Back Glass Re-Seal Abort!

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Mike's Dart

Dodging The Negative Darting Toward The Positive
Joined
Nov 20, 2016
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Location
McDermott, Ohio
Took the Dart to the Glass Shop this morning and got the bad news! Long story short, re-seal will not stop my leak in the trunk! Vinyl top needs to come off, rust/seam repair and well, you vets that have been here for years know, a lot of time and money to be invested.....not to mention going the rest of the way with a restoration. So on to plan "B"....buy a quality car cover and keep the rain and snow off her and drive only on dry days! Who sells a good Dart Car Cover?! At least it did not cost me any money!
 
A car cover isn't enough with a vinyl top, I don't care how fancy it is. If you're keeping the vinyl top, you MUST store the car indoors. Preferably with some kind of climate control if you're in a wet climate.

If the car is stored outside or even in a carport, lose the vinyl top permanently.

And, even a really great car cover isn't waterproof in heavy rain or any kind of lasting snow. If you've got a leak already, it won't keep the water out of the car. I've used a bunch of different covers, if the outside of the car leaks the water WILL get in.
 
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I like Budge car covers. I keep my vinyl topped Dart outside with it and it fits nice. I run a bungee cord underneath the car from side to side. I too have a leak from my vinyl top molding, I just keep a towel in the trunk underneath it.

Budge Car Covers: Free Shipping + Warranty

Which might work ok-ish for the inside, but in the meantime the roof skin is slowly dissolving under the vinyl.

Yeah, yeah, horror story whatever. This is the roof skin of my bronze GT. It's a 100% California car. Built in Los Angeles, sold in northern california and it spent it's entire life here, mostly in the valley and foothills. The only rust on the entire car is the roof skin, and a few small places where the water came through after the roof skin starting letting water in. You can see the holes, but pretty much the entire top of the car is paper thin (good thing I have another roof skin!). This is what ALL vinyl tops do, and it's why I hate them. They trap moisture. A vinyl top car can't live outside for any significant length of time without rust forming under the vinyl, even in California.

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Which might work ok-ish for the inside, but in the meantime the roof skin is slowly dissolving under the vinyl.

Yeah, yeah, horror story whatever. This is the roof skin of my bronze GT. It's a 100% California car. Built in Los Angeles, sold in northern california and it spent it's entire life here, mostly in the valley and foothills. The only rust on the entire car is the roof skin, and a few small places where the water came through after the roof skin starting letting water in. You can see the holes, but pretty much the entire top of the car is paper thin (good thing I have another roof skin!). This is what ALL vinyl tops do, and it's why I hate them. They trap moisture. A vinyl top car can't live outside for any significant length of time without rust forming under the vinyl, even in California.

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WOW! :(
 
Which might work ok-ish for the inside, but in the meantime the roof skin is slowly dissolving under the vinyl.

Yeah, yeah, horror story whatever. This is the roof skin of my bronze GT. It's a 100% California car. Built in Los Angeles, sold in northern california and it spent it's entire life here, mostly in the valley and foothills. The only rust on the entire car is the roof skin, and a few small places where the water came through after the roof skin starting letting water in. You can see the holes, but pretty much the entire top of the car is paper thin (good thing I have another roof skin!). This is what ALL vinyl tops do, and it's why I hate them. They trap moisture. A vinyl top car can't live outside for any significant length of time without rust forming under the vinyl, even in California.

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Let's get the whole story. I'm sure this wasn't a vinyl top that was in good condition with a car cover on it the whole time in CA. If you have a new top that's been treated underneath and a waterproof cover, it's not going to disintegrate like this example.
 
The whole story... A car will collect humidity and still sweat under a cover if outside.
 
Why I hate vinyl tops. I've removed them for that reason.
If you go back with one, it will cover potential problems like cancer too.
If original doesn't matter to you, I'd fix it and paint it.
Done.
 
And humidity comes up from the ground.
I'm storing cars outside under cover but I put a tarp under them.
And over them too. Best I can do to keep condensation off of it when the weather swings.
 
The whole story... A car will collect humidity and still sweat under a cover if outside.
Maintaining aircraft on a carrier out at sea, I know corrosion control. If you clean/treat, then paint with single stage, seal the seams, and maintain your top, it's not going to be this extreme. If this example is the same car in 72bluNblu's signature picture, you can see a gash in the vinyl top. If you don't like vinyl tops, that's cool. They aren't the end of the world if properly repaired, installed, and maintained. Mike's Dart.... buy a car cover, enjoy your car, and don't sit on the roof. :)
 
The whole story? I told you. It was a California built, California sold, California registered car its entire life with the original issue blue plates and even the license plate frame from the original dealer. It had a factory vinyl top, with whatever the factory did to prep for vinyl underneath (not much). It didn't even see any time in coastal areas, it lived in the Sacramento valley and foothills. Did the vinyl top degrade? Sure it did. They ALL do if they stay outside, it's only a matter of time. But I could buff the paint on the rest of that car and have it look pretty decent, it did not live a hard life other than being outside. Yes, the factory top degraded because that's what happens if a vinyl top sits outside. But there's rust everywhere. You can see the holes, but the entire roof skin is paper thin. The white looking sections in the picture are the fabric backing leftovers from the original top, which were left behind when I peeled off the remaining original top. Yes, the worse section of rust shows where the top separated. But that kind of rust here in California takes decades. Decades. That rust was doing damage years before the top fell apart.

