[Seakane]

Hey all,

I'm pulling out all my old non-functioning ac stuff and heater box in anticipation of my new vintage gen II setup --hopefully being installed next week. After removing the carpet and cleaning the floorpans and applying por-15, I've found I have a fairly substantial water leak whenever it rains. The water comes dripping out behind the kick panels onto the floor (both drivers and passengers sides). Drat! Is this the leak which requires me to pull the kick panels and use some kind of puddy to stop it? If I pull the kick-panels, should I replace my old ac panels with new "non-ac" panels? Vintage says to seal up the vent, but doesn't tell where. You guys have any suggestions?

Lastly can anybody tell me where the drain hole(s) are that I need to clean out so that water can freely drain from the vent and not build up behind my new sealed off area. I asked the tech guy at Classic Industries, but he was grouchy and said he didn't know where the water drain holes were. BUT he DID tell me they're difficult to clean out. Arrgh!

Any help you guys can send my way would be way appreciated! I need to get this done before I take it in for the AC. Team Camaro rocks!

Aaron

 

[MJM]

The water drains out the rocker panels at the rear. When you have the kick panels out make sure the area below the vent is clear so that any water that gets in there is purged by the air movement through the cowl, past the vent and out the rockers.

 

[tony -Di]

allso at the back end of the rocker should be a rubber flap that is where the water should exit i used a hose

 

[MJM]

Good Idea toni-Di

 

[Seakane]

Good idea, with the hose! So the area that gets clogged is accessable when the kick panel is out? Where is the rubber flap located on the rocker? I think I'll go roll around in the snow and see if I can find it...

 

[JohnZ]

The rubber flaps are at the extreme rear of the rocker, directly ahead of the rear wheels.

 

[Seakane]

Thanks JohnZ, found em! Yep, I flipped the flapper and poked my finger in. It's full of leaves and junk. Looks like some hose and coat-hanger work.

One more time though, if I pull the kick panels and and re-seal them, is that most likley where the dammed up water is leaking in from? Around the dumdum putty?

What do you guys use for putty? Seam sealer? Plummers putty? Is "dumdum" a brand? What's it normally used for?

 

[Unreal]

I got a bar of putty in the electrical section at Home Depot. not exactly sure what it was called, but it is much more sticky than plumbers putty.

I used 3M Strip Caulk (from auto paint store) for lots of other "dumdum jobs", like sealing the evaporator box, securing the door weathershield, etc.

 

[JimM]

I just picked up some "dumdum" from D&R, it is 3m strip caulk.

 

[Jonesy]

The stuff the factory used is more like Unreal said above. It is very inexpensive and works and is just like the original stuff. The 3m strip caulk isnt thick enough to use in this application unless you doubled it or tripled it up.

 

[Seakane]

Perfect! I'll check it out tomorrow! If I wanted to seal off that vent completley, do you think I should do it with a piece of sheet metal where the kick panel would normally seal against the cowl? Will it still be able to drain water that gets in there?

I'm pretty sure that I want to put in non-ac panels so I can use them to hide speakers --since they're going to be sealed off anyway. Does anybody have a photo of what the kick panels look like on the back side?

 

[JimM]

Check out Tokala's install on the kick panel speaker. If you don't need to use the vents, it's a very sweet setup!

 

[Unreal]

The driver side already is sealed off. I would make something similar for the passenger side.
If you are going to cut them, you might consider selling the A/C panels, and find another set that may already be cut, and therefore, cheap.