[efhill321]

I have a minor problem that hopefully will work itself out

I keep getting water in the trunk of my 64 t-bird, the old seal was pretty bad around the trunk,so I replaced it, then i was still getting water in the trunk, so i redid the seal and am still getting water in the same place. There is currently just sheet metal in the trunk, no liner or finishing of any kind, I am hoping that the problem might be condensation getting in and collecting in that area. There are some open gaps near the wheel wells and a hole that was cut out where there was rust, I am putting a large considerably expensive sound system in, and I must get rid of the water.

what if anything can I do? anything specific i can look for? is it probably jus condensation becaiuse of the gaps? I am new to the whole restoration and hotrod world so any help will be appreciated. thanks
~eric

 

[Silentlion_69]

why dont you fix the hole that was cut (where you said the rust was) then fix the gaps that you talked about and then see what happens.

Just my opinion but I think you should fix the holes / gaps on your body before you put in a sound system. it seems kind of foolish when you have a car that the radio in it is worth more than the car itself

 

[bracketeer]

water

clean up all the water with rags until it is dry. spray around trunk with garden hose and see if interior of trunk gets wet. might be getting in around tail lights.

 

[MARTINSR]

Also think about the water being "thrown up" from the road. If you have holes in the wheel wells or trunk floor this is very possible.
It is NOT condensation, you need WATER to make condensation.

 

[mmartin1872]

if your rear trunks lock assembly has ever been replaced or removed and "cleaned up" by someone doing a restoration you'll get water into your trunk from there also. most guys clean all the black gunk off the bottom of the lock housing and this stuff was actually used to seal the lock assembly so that water didn't get in the trunk. so fix your other holes, check your lock assembly.. if its been cleaned up on the bottom side of it, use some sort of sealant (i'd guess that stuff you use on the inside of doors to hold that sheet of plastic on?? (not too sure about that)... If i had my lock assembly here i'd be able to show you what i'm talking about a lot better... if i make it out to the shop today i'll take some pics

 

[poncho62]

Get in the trunk and get someone to run a garden hose over the trunk opening. This should tell you if the seal is leaking, and go from there.

Don't do this if your friend is a practical joker...............you know what will happen with that one.

 

[efhill321]

thanks alot guys, i'll definately check out that lock, never even came to my mind, and I'm not driving the car, i live in buffalo, plus I've only had it a few months and just doin my work on it for now, also thats the reason I'm worried about the water is because of the system I want to put in, obviously i would take care of the water first but still a good reminder.

Though it very well could be condensation, because it is slightly warmer in the day buit extremely cold at night, also from the heaters and stuff i use, condensation comes right out of the air anyway.
but thanks alot, i'll let yall know how it turns out

 

[MARTINSR]

Get in the trunk and get someone to run a garden hose over the trunk opening. This should tell you if the seal is leaking, and go from there.

Don't do this if your friend is a practical joker...............you know what will happen with that one.

Ok, you did it, now you have to hear a story

I have a habit that has prevented me from locking the keys in a car trunk my whole life, after opening the trunk I IMMEDIATELY put the keys back in my pocket.

Because of this habit in all my forty six years working on thousands upon thousands of cars I have only locked the keys in a trunk once, and even then I had them in my pocket.:drunk:

You guessed it, I jumped in the trunk while I had my brother wet the car. After a few minutes I heard him start to laugh, litterally fall to the ground in choking laughter. He noticed as he was running the water over it the keys weren't in the trunk lock. He discribed how he then stood on his tippy toes to look at the ignition to see it empty. That is when he knew what I had done and litterally fell to the ground laughing.

He had to take one of the speakers out and passed the keys thru to him. I don't mind telling you, that trunk got a little smaller while I was in there.

 

[efhill321]

o man......... that is a terrible and yet hilarious story all at the same time...... in a way very ironic too

 

[mmartin1872]

here's another link to look at
http://www.tbirdranch.com/techtips.html#seat belt light

"Water Leaking into the Trunk - 64-66

If you have a constant problem with water getting into the trunk of your 64-66 Hardtop there are 3 main things that you should check.

1). The weatherstrip first of all. This is usually not the problem as there is a pretty good trough around there to direct the water out.

2). The rear vent drains either plugged or rotted and leaking into the trunk. These are now available new . You should also check for rust arount these drains.

3). A most unlikely culprit is the trunk lock assy. If this has ever been removed, more than likely whoever did it cleaned it up nicely before installing, thereby removeing all the caulk that kept the water out. There must be a good bead of caulk all around where it contacts the trunk lid surface. Then there is the little drain that goes out the back edge of the underside of the trunk. There should be a plastic sleeve with a flange held in place with 2 screws. This usually gets tossed also as it don't look real useful. This must be caulked where it slides onto the lock assy."

 

[efhill321]

wow, thanks alot really appreciate it, haven't gotten to do anything yet, so cold out if i even tryed running water to see where the leak is, it would freeze before it got in

 

[Kevin45]

After reading thru this I am surprised no one said anything about the rear window. Dirt and debris will collect underneath the moulding and rust the rear window channel out. The only way to tell is to get in there and lie on your back and look around the area of the rear shelf. Usually if it does rust it will mainly be in the corners but could be anywhere along the bottom of the window. The only fix for that is to pull the rear glass and headliner, weld up, finish off, and replace. A temporary fix is to pull the moulding, clean, and silicone around until you can get a permanent fix.

Kevin

 

[efhill321]

again, thanks alot

 

[pigjamelectric]

A way to check your trunk seal (or any other for that matter) is to cut a 2 inch wide by 11" long sheet of paper. Have a friend open the trunk, then put the paper down on the seal, close the trunk, pull the paper to see if it resists, repeat all the way around... all while you sit there telling your friend what to do

 

[efhill321]

yeah... that sounds a little better then climbing in the truck and expecting your friend to not leave u in there