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MG MGA - Rear corner Rail

I have a question about the rear corner rails. What kind of stuff is original glued on the rails to tackle the leather clothing on.
I experiment masonite bud it split in two so i have to glued twice.
Any suggestions?

Thanks, Wim.
W.T.M. Betzel

If I remember correctly the material used was leather. Probably rawhide or untanned. Slightly moistened it is plyable and stiffens when dry. I also thought it was attached with small screws.
Bill Young

Bill's right--it's thick leather, like that used in the soles of shoes, about 1/4 inch thick. Check with some local leather workers/shops or shoe repair's to find the right material. You'll have to wet it to get it to conform to the curves. Held in place with small countersunk screws. I also used some contact cement to help with the grip and to ensure that it stayed conformed tothe curves.
R. L Carleen

I bought mine from Todd Clark. I"m very happy with them.
Jim.
Jim Jensen

I assume that W.T. is referring to all of the rails. I have just ordered new material and will be installing soon. I am really surprised by Rob's statement that the leather is a 1/4 inch thick. It certainly doesn't feel like that on my car. Perhaps yet again I'm the victim of the P.O.
Dan Barton

Just for the record, incase there is any doubt, the 2 rear corner curved sections and the door tops are covered in leather. The central front and rear sections are covered in Vynide leathercloth.

I have just measured the left over bits of leather from my trim kit. They are about 1.5mm (0.06 inches) thick.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I think Wim is asking not for the mateial that covers the rail but for the cardbord that is srewed to the underside of the rear corner rails. I used what I got from the mg dealer as replacement. And it loocked just like thick cardboard. This is screwed to the aluminum type corner rail (the holes should be visible in the aluminum, or at least the broken part of the srews). Onto this the leather (wetted to ease installation) is just fastened using a stapler gun.
As is mentioned the rails are not all covered in the same material. As on the seats some are covered in leather and some are coverd in vinyl.
Simon
Simon Beyertt

Fully agree with you Simon. I can remember from my MGA restoration (HDL43/65228 , were are you now DE-64-05 ???) that Anglo Parts supplied a very thick sort of cardboard for the aluminium corner pieces which was impossible to bring into the same curvature. I made the cardboard a bit more supple by soaking it in water for a short time but this was only partially succesful. By the way, I used Bison-Tix glue instead of staples to fix cardboard and leather onto the aluminium. It worked perfectly. Maybe the use of a thin piece of hardboard would be an alternative ??? And maybe one final tip Wim: trial fit all the aluminium and wood rails first onto the car (including the side screens) before even attempting to fit the upholstery. Somehow they never seem to fit properly. Good luck...
Nick

Yes, it's some thick cardboard that can easily accept and hold short tacks. Tacks hold the material to all the rails.
Arthur DiLello

Wim,
The material I used was Bontex244 supplied by Scarborough Faire.
Received in a flat sheet which I cut to shape and attached with small countersunk machine screws to the corner rails.
Try the link.
http://www.bontex.com/industrial.htm

Henri
Henri Van Groningen

I just did this in fall, and had to replace the backing on one of the corner rail pieces. I found a thick (about 1/8 inch) leather strap that worked well. I cut a piece, glued it and added some screws to hold it in place. It accepted the staples well and now that is done.
Harley
Harley Johansen

This thread was discussed between 12/01/2005 and 13/01/2005

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.