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Maybe someone has experience with this one. It looks like there is something under the passenger side fender pushing it up, increasing the door gap and moving it away from the A-pillar.
I won’t be addressing this now. Body work will come last, but I’d like to know what’s going on... and the scope.
This view is with the door open and peaking under the gap.
That's the lower portion of the a-pillar weatherstrip. It's a trough that diverts water down and out from around the windshield frame and A pillar. The lower rubber portion is bonded to a metal piece and is held to the body with 2 screws. All one piece on a 69 with the A pillar portion. Yours looks to be in bad shape as the rubber is breaking up and the inner metal is rusting. It's not a hard job or expensive to replace and then you will be able to check the condition of the structure behind it for rust and see what's going on behind the fender, if anything. There is probably a bunch of sealer at the top edge of the weatherstrip that might be lifting and coming off but you might want to pull the 2 screws in that lower piece, pull it back, clean the crap out and see what's really going on. The trough at the base of the windshield also flows back and out through there. Below is what it looks like on my 69.
Last edited by CanadaGrant; Jan 9, 2019 at 07:38 PM.
Not to be picky...but using the flash is just not working. That area in PHOTO #2 needs to be lit up well with another light source so I can see it. But I guess it does not matter due to you are not ready to deal with that yet.
Not to be picky...but using the flash is just not working. That area in PHOTO #2 needs to be lit up well with another light source so I can see it. But I guess it does not matter due to you are not ready to deal with that yet.
DUB
Heh ! Indeed. I was skulking around my garage last night and this caught my attention. Having no lights in my garage, I used a flashlight.
Well, if it is a job that is neither hard nor expensive, it might be a good idea to get it done now to prevent spreading.
Whatever that is under there, it seems quite hard. I'll see if I can find those two screws to see what is going on behind there. I do not recall this gap when I bought the car.
Last edited by DorianC3; Jan 10, 2019 at 08:21 AM.
Reason: accuracy
Unless you can put a really good light source on this area and take good photo. I cannot say much due to I can not see what I need to see to offer any advice other then speculation. I have no idea if that end of the panel is loose if you try to apply pressure upwards or not while looking at the crack that I can not see.
Ok, I removed the rubber weather strip (which seems in good shape) and here is what I think I am seeing: there is a chunk of bondo under there. I scratched it bit with a screwdriver. The scent is unmistakable: body filler.
The lower half of the chunk of bondo broke off and slid down a little. The upper chunk is still between the top of the fender and metal below. If I were to guess, the clump of bondo was used to prop up the fender.
This is a view from above with the trim lip removed. It was held in place by a single screw and some double sided tape.
Last edited by DorianC3; Jan 12, 2019 at 10:09 AM.
Still not quite sure what I'm seeing either but just below the base of the windshield there is a trough that is just sealer between the outer structure and the inner that diverts water or rain back to the lower corner and into that lower weatherstrip to drain out. It just seals the crack or space between the inner cowl and outer and that lower corner at the base of the windshield is a favorite spot for rust. It looks to me like the sealer might be cracked and lifting out but I can't tell if it's just old sealer or rust underneath pushing it up. You might try cleaning that old caulk out of there, check for rust and re-seal it. It's pretty easy to see with the top corner fender trim piece removed. One screw and two spring clips underneath and the trim slides out once the screw is removed. If you have the trim off as it appears in your pic then that looks like old cracked caulk in the channel leading back to where it dumps into the lower A-pillar weatherstrip. Pick it out and look for rust.
I have seen in some cases that the adhesive GM used to bond on the end of the top hood surround oozes out and collects up. I have seen huge clumps of it when I get into this area.
SO...the photo with the red circle is what looks like excessive adhesive that oozed out of that bond area and hung there until it dried.
I went out to have a look and I think DUB is correct. There is a lot of nasty looking bonding agent up there that seems to have been done kind of haphazardly. When looking down between the windshield and outer structure from behind the upper fender there should be a flow-able type sealer between inner and outer structures creating a trough for water removal and sealing. If you look at the pic below you will see a V type cut that looks more like a crack just below the A pillar stainless. That is a gap at the rear of the inner sealer-made trough to allow water to drain through and into the lower A pillar weatherstrip. The bonding under there doesn't seem to be done with any finesse.... Looking down at your pic (bottom pic in post #7) between the windshield and fender with the trim piece removed it looks like holes or cracks. They should not be there and should be sealed in a trough that comes out into that weatherstrip.
Last edited by CanadaGrant; Jan 12, 2019 at 11:30 PM.
It seems to me, the correct thing to do will be to remove that metal plate that looks like it is held in place by three rivets and to remove all that filler behind it to see what is what. Once that is done, using presumably plastic body filler again, I need to sculpt a channel that would carry the water from the windshield to the weather strip.
If you are referring to "the metal plate" as area shown with the yellow arrow pointing to it. You cannot remove it due to it is a part of structure and is not pop riveted on.
I went out to have a look and I think DUB is correct. There is a lot of nasty looking bonding agent up there that seems to have been done kind of haphazardly. When looking down between the windshield and outer structure from behind the upper fender there should be a flow-able type sealer between inner and outer structures creating a trough for water removal and sealing. If you look at the pic below you will see a V type cut that looks more like a crack just below the A pillar stainless. That is a gap at the rear of the inner sealer-made trough to allow water to drain through and into the lower A pillar weatherstrip. The bonding under there doesn't seem to be done with any finesse.... Looking down at your pic (bottom pic in post #7) between the windshield and fender with the trim piece removed it looks like holes or cracks. They should not be there and should be sealed in a trough that comes out into that weatherstrip.
Resurrecting this thread.
As I take on the job of rain-proofing the car... is this the point where water is channeled into the rubber trough and guided down? It’s through this crack in the sealer, yes ?
The edges of the tip of the cowl should be bonded to the birdcage with a thick layer that goes across the top and down, correct ? Like a V rotated 120 degrees clockwise?
Damage under fender ?
