Tom Himself

Tom's Norton Commando

Tom's Mk2 at Glacier

1.Left side installation	2. front lh door seals	3.rear lh door seals
4.a post drainage  channel squeezed shut	5.A Post drainage  route shown	6.A post drainage channel  opened up with plastic tubing
7.Lower A post profile	8.Upper A post profile	9.A post front  channel before seal
10.A post upper channel  before seal	11.A post upper seal  position for max extension  of sealing surface	12.Sill profile orientation
13.Sill front RH	14.Sill rear LH	15 Sill LH overview
16.Sill rear LH	17.Sill LH B C post	18.Sill front LH
19.B Post profile orientation	20.C post profile orientation  my final decision although information varies	21.C post lower profile oreientation
22.B post seal  installed	23.C post seal  installed	24.B C Post. Note B post drainage channel  to rear of seal
25.D post RH note drainage channel to rear	26.D post RH  lower section	27.D post LH  lower section note lap  for drainage
28.D post RH looking  up from below	29.D post LH mid  lookingtorear

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 23:23:31 -0800
From: Carson <carson@alaska.net>
Subject: [xk] Mark 2 door seals

A few comments on installing door seals:

1)  I have found that "super trim adhesive" (3M) does not adhere
satisfactorily to the new rubber seals unless the surface of the seal to
which the adhesive is applied is first roughened with sand paper and then
cleaned with Acetone.  If this is not done, the seals come loose within a
day or so, especially if they have gotten wet in heavy rain (good old
Juneau).  This could be a real bummer if the seals at the leading edges of
the doors come loose.  I am about ready to try Super Glue as recommended by
some on this list if I experience any more problems.

2)  When installing the seals against which the window frames will close,
take special care to position the seal so that the sealing "wing" protrudes
out from the body to the maximum extent possible.  This will allow the
window frame to contact the seal more readily without too extreme an
adjustment inside the door (at the bottom end of the frame where it bolts to
the door).  The factory used wooden shims at this point, I used a 1" hole
saw and cut plugs out of PVC sheet material.

3)  The leading edges of the rear doors were the most cantankerous seals to
fit on my car.  The bottom hinge would foul on the protruding "wing" of the
seal.  I finally trimmed the seal at that point so the hinge swung past the
seal without touching it.  Similarly, I found that as the door swung shut
the top leading edge of the window frame would catch the protruding "wing"
of the seal at the top of the "C" post.  Had I left it that way, the seal
would have been folded over on itself every time the door closed.  Here I
again slightly trimmed the seal to prevent such an occurance.  This was
necessary on only one side of the car.

4)  The factory installed a plastic sheet on each door before the door trim
panel was installed.  In my opinion this is a very important item because
water runs down the outside of the window, inevitably gets past the squeegee
(or brush as on my doors), and finally drips off the bottom of the window
mechanism on it's way to the bottom of the inside of the door.  Because of
the shape of the door, some of the drips actually hit the inside skin of the
door first.  Without that plastic carefully installed and sealed on the door
skin, those drips will find their way through the various holes in the inner
door skin to the inside of the car, where they will cause the carpet to get
wet.  Carefully installed plastic sheet keeps the water on the inside of the
door.  I used Sikaflex 1A urethane caulk (it is sticky, seals well, stays
flexible and allows the sheet to be pulled off in the future).  So long as
the drain holes at the bottom of the door are functional, the water drains
to the outside and the interior remains dry.

Tom Carson
1962 Mark 2, 3.8 MOD
1954 XK 120SE OTS, S674946
Juneau, Alaska
Mail Tom Carson