Leaking Herald Roof

[john.tudgay]

My recent purchase of a 1966 Herald for restoration has most of the usual rusting places. However the most detereration has been caused by a poor seal between the rear of the roof and the finishing chrome seal. Over the years this has lead to water running down both rear roof support pillars and eventually finding its way into the boot wrecking rust havoc in the pillars at the bottom and the tops of both rear wings at the front. I am in the process of restoring these parts .Has anyone had a similar problem and what is the best way of sealing the rear roof end chrome roof trim join? 

[Pete Lewis]

sorry not come across that problem

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

They all go there; either the rear deck rusts through, or the tops of the rear wings along the lower edge of the side windows. There aren't any repair sections so it's just a case of bodywork and repaint. It's probably taken quite a few years for the water to get through and rust to form, so repairs done well here, and good seals with a rust inhibitor underneath, should last for another while. Same thing with the chrome trim, flexible mastic used to be the thing but these days a good body sealer such as Tigerseal will do, and again a good rust killer applied anywhere it will reach.

[Jon J 1250]

3 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

They all go there; either the rear deck rusts through, or the tops of the rear wings along the lower edge of the side windows. There aren't any repair sections so it's just a case of bodywork and repaint. It's probably taken quite a few years for the water to get through and rust to form, so repairs done well here, and good seals with a rust inhibitor underneath, should last for another while. Same thing with the chrome trim, flexible mastic used to be the thing but these days a good body sealer such as Tigerseal will do, and again a good rust killer applied anywhere it will reach.

Yes, I have this problem too.

When water gets into the deck/wing seam it gets in behind the factory butyl seam sealer, which holds the water in the seam and makes a real mess of it.
The seam is a real pain to access and weld repair from inside the boot. Probably, best to measure three times, trial fit and weld the seam on the bench then fit the whole lot to the car in one piece.

I'm probably going to use a NOS rear deck and wing top to do mine, an expensive way of doing it, but it should be offset by the time/money saved by everything already being the correct shape.

 

[Morgana]

I'm going to have to do this at some point and have been wondering how - rust is along the same seam...

I was hoping that the whole roof section would somehow lift off from studying the parts diagrams, making the seam easier to access. I'll see what you do with it.

[trigolf]

21 minutes ago, Morgana said:

I'm going to have to do this at some point and have been wondering how - rust is along the same seam...

I was hoping that the whole roof section would somehow lift off from studying the parts diagrams, making the seam easier to access. I'll see what you do with it.

Correct, the whole roof will unbolt as one. IIRC, 1x bolt behind each sunvisor bracket, 1 xbolt at bottom of each rear pillar in boot and I think, 1 x rivet at bottom of each side pillar behind the headlining trim. If I've got that wrong, I'm sure one of the sages will correct me!

[Colin Lindsay]

Plus the screw for the rear view mirror mounting. If it's like the estate (which I know due to working on one!) the b-post pillar is rivetted at the bottom but screwed at the top, so it should come away from the roof with no need to disturb the rivet below. 

[Pete Lewis]

and dont forget the interior lamp harness needs removing 

when you see the small fixings of the B post extension  ( screw and that rivet ) makes you wonder how it all survives with door slamming 

Pete

[Jon J 1250]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

and dont forget the interior lamp harness needs removing 

If the car is a Vitesse Saloon or Herald Estate.

[daverclasper]

On 16/10/2023 at 17:17, Jon J 1250 said:

Yes, I have this problem too.

When water gets into the deck/wing seam it gets in behind the factory butyl seam sealer, which holds the water in the seam and makes a real mess of it.
The seam is a real pain to access and weld repair from inside the boot. Probably, best to measure three times, trial fit and weld the seam on the bench then fit the whole lot to the car in one piece.

I'm probably going to use a NOS rear deck and wing top to do mine, an expensive way of doing it, but it should be offset by the time/money saved by everything already being the correct shape.

 

Hi. Are you saying this rot is coming from the inside of the deck/top of wing?. I always assumed this issue was due to the joint/seam sealant on the outside failing and allowing water to creep down into the joint?

Edited October 17, 2023 by daverclasper

[Colin Lindsay]

37 minutes ago, daverclasper said:

Hi. Are you saying this rot is coming from the inside of the deck/top of wing?. I always assumed this issue was due to the joint/seam sealant on the outside failing and allowing water to creep down into the joint?

No, it's running down from outside and settling under the seals on top of the metal. There is some condensation inside, but the majority is water getting in under from outside.

[daverclasper]

31 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

No, it's running down from outside and settling under the seals on top of the metal.

That's what I though, if my last sentence made sense? 

[Jon J 1250]

2 hours ago, daverclasper said:

Hi. Are you saying this rot is coming from the inside of the deck/top of wing?. I always assumed this issue was due to the joint/seam sealant on the outside failing and allowing water to creep down into the joint?

That's right, I wasn't saying its comes from inside  but once it find a way in from the outside, water sits in the seam and gets under the factory seam sealer, which holds the moisture against the metal for a long time, causing more rot and making the whole thing worse.

As more water gets in, so the boot floor, wing and wheelarch will start to suffer. Need to catch it early.

[daverclasper]

50 minutes ago, Jon J 1250 said:

That's right, I wasn't saying its comes from inside  but once it find a way in from the outside, water sits in the seam and gets under the factory seam sealer, which holds the moisture against the metal for a long time, causing more rot and making the whole thing worse.

As more water gets in, so the boot floor, wing and wheelarch will start to suffer. Need to catch it early.

Ah, what has confused me, was that I read the original post as if it was water getting into the roof trim area that had caused the problem 

[john.tudgay]

Thanks for all your help. I can confirm on my car a little water poured on  the rear of roof roof  where it joins the chrome trim will disappear down the pillars internally. 

[Colin Lindsay]

Depending on how much work you want to do (or what horrors you may uncover!!) you can remove the chrome trim, treat the metal underneath with a good rust killer, seal all the way across with a good flexible mastic, and replace the trims before wiping off the excess. That should keep the water out.