1960 rear window leaks

[Tony472]

On my 1960 deVille 6-window  water leaks into the trunk at heavy rain.
I noticed , that there are little water channels left and right below the window in the trunk. These are severely corroded; usually the channels should guide some water through little hoses into the wheel housing.
Is there some water intrusion normal by design ?
Of course I have to restore those channels, bur is there also a good way to seal the rear window and trims ?
Cheers   Tony

[JohnnyRockit]

Tony, I'm not sure if your 1960 is the same as my 1962 CDV in that area, but I just went through the same problem. I had water (and some rust) in the trunk every time it rained or I washed it. I thought a new trunk seal would help but upon further investigation I found that the water was coming from the 2 holes underneath the package tray at the inside corners of the window. These holes were plugged with putty, but it had shrunk over the years.

I figured the gasket had shrunk or otherwise gone bad. I removed all the inside and outside window trim and then removed the rear glass. This way I could at least inspect if I had any rust issues inside the gasket channel. Fortunately, I didn't, but I would've in time if it hadn't been addressed.

I cleaned everything up and reinstalled the glass with a new gasket from Steele Rubber along with plenty of 3M Glazing and Bedding compound. I did everything per the Service Manual.

Long story short, it leaked at about the same rate into those 2 depressions under the package shelf. I can see that the water will evaporate out with the design of the gasket lip, but I hate the thought of standing water in the car.

Here's what I did:

1. Remove the DumDum putty plugs covering the drain holes if your car has the plugs.

2. Get a length of vacuum line (slightly larger than the drain hole) long enough to route from the drain holes to wherever you intend to drain the water. On a 1962 model, there is a body plug hidden inside the fender skirt area that I used.

3. Drill an undersized hole in the body plug so that it will hold the end of the vacuum line securely.

4. On the other end that goes in the package shelf drain hole, I dremeled a small channel about 1/32" from the end that will stick up through the hole on the package shelf. You don't want much sticking up through the hole or water will still be unable to drain. Put a bit of oil or other lube on the end of the hose and force it up through the hole until it seats in the channel you created.

I did this about a month ago and so far, so good.

Hope this helps!

Johnny