Ttop water leak solutions. Any suggestions?

[714Speed]

The ttops on the 71 leak water, I know, welcome to vette ownership. But...does anyone have any proven solutions to help stop the water monster? Thanks, Neil.

 

[mike weyman]

can you see the water coming in? or are the floors wet and guessing t top????

 

[red70vette]

can you see the water coming in? or are the floors wet and guessing t top????

Don't drive in the rain.

These things leaked when new and that was 30+ years ago. Carry several towels if you have to drive in the rain.

 

[714Speed]

The reason I know that it leaks is that when I had it delivered on a roll back from Michigan to Georgia the guy drove through a downpour for about 8 hours of the 12 hour trip. It was wet on the carpets when it arrived. Honestly, I haven't driven the car in rain ever and that was over a year ago. I just figured that there were tricks to help prevent leaks. I plan to get it out more and am going to try and not worry about it getting wet, now that it's basically cosmetically and mechanically perfect.

 

[mike weyman]

I thought mine were leaking,turned out the windshield channel was rotted and the water ran down inside the a pillar onto the floor. take off the access hatches on the kick plates by your feet(towards outside.)
take the cover off to see if the water is in the a pillar frame. (and hope it's dry),mike

 

[74Vette]

Water Diverter

Do you have water diverters installed? They fixed the problem on my 74. No more wet carpet.

Garson

 

[78SilvAnniv]

74Vette, please tell us what water diverters are!

My 78 has leaked for most of the time we've owned her and here are the problem areas I discovered.

Weatherstriping.
Either it is worn, badly fitted or improperly applied.
All of the above problems will allow access to water. A problem area I found with my w/s is the back, outside corner area of the t-top where it touches the side pillar w/s. My passenger side does not leak like my driver's side does. It seeps in at the junction and drips down my seatbelt to my lap when I'm driving or onto the floor when parked. This will happen either in rain or during washing. I carry plenty of towels.

Chrome surround above windshield.
I have had a leak(s) coming through the upper windshield molding. I tried new w/s, resetting the windshield and duct tape. The second time the windshield was reset the leak stopped for a bit. When I used the duct tape (silver so it blended with my 78) I found that by taping the area between the trim and windshield did not stop the leak but that when I taped the seams of the three chrome pieces (easily seem when t-tops are off) that my leak was cured. So...I know where the problem is, but I don't know how to fix it.

A-pillar leaking onto foot.
This one only happens once in a great while and most times I am unsure if it is actually leaking or if I'm imagining it.

Unfortunately, I have not discovered the 'cure' for each problem area...
Heidi

 

[jimred75]

Another thing to clean out is the vent in the fenders, if you get leaves and stuff in them and it's rain the water will also come in around your feet and look like the posts are leaking. I just used a dfry/wet vac on mine and was surprised at the amount of junk I found in my 80.

 

[BORDERBUM]

Every vette I have seen in this era have leaked pretty bad, and I wish that GM could have figured it out then.

 

[74Vette]

The water will run down the channel in the t-top base . It follows down the side and into the side window weather strip where it makes a quick turn to the rear of the weather strip where it is guided down the rear door jamb. This is where the diverter comes in. When the water reaches the sill plate, it usually runs to the inside of the car and onto the carpet. The water diverter mounts to the rear of the sill plate and diverts the water towards the outside of the lower door jamb. On my 74 there is even a little recess in the edge of the lower jamb to let the water out. Take your t-tops off and use a turkey baster to pour a little water in the t-top channel and watch where the water travels. You will see the journey to the sill and into the car where most water arrives in the carpet. You can purchase water diverters at Virgina Vettes - 1-757-229-0011. I can e-mail you pics


Garson

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Thank you Garson, what you described is exactly what the water does at my w/s junction. I won't need email pics, I'll call the place tomorrow.
Thank you for the info!
Heidi