Body / Glass: Does it always flood the trunk and cockpit when the 60 Lark stude is washed or rained on?

[mw2013]

I washed the baby for the first time since i got it; yesterday, the wind was blowing grit and abrasives so hard later, i couldn't touch-up paint it or wax it, to my dismay the trunk was soaking wet, and the drivers seat was no better, , the A pillars lower area near the cowl, seemed to retain water and the lower front door edge as well

i had to break out the leaf blower to get that stuff outa there.

I would like to avoid getting it wet for those and many reason's since water is so insidious, i decided to jettison the rear trunk mat for good, since it got soaked and held the moisture, this morning, i had to mop up the trunk some more, i can see why these cars rust away even is no salt locales

[64V19816]

Doors have two drains on them, look or feel down there on the outer edge and open them up with a table knife. Trunk seals go bad and they aren’t fun to replace. Try moving the latch catch down until you’re just able to get the latch to hold. Same with the doors, move the latches in so the door closes fairly easily, but doesn’t rattle or feel loose. •••• These cars leak if you spray at angles with a hose.

[6hk71400]

First off, have you checked on the doors that the drain vents are clear and open? Open your door and feel along the bottom edge of the door and you should feel along the edge two slightly areas that built into the door to allow drainage. After you locate them, take a straight screw driver and insert it into the area and run it back and forth to open the vented door edge. You will be amazed at the water that will come out and avoid rusting of your door bottom. When you wash the car after that, you will see water draining out of the door. Replace the door rubber as well.

If you have not replaces the rubber gasket that seals the trunk do it now. I have not had a problem with a Lark or other cars with a fresh trunk rubber gasket or other rubber seals.

These cars did not have this problem when they were new. At age 69, I have has a few replacement parts on myself so that I can function pretty well

Bob Miles

[Mike Van Veghten]

Yep..!

My 1959 Lark windshield was tight, the tailgate window was tight even though the seal had a large split in it.
I bought ALL new rubber for the doors from Stude International. None of it was thick enough to seal the doors to the body. Not a single piece FIT properly to seal the water or wind out. Big money, nuthin worked.
A few years later, I saw an add for "new" rubber. I bought a couple of pieces, while it was different than the Stude International rubber, it...didn't seal either. Also, too small to fill the gaps.
I also bought rubber for the tailgate. The only piece that did seal was an NOS piece between the upper and lower tailgate. The sides, like the doors, was NOT a good fit.
I suppose I could have taken a piece and hit up the local swap meet seller, where there was always a guy with rolls of rubber, and just find a similar style that was overall a little larger. While I thought about it, I never actually did anything about it.
I just never put any carpet in the car..!
And the doors DID fit the car, never crashed, other than bending the splash apron under the front bumper.

Then some years later I bought a 60, 2dr. wagon with 36,0xx miles on it. After a coupla months, it came to me, check the rubber between the two cars. Original door rubber vs currently available, aftermarket door rubber. Yep, the original rubber was thicker (overall larger) than the current for that time rubber, or the earlier Stude International rubber. I don't recall by how much, it's been a while.

If you buy rubber kits, make SURE...that the seller understands that you will be returning the seals if they do not fit properly. If they don't contact the body when you close the door, they are useless.

Good luck.

Mike

[Ron Dame]

A sedan is easier than a hardtop to seal, but both can be done with good seals and proper adjustment of the panels. There are two gaskets under the wiper arm pivots that often give issues to the interior wetness. The shop manual is not that helpful here, but you need one anyway.
But the quick answer is no, you should not expect this to be par for the course. It may get frustrating at times, but it can be corrected.

[r1lark]

Then some years later I bought a 60, 2dr. wagon with 36,0xx miles on it. After a coupla months, it came to me, check the rubber between the two cars. Original door rubber vs currently available, aftermarket door rubber. Yep, the original rubber was thicker (overall larger) than the current for that time rubber, or the earlier Stude International rubber. I don't recall by how much, it's been a while.
Mike

Yep, I found the same thing on my '54 sedan. Had some NOS door rubber, compared it to the repro rubber, and the repro rubber is clearly smaller in cross section.

[Corbinstein0]

WOW, i didn't know this..... I've had issues with sealing on a couple different old cars for years.

