KRICHEN922

Sorry bad shakesphere reference. But it basically describes my situation.

I am wondering whether to remove my carpeting and headliner now, even though it could be months or years until I get new carpet/headliner. It would also allow me to put in a new floor panel for the one that is rusting out.

My sunroof has a leaky seal (correction: no seal) and the water comes in, the carpet soaks it up, holds the moisture, etc. The carpeting is ratty and full of holes and the headliner is just falling off.

If I do take everything out would it be a good idea to repaint the interior and put rust preventative on it? Or would no carpeting not do much rust-wise?

Allan R

Yup, rip it out. If it's just collecting water and causing rust, get rid of it. That will also let you see how much damage you've got and whether it's worth fixing or not. Personally, I don't like the early "moon roofs". I had one in my 83 Ninety Eight and every time it rained I got to see Niagara Falls in my car. I ended up sealing my moon roof shut and cutting the wiring so it didn't accidentally get used again. Makes a great window in the roof, but that's all.

Sooner you address the rust in the floor pans, better off you'll be. Coat the new install with POR and it should be good to go until a new carpet goes in.

I wouldn't paint the whole interior of the car with POR (its messy stuff to work with when using it, so be careful - it doesn't come off even with keytones. If you're concerned about protecting the rest of the interior do POR the entire floor areas, then consider putting in some DYNA MAT. It helps insulate against noise and moisture - mostly for noise though.

KRICHEN922

Where would be a good place to buy POR? and the sunroof doesn't leak when it has a good seal in it. I put some silicon molding in just to hold it until I get my seals. It wore out after a few months and I took it out, but while it was in, no rain got in. Partially why I brought this up is because I drove through the heavy rains that hit the midwest last night and the water poured into my car whenever I slowed down fast or rapidly made a turn. (there also was enough water for me to truly hydroplane for the first time. To be honest, it was kinda fun)


I'll keep hte sunroof operational. If the rubber seal ends up not doing much, I'll just not drive in the rain

Anyways, I have a separate thread going for the sunroof. Lets keep this on the carpet/headliner issue.

Thanks,
Korey

Jamesbo

X 2 yank it and toss it. It's not do'in anything but making matters worse. It will also give you a better idea of what is really going on.

Allan R

Korey,
Actually the sunroof and headliner are integral since the headliner has to be specially cut and have a special windlace on the finishing edge. Water that leaks into the car through the sunroof will run across the inside of the headliner into the A,B, and C pillars, plus spill through the sunroof hole. Good luck installng new seals, you pretty much have to take the whole sunroof out to do this.

With the carpet, obviously you have to take out rocker sill plates and the seats. Hopefully the rockers are ok, but sometimes there's a lot of rust underneath that can be really bad.

As far as POR, here's a link. http://www.por15.com/ You can buy it over the web, or google your local auto stores for it.

BTW, what kind of car are we discussing here, and what year?

Lady72nRob71

I also say yank the soggy carpet - keep the moisture away from the metal underneath.
I coated my whole floorpan with POR15 AND did the dynamat treatment. POR15 is much easier and faster to install though!
Auto paint suppliers sell POR15, along with hot rod shops, or most other mail order specialty parts houses. It is quite popular.
I am assuming your sunroof drain tubes are cleared out...

KRICHEN922

its a 1978 oldsmobile 98 regency. So I'll have to take the sunroof out? How would I do about doing that?

I do have water in the headliner after last night's storms. It also looks like there is water in wherever the sunroof slides back to, because the headliner on the metal slider is still soaking after being in the sun awhile.

I've never done headliner tear out, so if you could tell me what I do that'd be great.

Jamesbo

Don't loose or bend the bows. Some are hard to find if you need to replace them.

KRICHEN922

Are the bows the plastic pieces? i take those plastic pieces off (anything I need to watch out for?) and then the headliner just comes right out?
Excuse me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't look like I really need to take out the sunroof in order to remove the headliner.

Jamesbo

This is a Cheby video but it shows pics of the bows


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvKE-UM4Kp8

KRICHEN922

thanks.
Well theres only one bow left. I tore out the headliner today. Its all rusted and all and looks like it could fall apart. Didn't give it too much of a glance.

I didn't take the plastic off, just the visors. The plastic can wait until I have a headliner to put in.

THe car already smells much better! I don't know when I'll get to the carpet though.

Olds64

Definitely rip out that old carpet.

Jamesbo

X 2 It will drastically help with odor and rust

KRICHEN922

I'll do it when it dries up a bit. Right now my car is really wet due to the rain we've been having, and its still raining now. I'm not looking forward to the job... uuugh.

Jamesbo

slowolds was kind enought to post this thread
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...er-videos.html

KRICHEN922

Thanks. Is it especially difficult to tear out a carpet?

Lady72nRob71

Hardest part it removing the seats (and console if equipped). After that, it comes out easily if original - they did not glue it down in most cases.
Since the carpet sounds like total trash, you could cut around the seat legs and extract it in pieces without removing the seats!

