Goodwood

Most cars leak from the window cheaters. Putting some extra tubing in both the seals on the door side as well and windscreen sides helps but often still leaks some. As mentioned, no new 'main' seal is available (and I doubt it ever will be). Even if you could get a new main seal, the cheater itself is probably a bit stretched and will catch water (and changing that part is no joke). It was not a good design.

Do you see drops of water on your inner door liner and speaker? If yes, then you have cheater issues. This is also made worse (in my experience) if your car is parked on a slope (facing downhill). It does not seem like much but the small ingress quickly adds up.

The easiest solution (after you have attempted the above) is to put a half cover on car if it sitting outside for longer periods. For shorter periods, I have a couple of small (rectangular shaped) sponges that I place below the cheater on the inside to catch the drops (they rest on the 'ledge') so it does not drip down to the speaker and carpet.

Not so sure about the snorkel. This was a problem on earlier cars but not later ones.

Before pulling everything apart, why not put some paper on your floor the next time it is parked in the rain so you can see where the water is coming in from.

Posting a few photos (of window gaps, water droplets after rain, convertible top condition, etc.) may also be helpful.

You can probably pull back the carpet enough to dry it without having to remove the center console although the seats would need to be removed.

I have a 2004 TF 135. I have retrofitted the dual horns as well as the plastic covers over the engine. The cover on the right hand side sort of contacts with the boot lid bolt and cracks a bit over time. Maybe they are not strictly necessary, but I like them.

In regard to the door post finishers, what exactly is their purpose? Also, if you retrofit them, do you need to drill holes in the post for the rivets that fix them into place? I have seen these types of finishers on other convertibles, so I think they must be more than just cosmetic.

Other 'deleted' items from Project Drive include the front bonnet light, rear boot mesh pocket, wheel arch finishers and owners manual case. There are probably a few more small items as well. I think they also cut some corners when it came to painting / rustproofing, what what I have read.

The early instrument cluster confirms that it is a MK1 F.

As promised, here are the photos of the door handle mounting. The plastic cutting / shaping could have been a bit cleaner (I am still learning) but overall I think it does not look too out of place. The screw does come out at an odd spot which requires some cutting / shaping of the plastic - but the screw will fit and not make contact with the door pull (with enough cutting / shaping). For now, it is holding very well. We will see how long it lasts.

And Xpart was good to their word. The replacement handle arrived on Monday.

I am a fan of the alloy knobs sold by MGMania. They clip on like the original plastic ones (no grub screw) and fit very well. The original plastic knobs really bring down the interior and certainly do not age well.

Welcome to the forum!

I agree. Do not use loctite with plastic parts. Period. I never did that before and never will again. It seems (from what I have subsequently read on the internet) that it can both degrade PVC plastic as well as expand as it dries. It is not intended for plastic. Now I know.

This might explain the 'immediate' failure of handle #2. Although, as you can see from the photos, the loctite did not even have enough time to dry as it spilled over to the area around the base when it broke. Unsure how quickly it can degrade PVC but if it was the cause, it was almost immediate.

I did not however use any loctite on handle #1 (see photos, no loctite), That handle lasted about a week or two.

Airportable wrote:

Don't hold any store by that Cobber, I'm just trying on some new sayings & idioms for this new regnal epoch. Having gained a reaction from one of my most recent I'm encouraged to see how some of these float.
It’s a small world, unless you have to paint it.
Even though the early bird catches the worm, it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.
Always borrow from a pessimist, they don’t expect it back.
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
The darkest hour is just before dawn, which is the best time to nick your neighbours news paper & milk.
A walk of 10,000 paces starts with a broken fan belt and a flat battery.
Never criticize a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes, besides if he doesn’t like what you've said you’re a mile away and you have his shoes.
Never learn from the mistakes of others try and make them all yourself.
All experience is gained just after you need it.
Recognise a mistake when you make it again.
It a rare man that makes the same mistake once.
You will never forget that which you never needed to know.

Very funny...I have heard some of these before but not all.

As a follow up to my prior post I am attaching the second batch of photos relating to the second failed door handle. The plastic posts on this one lasted less than 1 hour. As you can see, it did not even crack, the entire post just snapped off at the base and the body of the post was still attached to the bolt when I removed it. The traces of blue around the post are remnants of loctite (it probably had not even the change to dry before the post broke). This part is brand new. Out of curiosity - when you tighten the standard door handle screws - what sort of tool did you use? I used a ratchet (very gently and slowly).

