Bailey Channels AGAIN!!

[stephen]

Hi Everyone .. putting in new Bailey channel from Rare Spares and have looked at the past instructions which are very helpful, .. but cannot see anything on how to get them in the channel when they are a tight fit .. ruined one length already as when they are pushed in the stainless strip separates from the felt and is impossible to get back in .. is this normal ?? or is it lack of quality ??  they went in OK ( very tight ) on one door, when I did the other side  they do not go in, and when pushed they come apart, and still do not go all the way in .. anyone else had this problem ??. and if so how did you overcome it,?? .. Regards Stephen   

[CraigA]

Have you removed the original clips that hold the bailey channel into the recess in the door frame?

Typically they are very rusty and unusable.

Otherwise the Rares bailey works well and should fit with no dramas.

[stephen]

Hi Craig .. yes all old clips were removed .. new bailey channel sits out about 3/16 of an inch and is firm.. almost as if the bailey width is too wide and will not compress further into the channel .. Stephen

[customFC]

Hey Stephen
There are 2 different depths of channel.
From memory, the deep 1 goes into the door frame and the shallow 1 goes into the 1/4 window channel.
Regards
Alex

[stephen]

Hi Alex .. yes the long channel goes into the door frame along the top and down the pillar side.. the other shallow channel goes into the divisional channel,.. the shallow one is not the problem, it's the one that goes into the top of the door and side .. did one door and managed to get it in one side with a fair bit of force, but it would not go into the top of the door, so used an old one that was in fair condition ..not sure whether the window glass will go in yet as it closed the gap up a bit,. second door it would not go into at all .. the car has been sandblasted and painted, but not a lot of paint went into the channels so it's not the paint stopping it, I reckon the channels supplied by Rares may be out of tolerance , but they are a cunning lot.. as they state on the fitting instructions, if you can call them that,  if you damage the stainless strip, it's your fault and not theirs and you won't get your money back .... only tried the back 2 doors so far, will be fitting the front doors in a day or two  .. that is when I get the back door, two bottom felt strips in,( but thats another story .. arrrrgh !!) .and the glass, if it goes in. .. Stephen

[Rusty_T]

Stephen,

When I did the Bailey Channels on my wagon , I didn't use the ones from the Rares Rubber Kit, I took them back and got a credit. One of the NSW club members told me that Clark Rubber has the Bailey Channels and was 1/3rd the price and does exactly the same job. They have both sizes and it is much easier to fit. Hope this helps.

Rusty

[stephen]

Thanks Rusty .. will checkout Clarke Rubber tomorrow, when I go to Adelaide, and compare theres to RS's .. one front fitted OK'ish .. made up a tool ( metal woodworking square with electrical tape around the end) to get the front one in, had to tap it with a hammer it was so bloody tight, could not get it in by hand no matter how hard I tried,.. so tapped gently down each side to get a little bit at a time,.. one back door went in OK, very firm, but that's what I would expect, no sense in having them loose .. but the other back door is impossible .... will persevere.. will try some silicon spray on it when I get back to them, probably on the weekend .. Regards Stephen

[stephen]

Hi Rusty .. circumstances made it impossible to get to Clarke rubber,.. but did get a chance to get into the shed and compare the Bailey Channels that I have yet to put in .. and lo and behold they are different !!!! all the channels have the same label on that they fit FJ to Eh front or rear main window channel.. but there are two different shape .. one has square sides while the other has  slightly tapered sides (difference of a mm).. needless to say the tapered go in OK and the square side one is the one that I tried to get into a rear door and would not fit .. will try the tapered one tomorrow and follow thru with Rare Spares to see why the two shapes.. Regards Stephen

[stephen]

No Problems with Rare Spares .. gave me a credit over the phone for supplying the wrong bailey channel .. apparently the square channel was inadvertently placed in with the tapered channels.. the square are for EH Holden .. so don't just chuck your newly acquired parts in the corner waiting for your car to get back .. check them first, it may save some headaches later down the track .. Problem solved .. Stephen