[jackb]

The front seat getting wet means top or sides of doors or maybe glass. IIRC..... the shop manual talks about placing black tape under the seal and passing a piece of paper along the entire edge to get the proper fitment. My experience with Larks are that the repop rubber seals are too big and cause the doors to bulge out and create ugly seams. At this point in my Stude life, I either have a vehicle that the rubber fits pretty good, but not for rainy or definitely not for hose washing times. My other vehicle is a "salt lick" ..... I don't care if the water gets inside....

[64V19816]

If the cars not mud caked filthy....just use water in a bucket and a washcloth or sponge. Do it out of the bright sun, sections at a time and dry off with a towel. ••• I first seen this technique used by the late John Funk who had a pristine 1966 Timberline Turquoise Cruiser. He told me the car had Never seen wax! ....wow, that’s going back to when his car was maybe 9, 10 years old!

[mw2013]

your just making an abrasive slurry paste and rubbing the grit right on the shine, the water blast gets that crap off, it's been buffed and perhaps clay barred, not perfect but a decent 4 footer

[mw2013]

Yep..!

My 1959 Lark windshield was tight, the tailgate window was tight even though the seal had a large split in it.
I bought ALL new rubber for the doors from Stude International. None of it was thick enough to seal the doors to the body. Not a single piece FIT properly to seal the water or wind out. Big money, nuthin worked.
A few years later, I saw an add for "new" rubber. I bought a couple of pieces, while it was different than the Stude International rubber, it...didn't seal either. Also, too small to fill the gaps.
I also bought rubber for the tailgate. The only piece that did seal was an NOS piece between the upper and lower tailgate. The sides, like the doors, was NOT a good fit.
I suppose I could have taken a piece and hit up the local swap meet seller, where there was always a guy with rolls of rubber, and just find a similar style that was overall a little larger. While I thought about it, I never actually did anything about it.
I just never put any carpet in the car..!
And the doors DID fit the car, never crashed, other than bending the splash apron under the front bumper.

Then some years later I bought a 60, 2dr. wagon with 36,0xx miles on it. After a coupla months, it came to me, check the rubber between the two cars. Original door rubber vs currently available, aftermarket door rubber. Yep, the original rubber was thicker (overall larger) than the current for that time rubber, or the earlier Stude International rubber. I don't recall by how much, it's been a while.

If you buy rubber kits, make SURE...that the seller understands that you will be returning the seals if they do not fit properly. If they don't contact the body when you close the door, they are useless.

Good luck.

Mike

thanks good to know Mike, the rubber is good and new in some places, for sure in the trunk, maybe it is the wrong dimensions I'll just have to now wash as often and wash it differently

[sweetolbob]

There's an old trick of using a dollar bill (hundred if you can afford it) and see where gasket seals or doesn't seal. When you find the areas or total gasket problems you can use backer rod to shim out the gasket. It comes in a few sizes depending on what you need.

There are other ways to shim the gaskets so you can let your creativity roam free also.

Doors can be adjusted if the fit is obviously bad as well as the lid but if they look good - shim the gaskets.

It's worked for me on vehicles up to pretty current.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/M-D-Building-Products-1-2-in-x-20-ft-Caulk-Backer-Rod-71480/202066515

Bob

[JoeHall]

No need for special procedures in washing our Studes, other than NOT driving them through an automatic car wash. They are certainly not water proof, but are fairly water resistant. I have always hand washed them with a hose, bucket of hot soapy water and hand mitt, and any water that gets inside is negligible. If your car is getting drenched inside after hand washing there's something terribly wrong with the seals. I can identify with some repro seals being too big, but far more often they are too small.

Sealing the car better is not rocket science, and only requires a bit of creativity. About 20 years ago, I found a better trunk seal for Hawks in a junk yard, a trunk seal from a late 80s-early 90s Pontiac. I liked the first one so well, I went back and got two more for the other two Hawks.

[NCDave51]

And located near me and several other NC and VA owners here, is the excellent Steele Rubber of Denver, NC.

They - and MetroRubber up in Minnesota - are likely supplying 90+% of the parts houses for all marques here in North America.

If you want to install something a little thicker but of the same profile/width to fit your body troughs, these folks will have what you need. Search their “universal” parts and have your dimensions handy.

https://www.steelerubber.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh4bz3LOz7gIVGvrICh1NLgrqEAAYASAAEgJMu_D_BwE

https://metrommp.com

[ivorydan]

Yes. All Studebakers leak. Dan