End of the road?

[Faust]

I'm rapidly losing patience with my car...

Since I got the thing back from restoration I've been unable to drive it due to one problem after another.

I've got MAJOR water leaks into the interior. As in several liters in the past 24 hours. I've sealed the screen with arbomast - no leaks here.

Every rubber bulkhead grommit has been replaced. Still leaking.

Water appears to be coming in through the seams of the inner wings. I've sealed them with a lot of sealant. Yet water is still leaking in. New inner/outer wings were fitted a year ago.

The area around the pedals, steering column, wire loom into the car is dry. The battery tray is sound.

My long suffering girlfriend and I have just spent an hour in the rain with a very powerful LED touch looking for gaps water can trickle in through (inside and outside the car)... can see no light, yet water is still pouring in

I'm getting very, very close to cutting my loses and selling the bloody thing as I've spent close to 10 housand pounds on it in the last 18 months alone (I really cannot afford or justify and more money). It's also affecting my health as my back and knees and been very painful over the past few weeks as I've been spending so long trying to get everything sorted.

Don't know what to do. Any help or inspiration would be appreciated as I'm at my wits end.

[woodman]

Mike, This might seem a simple one and you may have already eliminated it, but the holes where the chrome trims fit into the bodywork can be an easy route in, and if the trims have been off during restoration that might have had an impact. In my car, the ones on the rear wings let water in fairly quickly - there are several holes, after all - and get the boot wet, you need to gobbo them up generously on the inside - or maybe pop the trim off and work some sealant in before the clips come through?

[Faust]

Originally Posted by woodman

Mike, This might seem a simple one and you may have already eliminated it, but the holes where the chrome trims fit into the bodywork can be an easy route in, and if the trims have been off during restoration that might have had an impact. In my car, the ones on the rear wings let water in fairly quickly - there are several holes, after all - and get the boot wet, you need to gobbo them up generously on the inside - or maybe pop the trim off and work some sealant in before the clips come through?

Thanks for the reply.

Done so much I knew I'd forget something...

All the trims have been sealed on the inside with putty - no sign of any leaks.

New wings seals have also been used (where they fit at the trailing edge).

[amazon69]

Losing patience with the car happens to all of us I imagine from time to time. I suggest stepping away for a day or two and not thinking about it at all. It is easy enough to get peed off with it though which can then lead to rash decisions. I'm sure the car is nearly as you want it after all that spend so don't throw the baby out with the rain water. As for the leaks, as you have found, they can be a right sod to track down. However, I have found that taking yourself away allows the mind to calm down and often in the quiet times a thought pops in that provides the answer..I hope it does for you.

d

[amazon69]

An idea..the volumes of water you talk about suggest a major leak, and one of the main collection points is the vent in front of the windscreen. I don't think that water can directly enter the cabin, but I do think the run out can get in past the heater box seal, which is hard to see from under the bonnet and from inside the car. Might be worth a look..?

[CLIVERALLY]

Another long shot are door seals or front screen scuttle ?it may give the appearance of water sealing from the bulkhead. I had a bad leak and traced it t the air scuttle as Amazon69 suggests

[Faust]

Originally Posted by amazon69

An idea..the volumes of water you talk about suggest a major leak, and one of the main collection points is the vent in front of the windscreen. I don't think that water can directly enter the cabin, but I do think the run out can get in past the heater box seal, which is hard to see from under the bonnet and from inside the car. Might be worth a look..?

This area is also dry... got my missus to pour a load of water around this area whilst I lay on my back and shone a torch around. No leaks! (no dignity when working on cars, eh?)

The water was literately 3 or 4 inches deep - never seen anything like it!

Rear bonnet seal is also new. In fact, I've fitted 2 new ones from Brookhouse just I case one was dodgy over the past month.

Appreciate the comments and suggestion though.

[grantbennett2]

A few areas that I had water problems with were

1 Pin holes in rusty A pillars where inner wings are attached, water would creep inside and run down into foot well.

2 The 4 holes that the heater air intake grill are clipped to. The outer two can allow water to run down the bulkhead and through the steering column sponge. The inner two are above the heater air inlet and drain out through the heater drain

3 Heater drain pipe was missing

4 Before fitting the door cards I glued polythene to cover the inner access holes in the door

I still seem to have a problem in a back footwell where sometimes a small puddle appears. So I just use small rubber mats so I can keep an eye on the floor condition.

[amazon69]

Well, at least you are eliminating culprits one by one..
Rear bonnet seal unlikely to have owt to do with it, but that seal and the windscreen/gutters do direct water down to the very upper top corner of the wings, behind which is an easy entry into the cabin (I am talking inside the bonnet now) Any gap there will allow water in, running down behind the dash. I sealed those gaps up with mastic. Maybe check all around that area. I also sealed every wing bolt. I would be looking where the water wants to go off the car given the volumes you have..ie follow the flow from the gutters, off the screens etc.

[123GT-AMAZON]

Hi ya

Also check the window wiper arm seals are sealed correctly if they where removed they tend to take ages to reseat an seal and stop water passing past then draining down back of the firewall insulation then trickling in carpet area as all water rushing down the front end of car will gush in hard more so when driving the car .

Kind regards

Robert.w