Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

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Napoleon Boot
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Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by Napoleon Boot »

I'm working through lots of little jobs on my new Traveller, and have reached the rear sliding windows.
They're stiff to open and on taking a closer look, I found that the fabric channels are soggy, mossy and disintegrating.

I've ordered new lengths of channel from Charles Ware, but it seems that neither of the wooden waist rails has any drain holes, so unless I drill some, the new channel is going to go the same way as the last, and in the long term, the timber's going to rot.

My plan is to trial fit the new channels and use the holes in them as a guide to where to drill into the frame. Then I'll try to very, very carefully drill by hand, at an angle so that the holes come out on the outside of the bodywork. Then I'll bung them up and let a load of Cuprinol 5* soak into the new holes overnight.

Does this sound feasible? The potential for messing up seems quite high, so if anyone has done this themselves or has any suggestions (hole diameter, angle to drill) I'd be really glad to hear them!

Seb
1971 Adderley Park Traveller, "Peggy". 1098 engine, automatic transmission
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ManyMinors
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by ManyMinors »

Goodness knows why your Traveller waistrails have no drain holes :( All Travellers had them from new and the replacement waistrails I've seen all have too......You'll have to be pretty accurate with your drill but I don't see why this cannot be achieved. Original sliding channels were supplied with drain holes too but I'm not sure if the replacements are.
Water will certainly enter the channels - and therefore the waistrail beneath, so it is vital to let it out again otherwise rotten timber and a damp car are inevitable. Good luck with it.
pgp001
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by pgp001 »

The wood rails on mine have grooves along the length under the window channels from memory, this allows water to travel along and find the nearest hole.
I dont think it matters that the holes line up with the ones in the window channels.

Phil
simmitc
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by simmitc »

Drain holes are essential, and are pre-drilled in rails from any reputable supplier. Unfortunately if someone has bought a bargain cheap frame then there's no guarantee about quality. When drilling the holes, you must drill at an angle and not straight down - you need to exit the bottom of the rail where it is outside the panel.
alanworland
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by alanworland »

Not got a traveller but would it be an idea to 'sleeve' the holes so the water doesn't get soaked into the grain?

Alan
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King Kenny
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by King Kenny »

Probably not a popular fix but....I had a pair of one piece windows made by my local Pilkington shop. After seeing two lots of wood go rotten because of water in the waist rail and never being able to open the sliding window I decided to remove the problem altogether. Not a sign of rot or water ingestion after 20 years of use.
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1969 Traveller in Almond green. Owned since 1979.
Napoleon Boot
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by Napoleon Boot »

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Yep, it's a bit of a mystery; from what I know of the car, it's current frame has been on it since at least 1981 when it went into barn storage - I've seen pictures of it there and pictures of the restoration the previous owner did. He didn't touch the frame, and says he chose the car because the frame was so solid; he thought it was original, but the lack of drain holes suggests otherwise.

The other thing I've noticed is that the rear corner posts seem to be three pieces of wood, laminated lengthways, whereas every other car I've seen has solid corner posts.

The wood is in not bad condition, except for the fact that it's stained a dark brown colour with teak oil rather than varnished. I don't mind as it looks quite good against the white paint, though I constantly get 'expert' passers by telling me that 'the wood's the wrong colour'.

I'll try rubbing it down a bit once the warm weather comes, carefully add some drain holes and treat it all with Cuprinol 5*. The rear corners of the windows are getting a bit damp and spongy but not too much yet, so hopefully some wood hardener and close attention in future will see the frame OK for a bit longer.

King Kenny, I've seen the pictures of your Traveller when I've been looking through past threads for info; it looks great and would be a much more sensible solution as I could completely seal up the back. But I've got this daft romantic vision of driving through country lanes on a hot day with the windows slid back and the sounds and smells of the hedgerow coming in. The same sort of daft vision that led me to buy a 48 year old car on the wrong side of the country a fortnight after passing my driving test!

Alan, I had thought about putting sleeves into the holes, but according to the Traveller Companion, they were a source of rot when factory fitted as water got trapped on the wrong side of them, so it's now not recommended.

Seb
1971 Adderley Park Traveller, "Peggy". 1098 engine, automatic transmission
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simmitc
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by simmitc »

Laminated posts were used towards the end of produtcion - it was cheaper to stick bits of wood togwether than have the waste from cutting only solid posts. If there is any sign of delamination then fill with waterproof glue and clamp until set.
Napoleon Boot
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Re: Adding drain holes to Traveller waist rails

Post by Napoleon Boot »

Ah, thanks Simmitc, mine is one of the very last Adderley Park Travellers, so that makes sense. No real sign of serious delamination, but they're visibly not solid posts so I wondered whether they'd been replaced along with the waist rails. My order from CW has arrived and the weather looks good for the next couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll get a chance to tidy up the rear windows soon.

Seb
1971 Adderley Park Traveller, "Peggy". 1098 engine, automatic transmission
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