Genuine Ulster(Ulster Rep) bonnet rubber

[Erich]

I had noticed that, Mick. 447 is the pattern that David sells, third from the top.

Erich in Seattle

[JonE]

Note from Chris Gould....
"I have just looked at that photo of the rubber with the groove in it again. I haven't checked but am almost certain that it wrong as the position of the groove would mean that the holes in the lip would be in a different position to normal. The hole for the wires go roughly through the middle of the flange. The groove would be too close to the body".

So, for later 65s and Nippies, something has changed if the earlier cars were all secured in that way.
It does force the issue of doing some forensic digging along the flanges of original Ulsters to see where the original holes were. Could there have been niggles with the way the scuttle rest was secured on them, that caused a revision on the similar scuttled 65?

[merlinart]

Anybody tried COH Baines? They must supply many of the A7 suppliers, I know they do a very similar....but probably not quite similar enough. They were in Tunbridge Wells, but I think the parent company has moved them back to Liverpool or thereabouts. They have a big catalogue.

["Slack Alice" Simon]

My '34 Tourer has what may be original rubber on the scuttle.

The groove is right back in the corner, and the fasteners sit in it.

[Zetomagneto]

Hope fully a run of the proper stuff Ian

[JonE]

My '34 Tourer has what may be original rubber on the scuttle.

The groove is right back in the corner, and the fasteners sit in it.

any signs of any other holes beneath the rubber?

Nippy owners, could you check the underside of the flange with a mirror and see what you can see in relation to the holes presently used?

["Slack Alice" Simon]

No, there are no other holes.

The installation "looks" right, though I suspect it has been taken off some time ago for a "blow over" paint job.

The wire fixings appear to have been put back haphazardly, legs bent this way and that, and not flush to the bodywork.

The groove is definitely there, not deep enough to bury the wires completely.

From the bottom of the groove to the edge of the flat strip is 5/8", the holes are 3/4" back from the edge of the metal.

So 1/8" or so (it varies a bit) of metal appearing from beneath the rubber.

[Malcolm Parker]

I haven't lost a great deal of sleep over this thread but will add my pennyworth nevertheless.   On my RL saloon I have used one of the rubber sections available with no groove.   Stiff wire staples were made to fit the existing holes in the scuttle flange.  The staples need to be made exactly the right length if they are to sit correctly. Once the staples were fitted and the ends bent over beneath the flange, I used a pair of  smooth grips to squeeze them down tight.  As the rubber is relatively soft, this allows the wire staples to sink into the rubber at the ends where any chafing is likely to occur.
My bonnet does not fit perfectly between the rubber 'bumps' on the scuttle and cowl rubbers, probably as I fit it that way, and the bonnet tends to always move forward due to its tapered shape (on the RL the bonnet is not secured fore and aft). The wire staples on the scuttle flange are visible and do not chafe.
As the thread relates to Ulsters I would be far more concerned about the chafing of the spare wheel cover on the wired edge around the aperture.  That is something I have worried about!

[Erich]

For any who may be interested, I received from Mick Hobday, length of Edgware moulding #369 and compared it to a purported original piece from the scuttle moulding of an Ulster. While I initially thought the slope raised to too high a point, the dimensions are identical. This is also confirmed elsewhere in this thread, as well by comparing profiles on several original cars in the David Mawby collection. Those were not Ulsters. So it would seem that from about 1929 at least, to 1934 or perhaps later, the scuttle rubber on factory Sevens would be the same as Edgware 369, with the staples fitting into the groove. Obviously, couch built Sevens by other firms may or may not have used the same rubber. And if Austin used a different fixing method later on, perhaps bifurcated rivets or other, the rubber pattern would likely have been different. So I saved the the effort and expense of producing new bonnet moulding, and as long as Edgware still produces this pattern, those who want authenticity have a source.

Erich in Seattle

[JonE]

This Vancouver dealer pic suggests perhaps the Ulster bonnet rubber wasn't carried to the 65...
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