Driving in the rain - car protection - silly owner?

[Bonnyboy]

Now that the rainy season has hit the Wet Coast of Canada I am at a crossroads.   On one hand I am very hesitant about driving my baby in the rain buton the other hand I am getting really tired of driving my motorcycles in the wet wet wet. Yesterday I had water soak through my "gauranteed to stay dry riding gear" and I only went 5 miles.

My car was in very poor condition when I got her a year ago (after sitting inside a garage for a few years, then outside for a few years then on a dirt floor for several more and then back outside to keep the lumber and plywood off the wet ground, then a couple years outside with a car cover that has rotted away before going back inside for the final 7 years to sit on a dirt floor that flooded every spring due to the melting snow ..)  and after spending 250+ hours on her (cutting out rust, repainting anything I could, getting her running etc) I'm wondering if there is anything else I should do or pay attention to before I put on the hardtop and drive through 6" puddles and on the freeway in the rain?

I have sealed under and behind the front and rear wheels, I have sprayed rust killer and then rust preventative in places that I found rust, I even got my heater and windshield wipers working.

Are there any secret hiding spaces for water that I should look for now?

I realize that this is a Mercedes and is meant to be driven in all conditions but.....she's my baby and she's 43yrs old.   Am I being stupid or should I just go for it.  Will coming back to a heated garage with concrete floors make it all better?

[Paul & Dolly]

Go for it..

I think these cars are meant to be used, and a trip out in the rain - followed by a good inspection in your lovely dry garage, could enable you to find any places that the water has found - and you did not.

Have you checked the Heater Air box drain pipes and outlets ?

Good luck

Enjoy

Paul

[Alf]

In heavy prolonged rain, water drips onto my right foot from behind the dash somewhere. I think this is due to to some perished seals between the dash and the bulkhead. I just put up with it but watch what shoes you wear until you know if you have this problem or not.

[enochbell]

Have you tried Roadcrafter?  Their suits are absolutely dry.

Best,
Greg

[Flyair]

I think that the cheapest solution to avoid further damage to your baby Pagoda and keep restoration cost under control would be to get yourself another car to be used by bad weather     

[Ulf]

Don't think the rain is much of an issue if the car is otherwise stored in a dry garage - but watch out for salt on the roads when winter comes around, that's a real killer :-(

[J. Huber]

Personally, I avoid getting my car wet like the plague. Then again, I have a choice. I would rather drive it -- than ride a motorcycle in the rain...

Sadly, because of previous neglect, mine still needs that 250 hours of rust-removal! However, I am pretty confident that most water will now stay out because I have replaced all the rubber seals and weatherstripping. And as mentioned, the drain hoses in the cowl vent must be in good shape, or water will come right in the floorboard area. That's what did me in. The trunk seal is also important -- its easy enough to check for water after a rain.

[49er]

 When mine was "young" it was certainly was an all weather car. I drove it back and forth to work everyday for the first 6 years. Even though So Cal has good weather most of the time we can have pretty wet weather during the winter. Had it in snow over in Arizona and Utah as well. Never a leak any where and always fun to watch those wipers flip back and forth. Now a days it is definitely babied but every so often I will run it through a puddle just so it dosen't get too spoiled:-)

John

Hey James, good to see you back on the boards. Still getting an ride in once in awhile?

[Bonnyboy]

Thanks all for the helpful comments.

I did eventually break down and took the car out for a drive yesterday and then let her sit outside in the driving rain for a couple hours while I used the hoist in my garage to work on my wife's car.   

Good news, the car didn't fall apart, it stayed dry in the right places however there are lots of crevices under the car that were still wet this morning.   It was really wet outside so I think I will look at getting a squeegee for my garage floor to usher some of the water out to help keep moisture levels to a minimum.  My garage was very moist this morning. 

Only room for improvement was my softop rear window,  I can't see out of it so I will try to polish it clear.   

[KevinC]

Don't think the rain is much of an issue if the car is otherwise stored in a dry garage - but watch out for salt on the roads when winter comes around, that's a real killer :-(

I am in complete agreement...its not that I LOOK for rainy days but I won't hesitate to drive my car in the rain. I am also of the opinion that it isnt rain water that rusts cars, its the salt/water combination that tends to kick up while driving in  areas prone to snow/ice and the respective road treatments used in these regions.   

[J. Huber]

Hey John. Yea pretty quiet here -- thought I'd let a few of the younger fellers catch-up on total posts!

I have been getting in my fair share of drives -- maybe a bit less than in recent years but car continues to purr like a kitten. Tomorrow is going to be fantastic fall weather (80) with changing leaves so I'll be out and about!... I anticipate some increasing TLC as the big 5-0 gets closer. Remember I get there before a lot of ya!

[Ulf]

One thing I've found out while driving on wet days, is that water tend to accumulate in the engine compartment both sides near the firewall and inner wings (underneath where the washer bottle sits), seems strange that there are no drain holes or anything to get rid of it. But then again, the warm engine might help evaporate it

:-)

Ulf

[Bonnyboy]

Ulf,   there actually is a drain hole in the location that you are talking under the brake booster.   See if the following picture helps - the light is shining through the hole from below.  I cleared out my hole with a chop stick once I found out that there was supposed to be a hole in that location.   Mine was plugged with crud.     Don't mind the welding splatter
In the picture you can see the remains of water that collected during my drive - that is moisture 2 days after sitting in my dry garage.

[Bonnyboy]

I keep getting hints as to where to find moisture. 

One that David remided me of was the ledge above the front wheels where dirt collects and becomes mud and then rusts through.   Yes, my ledge was rusted out on passenger side so I opened her up and welded metal inside the cavity and then closed her up and welded more and then welded even more from the engine bay where the rust worm was working.  Felt like a gynacologist.   

Then I did what many will think is blasphemy - I removed all the undercoating I could get to to get a nice clean and dry surface and then painted with POR-15 and then filled the ledge area with expanding foam and coated with undercoating and more POR-15 paint - I will never get moisture up there again.   Foam is easy to remove if I need to later.

I did the same with my MGB 20 yrs ago and am now removing the foam as I check for rust (found none under the foam).  You don't need lots, just enough to remove the ledge.   Not original but that's ok. 

[Ulf]

Thats a cool idea Bonnyboy I imagine one could do the same with some rubbery window sealant/putty and build up a wedge that would enable water to drip off rather than accumulate.
I'll try and find that drain hole underneath the brake servo although I'm always scared what I might find when poking around down there...