<VV> Question about early Vairs - leaks

[Tony Underwood]

At 01:41 PM 12/7/2009, Bryan Blackwell wrote:
>Yep, floor pans are a common replacement item - not just Corvairs, but
>lots of old cars.  Corrosion protection on modern cars is much better.
>
>Speaking of which - where are the common leak points for earlies?  The
>'62 is getting water on the floor so I'd like to have an idea where to
>start.  It looks like it's coming in under the dash, but there's no
>major rot on this car so it has to be an area that normally has some
>sort of seal or caulk.





Check the windshield gasket at the TOP, not the bottom.    Lots of 
water running off the roof hits that gasket when it rains.   A flaky 
gasket seal will allow water to run down the top windshield channel 
not into the car (yet) because the gasket channels it away...  but 
down into the A pillar channel between the metal and the gasket where 
it seeps out at the top corners and while following the seam where 
the roof and pillar join together, dribbles down into the pinch 
molding where it runs down the length of the molding until the 
molding takes the turn towards the sill plate and dumps out its 
charge of water which then drips onto the floor.   A lot of water can 
find its way into the floor this way... and people wonder why early 
floors like to rust so often.


I once fixed such a leak temporarily with some gaffer tape across the 
top of the windshield gasket.   Then a dose of RTV-11 drizzled into 
and under the lip of the gasket stopped it up for good.    Of course 
replacing the windshield gasket would have done it too...


Tacky.   Very annoying.



tony..