KRICHEN922

Should I rip out what's left of the soundproofing/moisture guard too?

Jamesbo

Yep, Absolutely

KRICHEN922

Right. Well this car is going to mostly sitting for the next 3 months. Maybe on gravel, maybe on grass. What precautions should I take with the floor?

Thats the only reason why I asked whether I should rip out the moisture guard

Jamesbo

The moisture guard is basically holding moisture in that already in the car. There fore it is rusting from the inside out. The undercoating [if it's there] should help with rust from the bottom up. I've heard of people parking on sheets of plastic but I've never tried it.

IMHO Once the moisture and the soaked materials that are holding the moisture in your car are tossed Ventilation is your best friend. They also make bags and small plastic buckets that you can place in your car that will absorb moisture.

W/O pics of your floor pans it's difficult to tell wheather they can be sealed with POR 15 or they need to be patched

FYI Storing a car can also lead to other problems like mice eating wiring, seats, glove boxes etc..

Keep us posted

KRICHEN922

It was stored for about 15 years, and the wires near the mouse nest in the headliner are untouched. I hope its the same with everything else. I'm not exactly storing it, I'm working at a boyscout camp a hundred miles away from me. I doubt there will be much reason for me to drive the car that much so there may be weeks at a time where I don't move it.

My right rear floor panel has at least 4 1 inch holes in it (looking at it as best as we could from the asphalt) . I'm probably just going to buy a new one.

Thanks for the advice on the carpet-I'll definitely pull that out before I leave on sunday. After this sunday I won't be able to get on hardly at all until mid august.

So with that new info, what do you think?

Jamesbo

Sounds like you need to brush up on your welding skills and just repalce part of the floor.

Lady72nRob71

If it is gonna sit again til august, do remove carpet and underlayment, dry up any standing water, remove mouse messes, and invest in a breathable car cover to put over it to keep further rain from leaking in. Leaving the windows cracked a quarter inch could help the moisture inside to evaporate, as long as the cover is breathable (most are). Never use a tarp on top of a car... Using one under it to keep grass and moisture away is a good idea to ward off additional rot.

Olds64

Which BSA camp are you working at? I worked at H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation for Heart of America Council for 4 summers when I was in high school / college. Actually, I wish I would have returned for at least a 5th year. Those were the days...

BTW, I am an Eagle Scout. Are you an Eagle Scout?

KRICHEN922

I'm working at Camp Indian Trails in Janesville (ex sinissippi council merged with 4 lakes(?) and now glacier's edge council, I'm Southeast Wisconsin council myself). Yes, I am an eagle scout. This'll be my second year at camp. I wish there was time for me to have a second job because with my hobbies and me wanting to go to france again next year I'm going to have to choose what I spend wisely if I still can't get a job this fall.

Well the car will be sitting for most of those months but I will be driving it the weekend after the fourth and the last weekend of july/first in august for sure (civil war reenactments). Not sure when I'll drive it home besides the date I get off work, August 15th.
I leave this 13th.

So it will get sunroof open/windows down treatment from time to time and I don't know if I can drive it off camp by myself during cubby camps (I'm 17 and this is my first year with a car on site, can't remember the rules) but I will try to drive it weekly.

Olds64

I brought my 1964 Olds 98 to camp the last summer I worked there. It got really dirty from all of the dirt roads.

KRICHEN922

Haha I bet. We're lucky to have a paved road that leads to camp, and a partially paved entrance road to the camp.

My right rear floor panel looks really bad. I haven't finished taking my carpet out yet, but I'm going to post up a pic of it. I knew it was holed, but this...??? lmao!
Well the uploader won't work so here's my flickr again:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49951388@N06/

KRICHEN922

I'm going to post a video of my car if anyone is interested in looking at it and giving suggestions while I'm away. Or if ya just want to look at my engine :P .

Hopefully this time next year it will look 10x better!

It should be up in a bit, I'll edit in the link.

Lady72nRob71

Have a great time at the camp - we will continue on the electrical troubleshooting later!

KRICHEN922

Thanks!
You guys have really been a big help. I just wish I had more time.
Here's the vid. Sorry for the poor lighting and rushed camera work, this was my gazillionth take due to technical difficulties.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkYFj5lPhFw

Well I'm out til july! Have a good one!

KRICHEN922

well I have returned for a bit. My left rear floor panel is holed as well, though not as bad. I'll just replace both panels.

Also, my engine is making a high pitched squeaking noise, as if a spinning part is off kilter or something.
I think it is the power steering.

My speedometer is working a bit better now. All I did was clean out the transmission speedometer cable port of some dirt (not all) while checking to see if the cable was at fault for its erratic movements (and it wasn't) and now the needle only acts up every once and awhile, and only fluctuates 10-20 mph.

Its not fixed, and I think I still will have to take the dash apart to completely fix it.