wet carpets any ideas?

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wet carpets any ideas?

Postby kawasaki kid » Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:04 pm

just bought a vauxhall viva ha, it rained for the first time today and my carpets are soaked any ideas on where its coming from? also i need a rear window seal and the chrome inserts front and back. know anywhere where i can buy them? cheers
kawasaki kid
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Re: wet carpets any ideas?

Postby simon cummings » Tue Jun 01, 2010 9:40 pm

Hello,
If you need a rear screen seal then thats probably where your leak is,and the front is just as likely if its a bit perished. Water can get in from all sorts of places on old cars ,eg splashed up as you drive along in the wet. Might be a hole in bulkhead, floor etc.
I would take all the carpets out and use it without them for a while so you can find the leak.
Also go out when it rains and see if you can trace it dripping down from the front screen area.
Taking out carpets will give you a chance to inspect your new purchase thoroughly anyway!
Simon.
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Re: wet carpets any ideas?

Postby lambaj » Wed Jun 02, 2010 12:33 am

Hi

Simon
HA's have internal rain water drain hoses that run from the inside of the scuttle panel/air intakes at the base of the windscreen, out to the area at the top of the A post/inner wing. If these hoses are perished, all the water that runs of the screen/roof into the scuttle flows straight on to the carpet/floor. You can inspect the hoses by sticking your head under the parcel shelf and you should see the hoses running from the heater box area to the inner wings. This is your starter for 10.
Also Fuse boxes leak, and HA's are not know for being the best for tin worm, so you can get water in from all over the place. Also under the throttle pedal and its mirror position in the passenger footwell, there are "inspection" plates fitted to the inner wheel arches. God knows why Vauxhall put these there - what a moronic place to put a panel held in place by a gasket and 4 pop rivets - directly behind the front wheels.... strangely enough these are known to rust away and leak like sieves.
If you have wet carpets without driving the car, check your drain hoses, then windscreen seals, then fuse box, then rust in the scuttle panel/front bulkhead.
Hopefully you will find its just the hoses.......

Good luck
Tony
"Ere look - thats one of them Mk2 Vauxhall Cortinas....!!"
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Re: wet carpets any ideas?

Postby pbottomley » Wed Jun 02, 2010 7:50 am

there are "inspection" plates fitted to the inner wheel arches. God knows why Vauxhall put these there - what a moronic place to put a panel held in place by a gasket and 4 pop rivets - directly behind the front wheels.... strangely enough these are known to rust away and leak like sieves.


The holes in the body are to let the paint out. The shell was submerged in a paint tank and withdrawn backwards, so holes were needed to help the paint run out. (so I am told) :wink:

I do agreed the HA / HB / HC all had this BODGE and they always rot around that area. :D
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Re: wet carpets any ideas?

Postby lambaj » Wed Jun 02, 2010 8:08 am

I'd heard that too, but based on the amount of rust on HA's it seems the paint never actually got anywhere useful! (ie inside sills, chassis rails etc) ! :o
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Re: wet carpets any ideas?

Postby simon cummings » Wed Jun 02, 2010 9:34 am

Yes that plate has been the first job on all of my vivas so far.It is a pain, but also handy as a sacrificial rot point that is easy to replace rather than weld the bulkhead.(if you are quick enough!, if not then its goodbye floorpans)
Im lucky, my HA has been garaged all its life by the first owners so nothing has perished rubber wise.
It's not me with the leak by the way!!
Simon.
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Re: wet carpets any ideas?

Postby kawasaki kid » Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:56 am

had a look at the wheel arch inspection holes and they had rotted threw both sides so i going to make some new ones and hopefully that will cure it. the floor will nee repainting tho but thats not rotten yet, cheers for the help guys

Any ideas where i can get a rear window seal from?

and electronic ignition i have already converted to run on a alternator so im half way there of having reliable electrics. cheers again
kawasaki kid
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