If your seal is maintaining its integrity, I wouldn't jump ship just yet for a shiny new one. I'm pretty sure my tailgate is aluminium as well. It looks so ridiculously brand new compared to its surroundings (including the locking mechanism). I keep meaning to bring a magnetic with me to check!

So, good news and bad! Despite a huge amount of Tiger Seal, the rubber still gets lited out of place on the upper horizontal bit of the goal post. However! This does not appear to affect its ability to keep water out! The original leak (on the left hand side) has gone and my spare wheel well no...

Tiger Seal - not easy to apply neatly!

I removed the tailgate (again), wire brushed it back, primed and sprayed it in Sahara Dust, then, because the tailgate was lifting the seal out of the half-channel, used Tiger Sealant to bond the seal into place....not a pretty sight!

Update: Island 4x4 have contacted Britpart about their oversized door seal and have received a refund...I'm assured that this will be passed on to me shortly. The Famous Four version fitted pretty well, although unfortunately, the top horizontal channel had rusted out in places which caused the...

I've only had her for a year, and am unaware of any major damage historically. I'll have to take a closer look at the hinge to see if it is bent. I've removed tailgates before: simple enough job, just undo the four retaining bolts on the hinges and pull! Unfortunately, someone has covered the...

Hi. Yes, an external handle. It is level across the top, but the entire left side doesn't lie flush with the wing (almost like the tailgate is hinged on the right-hand side!). I'll post a photo, but the RR is confined to my father's garage until I can make her watertight!

I'm particularly concerned because my lower tailgate is decidedly skewed. It fits perfectly flush to the right wing, but protrudes about 8mm on the left. I might have to post pics for a better explanation. The old seal coped with this gap. Just hoping the FF seal can do the same. At least the...

The New Famous Four seal has arrived! In the images left to right: FF, the old seal, the Britpart monster. Looking at it side by side to the original, I am now a bit concerned that the FF version might actually be too small, but at least it has some 'body' to it. I'll post results once I've...

That is my plan B if the Famous Four seal doesn't work. Because of the limited access, I'm not convinced you can do it in situ, however mine is already off and will be going in a large bucket of hot water. I'll then try and push it back into shape using clothes pegs.

I'll try and post comparison cross section photos of the original, Britpart and FF seals as well. Thanks for the suggestion! Fingers crossed.

OK, spoke to FF. They have their own seals made (they don't rate the Britpart version...strange that) and use them on their own restorations. £32 posted. I'm going to clean up, respray the channel area before I fit it, but will let you know the result once it is on. Cheers.

I'll give them a call on Monday to see if they have anything different to the Britpart monster.

Depending on what Phoenix has to offer I can see myself creating something similar. How can this be so difficult? Rant Rant. I distinctly remember buying a replacement car door seal for a Spitfire a few years ago and....it fitted perfectly!

I see your point, but, as the tailgate won't even shut, I am a long way from worrying about the water tightness of the seal. Long term I'll look at using sikaflex or similar. Cheers. Rich

Hmmm...thought the Britpart one looked a bit 'robust' compared to the original, but I had put that down to 40 years of compression. Like you, I can sort of get the lower tailgate closed, and was already figuring out the logistics of loosening hinges etc. However, if you have already tried this...

Hi. I've replaced my RRC main beam lights with these from Euro Car Parts- 'Ultra Ultra H4 5000K Halogen' - They are around £8 for the pair but they always have discount codes. Amazing visibility and a straight swap! Afraid I can't help ref the foglights.

Seasons greetings everyone! Although, having just spent three hours fighting with the back end of my 2 door RRC tailgate, my inner Grinch is calling. 'Tilly' is so dangerously close to completion that I could weep. She is road-legal but has been confined to the garage until I can sort out her...

Final update and a happy ending to the story. So, the second-hand one arrived (£45 posted) but had been so carelessly separated from its tailgate that half the components were missing! The guy was very good about returning it, but I was no further forward until I spotted a brand new/with keys...

I'm hoping I have found a solution... a guy on ebay was selling a tailgate with handle and keys. He has agreed to sell the handle separately for not much more than the price of a new barrel.