Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Roadster, rubber trims around heater box (I think)

There are some rather random pieces of rubber trim under the bonnet of my Roadster. I've only recently looked in any detail, they are so bad I'm assuming a previous owner did a bodge and that it wasn't factory original ?

They were arranged around the edge of what I believe is the "heater box" (as it is ahead of the heater matrix). I'm currently driving without them, and so far nothing has blown-up.....Are they supposed to channel air inwards from the louvres, or keep it out, or what ? Are they supposed to be smoothly-tapered to contact the underside of the bonnet ?

I would have assumed (wrongly I'm sure) that they should be a one-piece moulding. But it looks like a lazy apprentice was given the job to install them, and mainly did it badly. I have looked at pics of five Roadsters for sale, and these pieces vary from smooth-edged and well-fitted on earlier cars, to a real mess on later cars.

I'm also assuming there's nothing special about the kind of material used ? I've tried Woolies' website and can't see anything quite like it. Closed-cell black foam comes in various wrong thicknesses on Ebay. A cost-effective solution seems to be EVA foam 2cm thick, sold as kneeling pads. It should be easy to make templates, then cut the foam with a Stanley knife, and secure with Evo Stik. Or am I wrong on all or any counts ?

Update: Good outcome (IMHO) on the heater box foam saga. I bought two kneeler pads on Ebay for a bargain £7.19 www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115792899002, they are made of some kind of light but dense black foam. I made a cardboard template to the size required, with the appropriate taper (by eyeballing along the underside and side of the bonnet). Using a very thin and sharp saw blade (aka a bread knife, as with cutting expanded polystyrene), the pieces turned out nicely. If you are really picky you can remove any saw blade marks by rubbing the pieces on a sheet of medium-grade sandpaper. I stuck them in place with good quality double-sided tape. The bonnets now pretty much touch the foam, and all seems fine on a drive out, so mission accomplished. (Oh and the unused mat now resides in my garden shed).

The heater box seals are often freelance, and changed like everything else. Some have lip seals over the edge flange but more recently the seal is just a rough cut piece of aerated assymetric neoprene. Much earlier Trads had two seals, one either side of the bonnet hinge.