Triumph TR4 thru TR6 door rebuilding from a bare shell is much easier if the various steps are done in a logical manner. The purpose of this post is to illustrate the steps, in the order that makes assembly the easiest.
TR6 RH door
TR6 (late) RH door shell. First step depicted is the door structure with the outer handle, lock, and door latch already installed.
TR6 RH door
Trim the new upper door crash pad as nec’y. There is always extra material on both ends, as well as the inside flange under the inner fuzzy seal. Trim this area to the bottom of the flange. Locate position with tape as pictured. Once the contact cement is brushed on, there is no fore and aft movement of the pad. It’s initial position is important. Glue the inner seal flange first, then after that sets up, glue the material beneath the door panel. It is not necessary to glue the entire contact surface as it makes it nearly impossible to make minor location corrections.
TR6 RH door
Install the door glass channels next, locating the rain shield, if still present, before bolting up the forward channel. Leave the rear channel loose with no fasteners at the top end, and all other fixing bolts loose. You will see why later.
TR6 RH door
Install the door glass sliding it down into the channels, and leave it resting on the bottom of the door. This leaves ample space to install the upper inner and outer door glass seals. With the seals installed, it is very difficult to install the glass without damaging the seals.
TR6 RH door
Install the inner fuzzy seal clips on the flange with a hook tool as shown. Space the seven clips equally. Be careful not to dislodge or wrinkle the crash pad on the flange when installing the clips. If the contact cement is fully dried, the crash pad should not roll up under the clip. Note that the clip pictured is rearmost, and is installed as far aft as the door skin allows.
TR6 RH door
Install the inner fuzzy seal into the clips. Support the bottom of the clip with your hook tool, and snap the seal onto the clip. Be careful to match the contour of the door with the seal as pictured.
TR6 RH door
Shot of top of door, with crash pad and inner seal installed.
TR6 RH door
Fit up the outer glass seal to the door to match contour, and trim the excess metal material from forward edge as shown so it fits into the glass opening. It is always too long at the forward edge. Leave the upper rubber in place for now. Trim that back after the seal is installed for a neat, uniform appearance.
TR6 RH door
Fit up the outer seal into the opening after laying a piece of tape on the upper door skin as pictured. Make a mark on the tape to reference the location of the clips on the door seal in relation to their place on the flange. Install the seven clips in those locations on the flange, then install the outer seal into the clips already correctly located in the same manner as the inner fuzzy seal, pressing the seal down firmly onto the clips whilst supporting the clip with the hook tool. Make sure the contour of the seal matches the upper door skin. The outer seal is more difficult to install than the inner. Just make sure the seal is fully seated along the upper door skin, and the retaining clips pulled up onto the seal fully.
TR6 RH door
The door with both inner and outer door glass seals installed. Very neat and clean in appearance. You can now see why I install the door glass into the door first. The door glass will not drop down into the door with both seals installed, and the seal clips are difficult to install with the door glass fixed to the regulator. Now install the upper fixing bolts on the rear glass channel. You can see the rearmost outer seal clip is trapped by the channel, and difficult to install if the channel is bolted up tight prior to installing the clips..
TR6 RH door
Install the regulator into the door after propping the glass up out of the way, locating the fixing bolts thru the rain shield. It is much easier to install the regulator onto the glass and onto the inner door if you crank the regulator around to match the geometry of it’s normal installed position before trying to engage the regulator arms onto the glass channel. The late TR6 doors with the inner strengthening channel really restricts the space, but is much easier if the geometry is right first.
TR6 RH door
Install the lower window stop bracket engaging the wire ends around the lower glass channels. Lower the glass to check bottom travel, then fix the stop. Find a not too snug spot in locating the lower fore and aft location of the glass channels to allow free movement of the glass. Not too tight, not too loose, then fix the lower channel bolts. Install the door remote as pictured. Note the anti-rattle pad glued to the inside door under the remote link. The factory used underfelt type material. This car was missing the original pads, so a dense cell foam strip was trimmed and glued into place.
TR6 RH door
Shazzam. Door assembly complete with the exception of inner handles. (The inner door handle installation warrant another complete procedure). Do not feel bad if a door takes you all day and your hands and lower arms are bleeding from several places. A full door rebuild takes me over 3 hours each side, and I have rebuilt many TR doors.
