Water getting in through door somewhere (64)

[seok]

Hey guys, my 64 drivers side floor is soaked. Ive only owned the car a few weeks and knew it has a bad floor from water getting in which i am planning on repairing. Im in the process of getting new rubber throughout before i repair the floor but i cant afford to buy it all at once. Initially i thought it was the roof rail weatherstrip leaking to the floor but looking at it more i see that there is no leak up there. I found that just the lower portion of my door panel is super soaked and i believe draining onto the floor. Since its just the bottom of my panel   my question is what leak would causr that? Water IN the door soaking the lower panel? Could that be the outer window rubber at the top of the doorline? I dont see any dripping water from anywhere up high. Any place particularly i should look? I want to get the rubber to fix whatever this leak is first and go from there. Any ideas?

[signart]

First make sure the drains at the bottom of the doors are clear. Remove panel if possible the use water hose outside door to isolate the area. Helps to have someone inside with flashlight to spot for you. I had a '66 p.u. that actually filled the doors half way up with water on a 5 day trip of seemingly non stop rain. Had metal door panels though.

[35-709]

Second that.  Common for water to run down into the door, that is why the drain holes are there.  There also should be "waterproof" paper to keep the water from getting the door panel wet which will do little good if the door is allowed to fill up with water.  I would suspect the lower cardboard door panel itself, to which the upholstery is attached, is mush by now and in need of replacement.

[fishnjim]

These 2 guys pretty much nailed the causes and prevention.   These old windows are made to leak in, not like today, where they have silicon gasketing around the windows to minimize.   
Need to fix the bottom of car first before you change the rubber.   Water will just get back in and ruin any new stuff.   If you can't fix all now, then make temporary patching.   Make sure it's water tight from below.  If not, you'll have more issues over time than you can handle.    Metal over the holes and seal with seam sealer or fiberglass with the glass hair in it.   Spray some sealant over everything.   Temporary seems to get permanent then the next owner will be irate.  Or park it inside until you can fix it.
Another thing to check is the air/heater vents and cowl.   That's another prime area for buildup, water, and corrosion that can allow to get in the interior.   Not sure if your '64 has vent ducts in the doors or not.   Your carpet, if it has, must be soaked and that makes rotting worse.  take out until the bottom is tight.
I'd pull the door panel(s) and allow it to air out so it doesn't mold/mildew.   Clean the drains and then tape some plastic sheet over the door to keep it out of the interior.

[dadscad]

If memory serves me correctly there are two water drains in the bottom of the door covered by rubber dust shields. I suspect that the drains are plugged and the dust covers are hard and brittle keeping the water from exiting the door.

[seok]

Yes yes and yep. The carpet is soaked. Previous owner informed me of the bad floor. I planned on welding in a patch pan anyways. I pulled back the carpet last week to clean debri out from the gas pedal and the huge hole smiled at me. I could see thw muffler. So yes the floor is rotted. Carper is soaked and lower door panel is soaked. I bet its like you said the drain plugs are most likely clogged and filling the door with water, pouring out thru the lower door panel and into the carpet. As soon as i get a good day im going to pull my carpet and door panel and see whats going on with door drainage. A temp floor patch might be a good idea until i get a way to weld in a correct floor pan patch. Unfortunately the car has no indoor parking space.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Boy, if it is that bad, it must have been leaking for many years.

Here in  Australia, what blocks the drain holes most of the time is dust from the dirt roads we used to have to drive on.   These days, most roads are sealed, so it isn't a problem.

This blocking of the holes usually results in the bottom corners of the doors rusting out, but never the floors.

Bruce.

[62 driver]

A few more ideas to add. The waterproof paper must be installed in the long slot at doors bottom! Look and you will see.  Most folks don't reinstall the paper correctly and water drain down the paper and into the car.  Also the door kick plate is designed to funnel the water out that runs down the door. 

[seok]

Boy, if it is that bad, it must have been leaking for many years.

Here in  Australia, what blocks the drain holes most of the time is dust from the dirt roads we used to have to drive on.   These days, most roads are sealed, so it isn't a problem.

This blocking of the holes usually results in the bottom corners of the doors rusting out, but never the floors.

Bruce.

Yeah Bruce its been leaking for a long time. Plus i live in a very wet climate here in Oregon. Luckily we dont use salt on the roads in the winter like other parts of the states so the underside of cars dont rust as bad. But this floor has been long gone long ago.

[seok]

Well I pulled my panels and sure enough I pulled baseball sized globs of mud out of the lower doors! It took me about an hr to thoroughly clean, rinse and air out just the drivers side. Water now drains as it should. The panels are in pretty good shape too.
I did find another leak that concerns me though. As I was tinkering with the door button that turns on the courtesy lights i noticed a few drips of water from behind it. Behind the vented kick panel and up inside the upper left corner of the dash. Im assuming its leaking from the a pillar. Inside maybe originating from the windshield? I cant feel any wetness anywhere up inside the dash. I just see a drip every 10 sec or so. This was during a down pour today. Everything around the windshield is dry. Dash, headliner, a pillars all dry in every crevice i can see so wherever that leak is coming from its internal. Any ideas? I did break the rear power window motor harness connector. It was just too brittle. Anyone got one?

[russ austin]

The vent cowl drains down the sides, through a drain at the bottom. Check that too.

I have lots of parts for the 63/64, so shoot me an email to;  russ85747@hotmail.com      Send a pic of the broken connector, and I will get you a good one.