Boot not sitting correct

[UKPhilTR7]

I was looking at the boot seal on my tr the other night and I noticed that the boot itself is not sitting correct. When you look at it, the passengers side is a bit lower at the top end (hinge) than the drivers side is. It is not sitting flush with the rear panel. As a result when you open and close the boot (trunk) the passengers side is catching on the rear panel.

I have had a look and there does not seem to be anyway of lifting it, what is only a few mil. So I was wondering if anyone has had this before and if so how did you raise one side of the boot. I was thinking of adding two washers between the boot and the hinge. Then I thought there must be something better that can be done to higher it.

Any ideas?

[Hasbeen]

Make a shim to fit it out of old fashioned shim steel, if you can find it. Should be available somewhere in a place like Sydney.

If you can't, use a waterproof gasket material, such as Klingerit to make a spacer. I used this on my door, when I could not find proper shim material around here, about 12 years ago.

Hasbeen

[UKPhilTR7]

Thanks Hasbeen, I have some spare spacers from the doors that I think I maybe able to fit to my needs. I was just wondering if there was something I had missed or if something like the hinge had the ability to lift.

I remember when I took the doors off, I found a home made spacer made out of a cardboard serial box from the previous owner. Think I will make one out of something a little different lol.

[Hasbeen]

Nothing wrong with serial box, in the right place.

I made spacers for the fuel pump, to go under it to reduce the pressure a bit. Nice oily places like that it is fine. I agree I don't like the idea of wet cardboard against body metal.

Even in our climate, water is the killer. One of mine had a boot spoiler, probably sealed down on silicon, which had leaked into the boot.

The boot was fine, but the water trapped in the reinforcing in the boot lid had rusted it & the lid too much for me to want to use.

Hasbeen

[sonscar]

Undo the bolts securing the hinge under the rear deck and by some trial and error the hinge heights can be adjusted.These bolts are smallish and I think there are 3 of them on each side,the ones at the front not being too easy to reach.Steve.

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[FI Spyder]

Warped trunk lids are a good reason to keep your dual piston lifts if you got them. Hasbeen's gasket material is the answer if you can't get the result you need by other adjustments. I always have a few sheets of cork, red rubber, various thicknesses of black gasket material lying around to make those emergency gaskets when you can't wait for precut ones come in.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

[UKPhilTR7]

Thanks guys for your words. I spent Sunday down the garage and I managed to fit the new boot seal all OK. I then rust treated the surface rust and put the new seal on. The gap has now gone and after a few minutes I was able to get all the gap even.

Now the boot sits nice, there is a new seal and it feels right with the lines. The boot is a bit hard to close at the moment, because the new seal is thicker than the old one. I am sure that will change though over time.

[john]

Having owned about six Tr7's over the years I have never know one to fit perfectly its like they got it wrong on day one and that's how it was left

[8 whole cylinders worth of punch to ram the world through the windshield and out the rear view mirror. Car & Driver]
1981 Grinnall TR7 v8
1982 Persian Aqua FHC = sold ;-(
1981 Black FHC - Sold
1979 & 1980 Black Premium FHC(laid to rest) Sorry


John

[Spike]

Adjusted mine at the weekend as it was a bit low on the passengers side by the hinge. The only other problem, sorry problems, are it sits to high above the lights on the drivers side and it's a couple of mm long on the passengers side.

If I remember my other one had the same problem, apart from grinding down some metal it's just get it as even as possible and enjoy the 70s build quality.

regards

Graham

[UKPhilTR7]

Oh yes the good old build quality issue, or should I say lack of it.

I heard an argument once that one reason people didn't like fitting glass fibre bits (apart from safety) was that you could not get the correct fit. Seems like it can be a bit of a job with the metal ones too...

The door is fitting far better now that I have made a few spacers for it. Will look at doing the adjustment on the hinge bolts when I get a chance, but for now it is sitting better than it has for a long time. After putting on the new seal, I do think that I would of been better to adjust the with the new seal on, but you live and learn.