After giving this some thought, I decided to try putting 2 screws through the one of broken door handles. It was already broken (but painted) so I felt I had nothing to lose. Maybe I also felt too embarrassed to go back to the painter a third time. The tricky part is that the hole for the screw comes out at a very awkward spot - basically right in the center of where the handle curves downward and where the door pull has to open (hard to explain without seeing it). You need to dremel quite a bit of plastic away in order for the screw to be flush and to not block the door pull. The screw has to be countersunk (no round heads), which is why a dremel is required. I will take some pictures in the coming days and post them with a bit more explanation. It actually seems to be holding pretty well for now. With the machine screws, it actually feels quite tight and solid. We will see how long it lasts.

If I had to do it a second time (well, actually, it would be my fourth...), I would improve on my 'dremeling' to make it look less amateur (when I started, I was just focused on seeing if it was actually possible - I was not even sure it would work or if I would use it) but overall it turned out OK (if you don't look too carefully). It is an odd corner to shape 'right' (not that I am much of a PVC sculptor anyhow). I chose M6 x 25 stainless screws with allen heads - to try to match the look of the fuel filler cap. I also used a couple of small rubber grommets behind the door handle on the screw (on one side at least where there was no post left - see my earlier photo of the first broken handle) in order to give a bit of support behind the plastic (where there was no post left - without the post and after the dremel, there is not much plastic left). Also, the small rubber grommets hold onto the screw (unlike washers) which makes mounting much easier (instead of falling down into the door when you are trying to line things up). Anyhow, maybe not the solution for everybody but it answers the question that it is doable.

I am generally a fan of doing things properly with new OEM parts as the factory designed, but in this case, I felt justified in straying from originality by using a bit of my own originality. I guess I am slowing becoming a 'real' MGF / MG TF owner...

To follow up with this post, I have attached a few photos of the first failed door handle (the second is on the car). One post broke and the other was cracked. This occurred after about week or so. What I find unusual is the manner how it cracked - notice the rough break in the plastic. This was different than my original grey handle, which seemed to have a smooth crack. I am not a plastic expert but I wonder if this has some this to do with the quality of the plastic.

As a further update, I have been in touch with both RimmerBros and Xpart concerning these part failures. They affirmed that I am the first customer to complain about this. They stated they sell many of these handles and never have a problem. As a measure of goodwill, they offered to send a new handle. I recommended to them that they make this part with a thicker post to improve on the original flawed design. I doubt Xpart will but both companies were nonetheless responsive and polite.

In the meantime I also managed to source a NOS handle.

The problem is that now I am not sure what do. I do not have the patience to go back to the painter again, spend 1-2 hours installing it again and for it to break a third time. I would just like to fix this.

1. I was thinking that the bolt / screw should be a bit longer. If you look at where the post breaks, it is always in the middle. The screw / bolt does not go the the end / bottom, it seems to only go about halfway down. Do you think it would hold better / be less likely to break with a longer screw / bolt? I also note that the mount has some additional 'support' towards the bottom. Maybe there would be less flex / movement in the mount with a slightly longer screw that goes to the base of the post. Does anyone know the dimensions of the standard screws / bolts?

2. Would it make a difference to use some epoxy resin with fiberglass material to give more support to the base or would this not hold to the ABS? I am wondering if the fiberglass would just become unstuck from the plastic after a short while (when it flexes from use) or if it would help support the bracket. For additional clarity, I would do this with a new part, not to repair a broken part. I would be doing it only to provide additional support to post that is not broken.

3. I have given some though to putting a stainless bolt through to the outside (using the broken part, which I do not have to paint again) , but my feeling is that with a broken post (see photo) the stress would be around the bolt head and it would eventually crack in that area (particularly if the bolt head is not wide). I am also not sure how well this would hold on the outer door handle surface, which is a bit curved. Any thoughts?

4. For those that have done this before, is there any secret to tightening the bolt to avoid overtightening? Do you do this by feel or do you use a torque wrench (set to something like 1 or 2)? I certainly feel that I did not overtighten the screws but am I missing some trick here?

Any suggestions / advice?

Notanumber - I had similar thought about drilling through the handle (and even painting the bolt), but then I figured that part of the handle might crack as well...

It seems that for anyone using the reproduction handle, it is a must to reinforce the plastic mounts with fiberglass resin. It is however very annoying to have to repair a brand new part.

Thanks. Sounds like a great solution but outside of my comfort zone. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who experienced this.

I am of the feeling that the original 'grey' plastic is better than the reproduction. I think I will try that for now. If that does not work, I will need to learn how to fabricate / strengthen bracket out of fiberglass / resin.

It is small things like this that test your patience with owning these cars. It is just not acceptable.