Doing Away with the Gutters????????

[BigDawgV8]

Hi All,

Has anyone done away (or not replaced!) the rain gutters above the front doors?

Mine had rusted away so I took the remains off ready to buy some more.

Is it crucial to put them back on?
I could just weld the edge up and leave it like that.

Thoughts please.

Cheers

Martin

[MarkyB]

Modern cars don't have them, but then they have better panel fit and window seals.
I've always thought that they are a disaster aerodynamically, but then it wasn't a very well developed science when they were built.

As long as you weld the bits together and don't hide the gap with filler the body shell shouldn't be compromised.
Have a look on Mini sites, deseaming these was commonplace.

[chrisryder]

it might just be a bit of a pain when you get out of the car in the rain. all the water may go down the back of your neck!

i'd always thought they were there to stop the water running inwards under the roof and onto the door seals.

or it could have just been a manufacturing convenience!

[moggyman64]

Martin,

your winning the Custom Class at the MMOC was well deserved.

Regards

Keith ( modified maroon traveller)

[BigDawgV8]

It was a total shock............

Thanks!

[MGs]

I'm currently restoring/modding my Minor. The roof gutters had completely rotted away. Result lots of water ingress into
the car resulting in the car rusting from the inside out. I approached a local mechanic (who usually works on my classics)
who said that there was insufficient metal left to weld on replacements. I have made new gutters. J shaped plastic (half of a length of oval electrical conduit) bonded to the body with fibreglass, the blended in with filler. Looks fine and should channel the water nicely. I'm more interested in keeping the inside dry than how it looks

[chickenjohn]

There is not really any need to use fibreglass to make roof gutters, this panel is available from the usual suppliers.

If you can get access to someone with a shrinker stretcher and a folder or vice you can make up sections to weld in at the edges of the roof to repair those holes. Or, as the roof bit is quite small, once you've made the fold, then use a crosspein hammer to put a slight stretch in the roof side and dress the patch to fit. I've been doing this on my 4-door restoration project, will post some pics.



together with the available gutter panels, an original repair is possible!

[MGs]

Oh well, done it now.