Think you can do better? Knock yourself out. Vinyl tops trap moisture, period. Even brand new ones. If you like 'em, great. Vinyl tops were just a cheap way for the factory to deal with the roof/quarter seam, to save money on bodywork on cars that had lousy seams. The rest was just marketing. Park it outside, the vinyl will trap moisture. Cover, car port, doesn't matter. Treating the metal underneath will delay the inevitable rust, but it's just a delay. Vinyl top cars have to be kept indoor and dry, otherwise they rust. Just how it works.
 
Maintaining aircraft on a carrier out at sea, I know corrosion control. If you clean/treat, then paint with single stage, seal the seams, and maintain your top, it's not going to be this extreme. If this example is the same car in 72bluNblu's signature picture, you can see a gash in the vinyl top. If you don't like vinyl tops, that's cool. They aren't the end of the world if properly repaired, installed, and maintained. Mike's Dart.... buy a car cover, enjoy your car, and don't sit on the roof. :)

Thank You Sir!! That is what I am going to do! My vinyl top does not have a tear in it anywhere and it still looks pretty sharp! I'm going to put some vinyl top "shine" stuff on it and cover it when the forecast has some moisture in it! I'm pushing "60" and there is real good chance this old car will still be on the road after I m gone! Thanks Again!

Mike
 
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The rustout in those photos was caused by a cheap replacement vinyl top that was poorly preped and installed.
The original tops dont have that particular kind of backing and the vinyl was heavier and much better quality.
What you have there is a combination of California sun drying/ cracking a low grade vinyl and a nonwoven dacron backing that wicks/ holds water.
I'm not saying that factory tops dont deteriorate with age. The woven back fibers do get weak and tears easily once started. What your seeing there was not the factory's fault or even a fair comparison to how the originals normally age.
To the OP I wouldn't be very worried about the Ohio sun destroying your roof metal like that in the photos.
That was neglect more than any other factor.
 
The rustout in those photos was caused by a cheap replacement vinyl top that was poorly preped and installed.
The original tops dont have that particular kind of backing and the vinyl was heavier and much better quality.
What you have there is a combination of California sun drying/ cracking a low grade vinyl and a nonwoven dacron backing that wicks/ holds water.
I'm not saying that factory tops dont deteriorate with age. The woven back fibers do get weak and tears easily once started. What your seeing there was not the factory's fault or even a fair comparison to how the originals normally age.
To the OP I wouldn't be very worried about the Ohio sun destroying your roof metal like that in the photos.
That was neglect more than any other factor.

I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. First, sun doesn't destroy metal, moisture does. Which is why solid cars tend to come from dry, hot climates and rusty hunks of crap come from wet, humid, and coastal climates.

Second, I tracked down the previous owners of that car and have accounted for a large part of its history. It's an original paint car that never had the top redone. None of the trim had ever been off that car, so the top couldn't have been replaced. Yes, it's definitely seen better days and it was certainly stored outside too long. But that was a factory top. And it wasn't the first, or the last, factory vinyl top I've removed either. They all looked the same. The one from the '66 Fury my grandfather bought new in '66, the one on my '71 satellite that still had the factory markings underneath it, and the one from that '71 GT. All the same, and all factory. Maybe my description was lacking, but I didn't see you there when I was pulling the top off that car.
 
Sun destroys vinyl and tiny cracks breathe moisture. Cheap backing wicks it everywhere. I know a guy who repainted his vinyl top every year, a different color. I bet his roof didn't get spot holes.
Sacramento area is NOT dry..
The entire valley is wet as a shag, that's why the whole valley is fruits and vegetables.
Where I live we have salt and bad winters, central CA is f'n moist!
Whichever side of the car has the least rust got morning sun.
The part that rusted worse was the part that stayed cool in the morning and collected condensation.
I've seen cars in driveways in New York state with moss on one side of a vinyl roof.
My brother had a 73 4 door Caprice where the holes in the roof were visible through the double-pinpoint perfect headliner, the previous owner simply pulled the offending vinyl off and left the holes.
 
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