Convertible Water Management

[MrMoparCHP]

By design water is going to get into a convertible, I see the gutter that is under the perimeter of the body opening that catches the water that seeps past the material attachment points. The gutter then drains into the quarter panels under the side windows where it then just goes out the body drains.

In theory that should be all that is needed but I have seen where there were drain lines/hoses on the well liner, were those factory and why?

I know you can reach in one the sides of the rear window, never looked to see if that is a point of entry or what happens to water that may get in there.

When I got my car there was water in the trunk from when they washed the car. There is no well liner and they may have sprayed at the rear window in a manner that it wasn't designed to handle.

Will be recruiting help and looking into it this weekend, one in the trunk with a flashlight the other outside with a hose.


Thanks,


Alan

 

[1970FuryConv]

Sorry I can't be much help. My convertible top is beat up, so I keep the car in the garage and never drive in the rain. I've never seen anything but the side gutters.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

As a rule I would just avoid taking the car out if it is raining but I would like to take to car on a long road trip into Oregon from California (1000 miles one way) and could easily end up in rain.


Alan

 

[Pete Kaczmarski]

My '62 300 convert. has two drain tubes in the convertible top well area. My car tubes then drain directly under them through the trunk floor. There are no signs of water leaking into the trunk. My '66 Olds Toronado has two drain tubes from the flow-thru ventilation fins ahead of the trunk lid. It is a common problem that the rubber rots and leaks into the truck causing rust. However, my car has only 47k miles and no sign of water leakage into the trunk. The tubes exit the rear quarter just behind the rear wheel well on both sides.

 

[polara71]

The survivor 70 convertible I had NEVER had any water intrusion. I was told by the original owner it had never seen rain. I unfortunately had it in the rain just about every time i had it out. Water never came into the cabin or the trunk, not even the well liner.
My first time to Moparfest I drove her 7 hours in a thunder storm in driving rain for most of that 7 hours and never felt a drop or had a wet spot.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

The survivor 70 convertible I had NEVER had any water intrusion. I was told by the original owner it had never seen rain. I unfortunately had it in the rain just about every time i had it out. Water never came into the cabin or the trunk, not even the well liner.
My first time to Moparfest I drove her 7 hours in a thunder storm in driving rain for most of that 7 hours and never felt a drop or had a wet spot.

Does your well liner have drain lines?

Alan

 

[polara71]

The well liner? The well liner is just that, a vinyl well. No tubes..(?)

 

[Big_John]

The well liner? The well liner is just that, a vinyl well. No tubes..(?)

Pre- Fuselage cars had drain tubes. None in ours.

My car will get a little damp in pouring rain, but it's because of the way the side windows seal. I've fooled and fooled with them and got them about as good as they are ever going to get. It's a combination of factors. I think I could get them to seal, but they'd never roll up or down right.

No water in the trunk though.

 

[polara71]

Pre- Fuselage cars had drain tubes. None in ours.

My car will get a little damp in pouring rain, but it's because of the way the side windows seal. I've fooled and fooled with them and got them about as good as they are ever going to get. It's a combination of factors. I think I could get them to seal, but they'd never roll up or down right.

No water in the trunk though.

I never had a pre fuselage.

 

[C Sickness]

I'd like to understand this. The gutter drains through "body drains". Are these drains just molded passages in the sheet metal, or rubber plugs? Does the convertible gutter drain in front of the rear wheels? I think I saw a rubber plug with a molded "nozzle" on the surface, inside of the trunk drops on the inboard side, just behind the rear wheels. There's some light rust under the aluminum rocker trim, between the door rear, and forward of the wheel arch. Is this a body drain location?

I suspect that drain water is not a good thing to have around those old (somewhat rusty and no longer paint protected) rockers.

 

[Samplingman]

The trough that runs along the back edge of the dutch panel is easily over run with water if dosed with a hose or put through the car wash. Not to mention that they are made from untreated metal, they will perforate over the years, especially where the roof edge is basically bolted to the dutch panel. You may be able to see generally where the water is seeping in from inside the trunk, but you may have to remove the roof along that edge and re-seal the area. At the ends of the trough there are supposed to be plastic "directionals" that guide the water into the rear side panels. I've seen pictures of them, so I know they exist, but not on my car. The plastic wrap that is almost always removed by the first mechanic that has to adjust the rear quarter windows is also an essential part of keeping the splashing water out onto the rear seat area, and of course clogged drain holes will just collect and dump water onto the rear floor.

 

[1970cat]

no drains. the rear curtain ( the part that the rear window is attached to) extends 3/4 of the way across the back. look at it from the inside and you'll see what i mean. unless there is a hurricane or someone gets crazy with a hose there is no reason for it to leak. the channel itself is about 1 1/2 across by 1 inch deep with a lip that curls to the inside of the channel. i think it would be fairly easy to overwhelm the channel with water causing it to spill over and run into the trunk especially if the top wasn't trimmed well and lays in the channel. make sure that the plastic chutes are attached well to the ends of the channel. mine were kind of loose and flopping around.

 

[C Sickness]

The trough that runs along the back edge of the dutch panel is easily over run with water if dosed with a hose or put through the car wash. Not to mention that they are made from untreated metal, they will perforate over the years, especially where the roof edge is basically bolted to the dutch panel. You may be able to see generally where the water is seeping in from inside the trunk, but you may have to remove the roof along that edge and re-seal the area. At the ends of the trough there are supposed to be plastic "directionals" that guide the water into the rear side panels. I've seen pictures of them, so I know they exist, but not on my car. The plastic wrap that is almost always removed by the first mechanic that has to adjust the rear quarter windows is also an essential part of keeping the splashing water out onto the rear seat area, and of course clogged drain holes will just collect and dump water onto the rear floor.

My BMW's have a sheet of plastic "water barrier" inside each door, to prevent water into the cabin. There's a black butyl rubber cord all around the perimeter of the sheet that seals it to the metal door stamping . I bought replacement butyl cord at NAPA.

 

[C Sickness]

So where does the water go after it exits the 'chute"?

 

[Samplingman]

So where does the water go after it exits the 'chute"?

It is supposed to drain out through openings (almost always clogged) in the rocker panel in front of the rear wheels. Meanwhile it is splashing on all of the exposed metal parts of the window mechanism and onto the cardboard of the rear side panels, unless that plastic sheeting is still in place. These cars were not designed to get wet.

 

[Samplingman]

As you can see, mine have pretty much decayed and will have to be replaced. I will be examining this closer and see if it could be re-engineered to work better, but I think the best bet is to simply avoid water.

 

[C Sickness]

Oh....none of that is good.

Needs a generous diameter hose that exits under the body.

 

[1970cat]

i've seen some where people have hooked up hoses or tubes to the end of the channels but the you run the risk of them getting clogged by debris. there wouldn't be a good way to clean them without removing the rear seat and panels and/ or loosening the rear of the top to poke something through there.

 

[3175375]

i've seen some where people have hooked up hoses or tubes to the end of the channels but the you run the risk of them getting clogged by debris. there wouldn't be a good way to clean them without removing the rear seat and panels and/ or loosening the rear of the top to poke something through there.

Could have the tubes be long enough or end at a point where one could attach / insert a shop air hose to blow debris loose. I would try that but apply low pressure air via a regulator.

 

[1970cat]

Could have the tubes be long enough or end at a point where one could attach / insert a shop air hose to blow debris loose. I would try that but apply low pressure air via a regulator.

i suppose you could, but you would only be blowing the wet muck as far as the top of the tubes where it can either plug the tube again or get trapped between panels.