RP Back wndow fitting

[Hugh Barnes]

And by back, I mean the one at the rear of the car, not the side windows (though I guess the advice would be the same)

I have one last job to do on the new headlining etc for my trusty Box Saloon, fit the rear window. The old rubber tore when I tried to re-use it and some other, unused but probably 30 years old at least, also tore the 'brim' of the top hat as I tried to help it into place in the corners with a blunt blade (I did not impale it, it tore!).

A new length of seal has been ordered and hopefully will arrive tomorrow.

Whist waiting, I thought I would ask the knowledgeable if they have any fail safe advice on fitting said seal. The approach I will use will be the piece of string approach slipped into the gap between the brim and recess where the glass will sit, which is then pulled out to get the brim to slip effortlessly over the edge of the inner frame, then repeat for the outer section over the body aperture. I would happily hear from anyone who has done it successfully giving any tips to make the task easier. Even given the two incidents I have had, I am finding it less than straight forward...

Thanks all...

[Steve Jones]

Done it three times. Once using the string method and twice more recently using a flat plastic blade. Best advice is have no one else around when you do it

Steve

[Mike Costigan]

The string method worked easily for me, but I did have a helping hand to press the glass from the inside - I wouldn't have liked to do it on my own. If the RP is the same as the RM, the glass is actually secured by fitting the interior trim frame - without that the glass can be easily pushed in and you have to start all over again!

[Denis Sweeney]

Hugh, not sure if the rubber section is the same/similar to that on a Ruby but if it is then the string method worked well for me on Ruby.
I cut the rubber section to length and holding it all into place superglued the ends together so the rubber seal was fitted to the glass, you do not want the rubber seal to be a loose fit on the glass. Then with a second pair of hands on the inside to hold the assembly in place against the frame I used the string method to pull the outer lip through. I set the joint in the seal at the top of the window, then with the loose ends of the string at the bottom, pulled the seal through, with the last of the string coming out at the top.
Using a light smear of washing up liquid all around the outer surface of the seal helped the rubber section slide easily through the frame, with the second pair of hands pushing it into place from inside.
Make sure it is held in place till you can fix it
Cheers

[Hugh Barnes]

Thanks all. You have confirmed that my thinking is not too far off the mark. I have had one or two helpful private calls about this. I do think it is a two person job, so Steve, you have my admiration for doing it solo. If you wanted to pop down to Cambridge to show me how it is done, I would be absolutely fine with that. Supergluing the ends together is not something I had thought about, so that should help. I was doing something complicated with masking tape.. I did wonder about a little lubrication of some sort, just to help the process along. It was suggested to me that putting a thin coat of beeswax on the string would help and I like Dennis' idea of a little washing up liquid to help the 'brim' of the top hat to help it slide into place. I am hoping the replacement seal will arrive today and will report back as to progress. Perhaps the new seal will be more supple that either of the ones I was trying with before and a little more 'forgiving'...

[Hugh Barnes]

Well, it's in!!! But what a kerfuffle... I learned a couple of things that might help others.

First of all, a brand new bit of top hat seal made a huge difference. Much more supple and more ready to go where it needed to go with a little encouragement. The suppleness also extended to the 'brim' of the top hat that was more ready to be sprung into place with the string.

Second was the order of fitting. I had it in my mind that fit to the inner frame first, then offer up to the opening in the body was the way to go. Much wasted time and expletive laden speech led my assistant and I to try the other way, after all , it couldn't get much worse. This proved to be decisive and the seal sprang into the opening quite readily. The string approach helped. Then, offer up the inner frame. Here, keeping pressure on the whole thing as the seal was eased into place with the string proved impossible, so I had to commit to a screw popped in place to hold the frame tight as we worked further round the seal, adding a screw every now and then.

So now it is done. Well, I say done, there is some finishing work to ensure all the screws have bitten into the frame of the car (some appear not to have done so) but at least the darn thing cant fall out.

Apologies for all my ramblings!

[Steve Jones]

.....I do think it is a two person job, so Steve, you have my admiration for doing it solo................

I've been looking at my car today and thinking about how I did it. I now realise I did it before the rear side windows were fitted so I could get my hands to both sides. Well done for getting yours in. It's one of those things that's much easier once you've done it and figured out how to and yes, you do need plenty of 'vocabulary'!!

Steve

[Denis Sweeney]

Sorry to hear you had problems Hugh, is there great difference between a Ruby and earlier models’ rear window seals…??
I really had no issues fitting Ruby’s rear window at all, I had far worse issues in other areas.
Fitted the seal around the glass pane first and as said previously making sure it was a good fit with no looseness and superglued the ends together so it was all self supporting. I then fed thin twine around the outer seal with the twine ends falling out at the bottom in the centre.
Light coating of washing up liquid on the outer surfaces, the showed wifey where to hold the glass and then pulling the twine out from the bottom and wifey applying pressure it went in ok, yes a bit of jiggery pockery, but it went in relatively easily.
The internal frame had been pre-drilled and whilst wifey continued to hold the unit in place I was able to fit screws to make sure it all stayed in place.

[Hugh Barnes]

Dennis, did you also get a 'brim' of the top hat to sit round the inside of the internal frame? That was the struggle for me. As you say, perhaps a Ruby is different?

And Steve, yes, without the rear windows in place, I could see this could be a lot easier. One of my struggles was rolled up like a ball in the back seat space whilst doing this, warding off cramp whenever it showed itself...

[Denis Sweeney]

I can now see why I had no problem fitting my seal, I was intrigued and so trolled back through all my old receipts to one back in 2016.
I had nothing but an empty shell on Ruby with little or no internal trim or woodwork, however I did have the original glass, no seal but did have the very battered original internal rectangular trim piece that held the rear window in place.
So having made all my own woodwork inside (copying photos of someone else’s Ruby) when it came to fitting the rear glass I purchased my rear seal from Woolies, catalogue number R36.
So having cut the seal to size I simply glued the two ends in place and was able to pull the outer section through the gap with the twine and the whole unit was then held in place by the newly made trim piece.
So I did not have the “top hat” problem