Just bought a '71 convertible. When I went to check out the car, there were puddles (read: big puddles) of water on both sides of the rear floor, completely saturating the carpet. Same thing with the front floors, but not quite as bad. The car is in great shape, the top is brand new, except for a small ~1" tear on the lower, rear area, near the rear window. While I was in the trunk, I also noticed that the large, vinyl 'bag' that holds the top when it's in the closed position was also filled with water. I had the car on a lift and the floor pans seem tight as a drum, not any signs of rust/rot anywhere. I've never owned a convertible before, could all this water come from that one small tear in the roof? Where else should I suspect? Thanks
Check the header seal (above the windshield) . Remember their are two kinds of convertibles, ones that leak, and ones that WILL leak. My neighbor restored a 56 Corvette, about a year after it was finished he got caught in a heavy rainstorm. I talked to him the next day and asked him if his top leaked, he replied "of coarse it did". Good luck
I'm not surprised that the top leaks, regardless of whether it new or not. However, I'm stunned at the volume of water that was in that car. Could it even be possible for a top, with 1 small tear, to leak that much? Would it be safe to assume that it's leaking elsewhere? Thanks
sounds like you gutter is clogged and dumping back over into the well. then the water in the well floods to the under rear seat area, then it overflows into the rear floor and then that overflowed into the front floor.. make sure your gutter is clean and not cracked and leaking. then make sure you park the car in a manner that the gutter will drain near BOTH the wheel wells like it is supposed to.
I'm assuming the car sits outside, if true your going to have to tarp it. It would be great if you could get it inside of a garage and pull the seats and carpet out, and then dry it out. Come warmer weather you can take a garden hose around the top to find your problem.
is your car an A body or B body. my experieces are with B body verts. B bodies like mine use vinyl/cloth gutters and i think A body cars use a fiberglass gutter. if your car is an A body, guys on the board with A verts can give alot more specific advice than i ever could. basically when the rain runs down the rear of your roof/back window area, there is a gutter that is supposed to catch that water (so it dont just fall into the trunk)and route it over the wheels wells below the rear side window regulators so it can exit through the lower body in front of the rear wheels. sometimes gutters work but the drain holes in the lower quarters get clogged(or minged shut). but since you said you have water in the well (where a down top rests) it sounds more to me like the gutter itself may be clogged(leaves are many times the culprit). cleaning the crud out of it consists of lowering the top and reaching down between the top and trunk filler panel and grabbing what aint supposed to in there ... BUT... if you have an A body you really need experienced advice for that style of car because i think their gutters are pretty fragile after 40 years.
