The 'E' Type Forum

Since it seems like it has rained continuously ever since I got back from safari I've had to resort to using the car in the rain now that I've got the hood to seal to the screen rail.

In pursuit of drier carpets.......I've seen passing reference to there being some sort of water drain arrangement on the bottom of the doors underneath the door shell drain holes which stops the water which gets past the window rubbers from running over the sill and into the interior. There's nothing on my car and I've not managed to track down any details so I wondered if any of you guys could cast light (or have any pics) of the arrangements??

No photos, but I can describe them. The door drain ducts are small, stamped sheet-metal angles pop-riveted to the door bottom, adjacent to the flange. Their purpose is to provide a channel to direct water from inside the door to the outside. When missing, water will drain from the door onto the sill top and into the car.

If yours are not there, you'll notice two small slots in the door bottom. If the doors have ever been chemically stripped, the alloy rivets have most likely dissolved and the door drain ducts are in the bottom of the stripper's tank. This I know from personal experience. It's also possible that your doors were re-skinned and the ducts didn't find their way back on.

John

They look like this:

Front

Rear

Just to add to this, I have these drains fitted as I have new doors on my car, but I notice that the rubber door lip seals fitted to the sills have small cut outs in the rubber which line up with the drains to permit the water a clear exit. So when the door is open, there are two small marks in the sill rubber, which if you didn't know it looks like the rubber has been damaged, but they are there for a reason.

regards,

Dave

Thanks guys for the info - collectively almost everything I need to know. I've even found the part numbers from the parts catalogue (BD 20978 and 20979). The final question is whether these are available to buy or need to be fabricated - any guidance?

John

Ring SNG and give them the part numbers - they have a huge amount of stuff they never list in their catalogue. Other place to try is Hutsons - speak to Andy Rayner. If not let me know and I will provide you with measurements of mine so you can make your own.

Good advice David - Barretts did indeed have them in stock, 4 now on their way....

Hallo to all you lucky people with DRY carpets!
I have followed this correspondence with interest as I am suffering with an on-going 'wetness' problem.
I have has the internal plastic sheets replaced in both doors to no avail. The carpets are still getting wet through. When I open a door, the accumulated water pours out of the appropriate slot. Initially, I thought the rubber door lip seal might be the problem and used a scalpel to cut away the rubber. This has made no difference.
Is the escaping water supposed to exit from the slot to the outside of the sill, or find its way behind the door lip rubber to exit somewhere else?
Further advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Geoff.

Geoff,
Yes, the water runs out of the base of the "duct" onto the sill to the outside of the sill rubber seal. Without the duct it would run onto the top of the seal and over the top of the sill into the car.

If water is being held in your doors and then running out when opened, could it be that your ducts are somehow being clamped shut by the door seal? Maybe the ducts are too flat and are acting like a flap valve?

Also you may want to check that the drain tube from the "tray" on the door top area above the hinge (in front of the leading edge of the door window) is clear and allowing water from there to drain down into the bottom of the door. I think this is another potential point from which water can reach the interior.

Others have more expertise in this area than me and will probably comment.

Cheers

The most likely cause of large amounts of water being in the door is that the tube from the front tray drain ( as mentioned in the preceding posts) is perished . This is a real pain to replace - you may need to remove the window to do it, but it can be done and does make a big difference. Don't ever expect an E to be completely dry, however - the design of the sill without an outboard fall is a definite drawback.Also, even if the aluminium vents are fitted, check that they are clear by passing a piece of wire up them vigorously

Also check that the plastic sockets used to hold the carpet plugs are seated (and preferably glued) in place. They can easily lift out and water enters through the resulting hole leaving the carpets soaking wet.

I found the soaking carpet problem at the last Le Mans Classic after encountering a cloudburst on route. My '66 2+2 should have had the water drains but there was no sign of them.

I was able to buy a set from SGB and have recently fitted them as the photos. I also bought new sill seals but there were two problems with these - 1. there were no indents for the drains and 2. the seal was about 5mm too high so would protrude above the cill which would mean they would be displaced by feet hitting them very quickly.

I am experimenting with using a bulb type seal from Seals Direct on the cill and a stip of flat rubber glued to the door either side of the drains. Of course, I won't know if it works until I get caught in the rain again! I will report back if it is successful.

A power washer played on the doors will quickly tell you if you have succeeded!