Here on the Middle Left Coast we've been hit with what's known as the 'Pineapple Express' (not to be confused with the Stoner action-comedy movie) which is strong and persistent tropical storm that dumps copious amounts of rain for days on end. Due t... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Nice wagon! Living in Oregon we have the " its just going to pour water from the sky for 8 months" express. When restoring the 55 wagon, I was hell bent on fixing what GM had givin up on, the rear lift gate/tail gate water funnel. It seems that ALL of them leaked, rusted and are nearly impossible to find in good shape. I found 3 and my buddy the metal guru made one good one out of all of them. the upper gate was ok, but we squared it to the body as it was twisted and could tell right off that it would leak. We cleaned the water relief holes and fabricated a small diversion n channel at the top of the lower gate to catch and drain as much water from the upper. I had the glass shop urathane the rear glass into the fram so it wouldn't leak past the rubber. Installed all new seals and still had to clamp a couple long 2x4's across the upper gate to " twist it" straight. it was the worst part of the build and took the longest out of all of the projects on that car. The wagon had no room to park inside and was my daily driver so It needed to be dry. In the end it would only have a couple drips over night if It was parked flat and under a torrential down pour. Parked nose down it was ok. You might try experimenting with turning it around in the driveway if there is elevation where its parked. Good luck-stay dry and remember , its worse to the North
Yep, here in Oregon we're getting some pretty solid rain. Normally the garage is the home of my '46 Dodge pickup, but due to the fact we're putting some stain on some custom bookshelves we built, the old Dodge is sitting out in it. Makes me unhappy....
Have to keep my beloved toy outside in this rain and it sucks. Anybody tried one of those drive-in bubbles California Car Cover and others sell? Anyway, spending too much time removing rust and not enough driving!
We've been on the edge of the express...this time. But even at that I have standing water on the garage floor where the wind drove the rain under the doors last night. Thank goodness I still have one spare stall. The newer daily drivers sit out in the rain. Brother's T Bucket sat out last winter. Damn near ruined it, even with multiple car covers. The humidity just works it's way under the covers and gets trapped.
Such a great looking wagon! I feel your pain on the cars outside under covers or in some cases not under covers.
Damn that Safari is beautiful man!!!! I would beg a friend for some storage to keep it dry.....I mean who could say no to that thing. Probably the mist righteous wagon along side of of the Hollingsworth Nomad.
I'm just glad it was rain and not snow the past few days. That puddle in the driveway yesterday morning would have been eight inches of snow if it had snowed rather than rained. One more, oh wow, that is one good looking Safari. I do like the looks of that car.
The problem with my Nomad (and Safaris) is that GM put the rain gutter below the top edge of the liftgate, rather than above it on the roof. I was looking at a '56 Parklane at a show once, and the rain gutter was on the roof, above the liftgate. If you like, I will keep your '57 in a nice, dry garage next to my Nomad until such time as you have an inside place to store it. I won't even charge you!
When I had my Nomad, there was no room in the garage to park it, so it was always parked outside. When it rained, I would tape some plastic over the top part of the liftgate because didn't fit flush and seal good (the gap was big enough to see inside) The liftgate has always had poor sealing on those wagons since day 1 but then there was also the problem of water puddling up on the rain gutter where it curves at the back. My Nomad had rust in that area for that reason. I ended up drilling a couple of holes at the curve to let the water drain out.
well that sucks, glad it isnt snow..look at the bright side, you wont have to shovel it yeah I know my glass of beer is half full.. guess its time to go get another
Stupendous! is the word that comes to my mind for that wagon. When my daughter was living in Olympia and then Seattle I looked up rainfall statistics and found that New York City got more annual rainfall than Seattle ...that seemed counterintuitive to me but I won't argue with Mother Nature.
Jay, man gotta keep that baby dry on the inside one way or another. Use a cover that doesn't let water through it when it is actually raining and then take it off right away whenever not raining. That is the only way to do it. A complete pain in the ass, yes. But, short of a garage or carport, that is what you need. If it is just an isolated spot where it comes in, maybe use painter's tape to cover the joints to stop the water from getting in when it is raining. Take off when stops. Ugly, yes, but maybe easier and more secure than a cover. Fortunately it usually doesn't rain that much around here that either one of those pain in the asses isn't worth the trouble in a pinch. I've had cars that leak in the past and it really can be a demoralizing feeling knowing that while it is raining, your car is outside leaking away ruining things. I've sold cars just because of that that I didn't have the ability or cash to deal with or a dry place to store them. That car is too nice to let water mess it up. Hope you can keep it dry one way or another. I've got a messy jammed up garage I can make space in if you need it in a pinch. My old driver Stude truck doesn't matter if it leaks or not since it has no carpet or anything nice enough to worry about. So yes, as you might guess, shockingly somehow it doesn't leak. It would probably start leaking if I put carpet in it, so I just don't tempt fate and leave it the way it is.
very nice wagon good luck with it. you might to look at a real carport. downhere in southfla sun and rain can kill a paint job so we have permanant car ports with vinyl roofs. they are not rated for hurricanes but my freind has had his for at least 5 yrs and it looks likenew . aqnd keeps the rain and sun off the car. this isnot like what you buy at harbor freight but is solid welded pipe and a good heavy vinyl
Come on man, get that baby in a rent a storage or ask a friend for temp shelter. You have busted your ass to bring that Safari back from hell. Please ask for help to save it. Just do it!! A Safari is a terrible thing to waste!! Good luck man. ~sololobo~
Car covers on the wet coast are not a good idea. They will trap moisture and blister the paint from the metal out. My buddy's quote to strip his 67 fairlane rag and redo the car was $17,000. As for the leaking liftgate, Nomad engineers produced a wagon with no rear rain gutter on the body. They instead put it on the upper lift gate. The rubber seal usually was inadequate and they leaked like sieves. The upper liftgates would lose their curvature when the car was driven with the upper liftgate in the open position. Pat
For years I had no garage and my Studebakers sat outside. Car covers made things worse for the reasons fordnutz mentioned. That Safari is a gorgeous automobile. I like them far better than the Nomad of the same year. There is a shop in Wilmington, NC that has two of them. As i recall one was for restoration and the other was to receive modification of some sort.
dissecent . kitty litter , floor dry keep it in the cargo area in a container with feet liken those speaker points on good home stereo speakers ... save all the silaca gel thingies from your new shoes ... i use a inflateable car bubble in my garage maybe you can find an outdoor use unit even a battery powered little fan in the wing window will keep the air moving around hope ya get it dried out such a thing to put out in the weather .... "(
I wish it were warm enough to rain here.... "Saran wrap" sticks pretty good for a temporary seal cover. Might try that over the door and window seals while parked???
allowing a rare Safari to be exposed to the elements is a sin, at the least. I purchased a freshly restored Safari. EVERY piece of chrome was replated at the cost of just over $20000. Seriously! The interior of a Safari wagon has such lovely chrome, it is just stunning. Please invest in some storage space for your wonderful car. just like the ad for Fram Oil Filters used to say "pay me now, or pay me later"
Nice Safari...Props to ya', Yeah, that Pineapple Express has been bearing down on us here in Reno the last few days. The Truckee River has been running at historic levels, with the threat of flooding across the area, so no cruisin' for awhile...
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