Spit 4 footwell water

[Blitz]

Went out to start the princess and found an inch of water sat in both foot wells. She is parked on a sloping drive with the bonnet lower than the boot. My windows do leave a gap where they meet the hard top so it could be that. Are their any obvious either places to let the water in ? Windscreen seel looks ok. 

Im going to park her the other way round to see if that makes a difference and buy a cover but knowing the route cause would help. 

Thanks

Grant 

[Pete Lewis]

make sure the heater plenum drain flap and hole are clear, as when blocked with old leaves 

with a heavy rain it  overflows and comes in through the heater 

other odd places wiper spindle bushes,, screen wash jets ,  smaller leaks 

pete

 

[Clive]

Take the grommets out the floor...

But you need to heck the car immediately after, or during the rain. Decent torch, and a bit of yoga to insert yourself under the dash. Screen seals can look OK, but dribble.

[Blitz]

Thanks for the advice chaps. Any chance of a pic or more info where the heater drain flap and hole are ? 

Grant 

[Pete Lewis]

Open bonnet and look at the lower  bulge in the panel below the heater air intake

Has a rubber flap to keep engine fumes out but should open to let water out this goes hard and gets clogged with debris

Dont have a spitty so cant photo.

[Adrian Cooper]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

Open bonnet and look at the lower  bulge in the panel below the heater air intake

Has a rubber flap to keep engine fumes out but should open to let water out this goes hard and gets clogged with debris

This is what I have on my Mk2 Spitfire but I think that the early MK1s had a metal pipe that ends in a rubber moulding that droops over the horizontal part of the bulkhead (above the bell-housing) This rubber moulding has a thin slot to let the water out and it gets clogged very easily. Do take care if you have this part and try to unblock it, it will be very brittle and is probably one of the rarest parts on any Spitfire.

Adrian

[Blitz]

Thanks Adrian. Checked my Haynes manual and it doesn’t even list the heater matrix so bugger all help their 

will have an exploratory fiddle 

[Pete Lewis]

something like item 13 

https://www.canleyclassics.com/triumph-spitfire-mki/ii-body-side-panels

 

yes the rubber valve was used on many  other makes   

[dave.vitesse]

The drain flap is between the washer bottle and the heater hose.

Dave

[AidanT]

Whilst talking about drain holes, do check your battery box drain hole is clear and not bunged up

I had to clear mine out a couple of weeks ago as it was not draining so used a cut up coat hanger to clear it out

 

Aidan 

[dave.vitesse]

Aidan, Good point as the battery drain hole feeds a rubber pipe passing through the inside of the car. If its defective it could leak.

Dave 

[Blitz]

Ok had a look. Obvious thing is a hole at the lower right of the heater. I can see right through from the bonnet grills. Is this supposed to be open or piped off to allow water to drain off away from the bulk head. See pic 

[Adrian Cooper]

Hi Grant,

That hole needs the rubber flap that Pete described, otherwise you will get engine bay fumes coming through the heater vents. However, you can now eliminate the heater air box as the source of the leak!

Adrian

[Pete Lewis]

yes the flap is held in by the slot above the hole    https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-616206

no drainage problems here then ...

there is other places  like  drop lights without any water membrane  via the  door cards , let water in over the door seal

do check wiper spindle bushes are secure/tight.  

Pete

 

[Blitz]

Thanks to Amazon the cover arrived today. Battery tray isn’t a tray but some protective  material. I’ll take the battery out and look for the drainage pipe. Window seals look rubbish to me. Been cut short leaving gaps along the bottom so rain could be running through the inside of the door cards.  Regarding the top of the windows  and windscreen pillar fit it’s pants too but without a reference vehicle not sure how good it should be. 

Thanks for all your help I’ll keep looking as time allows. Bloody work interfering with my life