B-Body.org

[theholycow]

What's the deal with this gutter thing? It appears to be there to direct water that comes down off the windshield so that it goes straight down instead of potentially splashing on the windshield washer bottle.


I removed it because my clutch master cylinder is probably going there.


Am I going to regret that?
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1980 Buick LeSabre Limited 4.1 V6 TH350, 38,000 miles, family heirloom. Plan: Convert to manual transmission.

[Deathdeelr]

Yes, you will regret it but probably not right now. You'll be allowing water from the cowl area to drop right now on the wiring and your clutch mc. Finish installing the clutch mc. Then get a piece of thin aluminum or steel and make a new gutter to direct the water off to the side of the clutch mc. Also get down behind that inner wheel well with some air or a hose and clean out the years of leaves and dirt that makes its way down there. From the pictures it looks like the car lives under a tree. Almost all cars are designed to rid themselves of water. Our b-bodies did this with rain gutters and passages in the fenders and wheel wells that you can't always see. These passages need to be cleaned out when you wash the car or else you'll end up with rot. Also, when you start modifying or removing these passages the water goes anywhere it wants to most likely right onto something that's going to leave you stranded. Like that big exposed wiring bulkhead.
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Me hid big dings wid da hamma.
ASE Certified Master Tech
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3311846

[theholycow]

I see. That all makes sense.

Maybe I can reattach the gutter once the clutch MC is in place and just modify it to fit around the MC. Then I just have to waterproof the MC. That should be a piece of cake, I'd just have to caulk it at the firewall...though I could build a diverter for it like you say.
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1980 Buick LeSabre Limited 4.1 V6 TH350, 38,000 miles, family heirloom. Plan: Convert to manual transmission.