Water getting under vinyl top

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rich006

Learning as I go
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If water gets past the rear glass seal could it find its way under the vinyl top? The top itself is pristine (original, I think) but the rear glass seal is old.

Water pools at the corners of the rear glass under the vinyl. The previous owner cut slits in the vinyl to let the water drain out, but I'd like to keep it from getting in.
 
If you remove the stainless reveal moldings you'll find channel corners where water ponds with or without the vinyl. Only way to stop that water from going under the vinyl is glue the vinyl down tight.
I hate vinyl tops! I've seen these corners and entire Dutchman panels rusted so bad that there's nothing left to glue the vinyl to. Lets hope yours doesn't have serious rust issues.
 
It sounds like you're saying it won't help to replace the rear glass seal. If water gets in through that seal, where does it go?
 
When the rear window gasket leaks the water can go into the trunk. I've seen it rust away a Dutchman panel from the bottom up. I dont think they ever painted the underside of that panel.
It can leak into the cabin too ( wets the package shelf ).
A vinyl top holds more water on the exterior surfaces and causes more rust.
 
After rain, I found the vinyl below the rear glass was full of water again (see picture) and is detached from the underlying metal. Where's the most likely source of the leak? Can I fix it by peeling up the vinyl and gluing it back down? I'm hesitant to damage the vinyl but I want to be able to drive/park in the rain.
rear_window_vinyl.png
 
If you remove the lower stainless (below the glass) you'll find the reason for the problem. Mopar engineered a gutter under the stainless (where the rubber gasket sits). This gutter holds water, worst of all it acts like a greenhouse. Since the sun can't shine under the stainless the water can stay under there for many, many days/weeks. It's even worse once you get little twigs/dirt and leaves under the stainless. The dirt, leaves and twigs soak up the water and keeps the gutter wet continuously. The vinyl (I believe) gets glued down into the gutter then covered by the stainless. Once water gets into the gutter it wicks its' way under the vinyl. If you remove the stainless you'll see. If you re-glue the upper part of the vinyl it should help but it won't keep the water from getting into the gutter (very poor design). When I owned a 67 Barracuda fastback in the 70s it had bad rust under the lower stainless and it leaked into the trunk. Three years ago I bought a 69 Barracuda fastback with no rust anywhere. I knew what was going to happen because I live in a very humid climate with lots of rain. The first thing I did was remove the back glass, remove all the pins that hold the stainless and put three coats of brush on undercoat in the gutter. Then I replaced the glass and had the glass man seal the whole gutter with urethane and nice rubber strips. I was willing to own my car without any stainless just to keep it from rusting away.
I drive my car all the time so it sees some bad weather but it shouldn't ever rust around the back glass.

PS - The same thing happens in the front cowl (fresh air duct). Twigs, dirt and leaves get in there also. The stuff gets wet and creates a sludge that stays wet (greenhouse effect). That's why so many owners have to repair the cowl area as well.

treblig
 
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