rubbing or pinching etc.

thanks David. I will check out the various options here.

I like your method, David
what did you do to make sure the seal was positioned (glued I guess) in the right place ?

Yes, I glued the seal into position. I'd bought the seal directly from the manufacturer (forget the name, family company H Barnes or something similar) and was very happy with the cross section profile and softness.

I glued the seal with conventional brush on contact adhesive, and let both sides totally dry first. Same as I had done previously on the bonnet rear edge seal. Have also test sections of spare rubber glued to odd bits of painted metal, and by golly they stick well.

I was careful when installing the seal, to get it into the right postion. Was quite simple really, just used one edge of the metal flange to guide the non-glued surface of the seal. Worked a treat. Had of course trialled the whole operation before the glue was applied. Also how to 'manage' the seal around the corners, and how to avoid it getting dirty on the floor, or dragging itself on the painted body.

I'm alone in the garage, kids and wife not interested. So I have to figure out how to do things by myself, everything from engine installs, door fitting and screen fitting. All part of the fun.

COH Baines, Tunbridge Wells.
http://www.coh-baines.co.uk