Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Water seal around rear spring front mounting

Has anyone come up with a modification to provide a seal around the rear leaf spring where it enters the rear of the cockpit through the rear bulkhead?
On removing the spring front mounting covers I was surprised to see that there is an opening of 50mm around the leaf spring which allows water to enter the car. The covers themselves don't provide a proper seal.
I was thinking about fabricating a flexible seal using inner tube rubber cut and lapped to provide a gasket with a horizontal joint through which the spring passes but still able to move.

Are there any other mods already in use?

When you say "allows water to enter the car" , has this happened? The opening in the bulkhead is rear facing and shielded by the chassis lower horizontal member, which makes the ingress of water quite difficult. A slotted neoprene shield would easily fix the hole, but so far I've had no water in through that route.

Any opening, in particular as large as this is, is a potential leakage point. The cars only done 8000 dry miles so no real evidence on this vehicle.
I'd hate to be caught out in a real down pour with a couple of hundred miles to do.
I like your suggestion of using neoprene as a material that could be easily cut and is self supporting.
For the little effort involved in providing a fix I'll give it a try.

I was suprised to found the carpets under the seats damp (especially on the passenger side and only after very strong downpour) although I had almost zero ingress of water through hood and side screens. This opening was also my first suspect and I eventually found a gap where I could almost look through. However I still haven't gotten round to fix the problem.

If we are talking about the same location, the size of the problem is best viewed from over the rear axle looking forward where the leaf spring passes through the rear bulkhead. There's a clear opening of at least 75mm above the spring.
Suggestion is to use 2 overlapping pieces of neoprene to provide a flexible seal that allows the spring to move as required.

how about some pictures of the area?
worth a thousand words...

I sealed the whole area from inside the car with leathercloth - not against water but against rheumatism

Frank

You latter-day Morgan owners are a real scream! 4-seaters are the worst, I've had long-dropped pork-scratchings and biros float into view after crossing a ford! Goes with the car, but if it really bugs you the slotted neoprene idea, tacked to the rear of the heel-board will suffice. Best is to use a gear lever gaiter off some suitable vehicle (eg Land Rover transfer box) again tacked and sealed to the heel-board. That will entail removing the spring eye-bolts so I'd wear wellies in the meantime!

Colin M.