Body / Glass: 64-66 rust along edge of roof line?

[Mike Sal]

How is the best way to repair the rust that's coming thru the edge of the roof of my '66 sedan? It just above the drip rail. I assume it's from condensation accumulating in the valley where the roof panel joins the rest of the inner structure.
thanks
Mike S

[rockne10]

Have any pictures of the extent?

[doofus]

Likely rust is coming through from inside where panels were spot welded to roof.this is sealed on outside only, inside is bare and likely to rust.check with local body shop and see what they like to use and how it bonds to top coating. this is a real can of worms you may be opening! Luck Doofus

[Mike Sal]

I'll try to post a photo in a couple days when I can. Right now it's just an area about 3 inches long on the drivers side, but I gotta believe there's more waiting to bubble up.

I assume I'll have to cut out a larger section & weld in a patch, but didn't know how much of a snow ball I'd create if the drip rail sealer starts burning. This commander didn't have drip rail chrome so I don't have to worry about removing it. Plus, I didn't know what the best product is to spray into the inside to help freeze & protect the rest of the metal / rust along the edge of the roof.
thanks
Mike S

[Mike Van Veghten]

My 59 Lark wagon has it also, four places.
Not...from the pinchweld. It's main area is about 1/2" up from the pinchweld area.

The best way to fix it, is to cut out the bad areas, and weld in new material. The only way to do it correctly. I'm lucky in that I have some roof material from another car I can trim to fit into the Lark.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'd be able to get the clean, no tears headliner out to do the welding and get it back in place either correctly or without tearing it..! I'll probably leave it to the next owner to tackle..!

Mike

[Warren Webb]

My 66 Daytona exposed real bad rust when I removed the vinyl top. It even ate away part of the drip rail that was covered by the molding. In my case replacement is the only option. I would hope yours is just not rusted through. If that's the case & its not rusted through then clean out all the old caulking & coat it with a rust neutralizing paint such as POR 15 or a similar product from Eastwood. Eastwood's stuff claims to hold up to uv light whereas POR 15 has to have a topcoat when exposed to the sun. After a couple of coats you can top it with a thin plastic filler we always called "Putty Coat" in the shop. Then sand it down flush & prime. Coat the drip rail with new sealer. We didn't use the stuff from 3M but has good results with a sealer distributed by Au-ve-co. Then paint. Hope this helps.

[StudeDave57]

My '65 Cruiser is doing this as well.
The metal fix didn't much matter because as it turns out- I also had a bad gasket around the windshield!!!
In nearly any sort of rain water was seeping in, pooling up, and leaking inside. What was odd was that most of the time the water was not necessarily coming from the rubber, but from the wind lace. But it didn't happen all the time. One day I moved the car and one front tire ended up in a hole.
Then about a quart of water drained out!!!
So I sealed the rubber up all around the edges and have not seen a drop since.

Long story short- fixing the metal helps, but having rubber that is actually sealing helps more.




StudeDave '57