Hood Seals new design...

[Jamie N]

Having a wee bit extra time due to lockdown got me looking at the seal situation again, in particular the design of the original Falling pillar seal
and how the top curved part gets damaged by the Intermediate seal when closing the roof, so I came up with this idea... Lets remove the curved
part from the FPS and put it on the 1 piece removable hood seal, this combined with the one piece header / A pillar seals then creates a roof which
folds with only the straight section of the FPS attached, no other seals on the roof at all which means no seal is fouling another during closing as they do with the originals.

Now you would be forgiven for thinking that unclipping seals to lower the roof would be a bit faffing about, but to actually see it done and how
quick and simple it is you would be extremely surprised, the way the elongated new seal is designed to fit with the header and the FPS means it just
slips on precisely and only 1 single U shaped sprung stainless clip is needed to hold it firmly and accurately in place on the roof rails, once the hood latch is then
clipped shut its solid and going nowhere even before the glass is up against it. To lower the roof all you do is unclip the latch, unclip the seal and put it behind
the seat, it takes less than 8 seconds per side, the real beauty of these is how easy the roof then folds and no seals damaged in the process, there is also the added
bonus of the most watertight solution you will find on a fabric roofed M100.

This is the full setup in place showing how the top roof seal now has the curved rear part with the FPS now being a straight seal.


Picture showing the 1 piece hood seal removed...(its sitting on top)


Door closed and a very rare phenomenon occurs.... A watertight M100


This is an original FPS alongside the new version... Its been decapitated..


And this is the new FPS in place, this is now the only seal still connected to the roof as it closes, it makes contact with nothing else as it
folds shut. Overall its a lovely setup but the pictures dont really equate to how new and fresh it looks in reality.

[Kipperozzy]

Hi Jamie, that looks like another good step forward in your seal design studio I was impressed with the previous removable seal you showed me and with the new idea removing any chance of the seal being damaged when putting the hood down , it looks like a great idea, well done

[basher]

Really interested in the clip system you have used.
Having made my own top seal I'm at a bit of a loss of how to locate it on and off quickly and securely.

[NewLogik]

Having your original kit of seals, this seems to be a really nice add-on ! :O

[clemo]

The genius strikes again.

[Steve A]

It's about time something good came out of this lockdown

[Jamie N]

djwazza...Is it these seals you mean?. These will certainly eradicate the problem of seals rubbing against each other and causing
damage. If you are serious about making something then this is the ultimate design, if you do them right, make a pair of these and they
will be in pristine condition for the rest of the Elans days, the fact they dont get squashed into the hood stowage space keeps them in perfect
order, plus they are far more effective at keeping water out as there is no middle join, just one continuous seal along the top.

The downside is though, as far as I have ever encountered, there is no seal you can remove from any other car that fits straight onto
a Lotus Elan, you can find some that are more ameniable to modifying than others but all will require some hands on skills which can really only
be succesful through trial and error. Best advice I can give is study the shape and profile you require, then go to a breakers and see what you
can find that is close to what you need and then start modifications. Remember too you can buy a variety of brand new extrusions. Best of luck.

[texas2201]

Will you be making these as a kit? Looks great.

[djwazza68]

Thanks Jamie, I’ve stopped my seal exploration currently as I found that the Tigerseal repairs I made to my old seals have worked very well and are holding up to hood raising and lowering better than before. I think my major problem is the fit of the hood itself. The previous bodger had a new hood poorly fitted and I’ve been fighting it since I got the car.

With the old roof seals fitted to a pair of your original rubber A-pillar seals I have a pretty good solution that will certainly last this winter.I’ve had to use some thin d-section draught excluder to fully seal the falling pillar against heavy rain, but it is 95% there. Will start the next iteration of my seals next spring unless I get to my local breakers before then and find something suitable to tinker with!

[Karlos]

How do I get these ?