[PMD1969]

Is it possible to remove a factory rain gutter without tearing anything apart? I have a decent top and well cover in the car but the rain gutter is cracked and leaking. I would like to remove it and see if it is repairable or if it needs to be replaced.

I have plans this winter to pull the rear seat which is needed to get the well cover out. I can then get to some of the bolts but when I did that 25 years ago the rain gutter wasn't cracked so I left it alone.

Anyone have experience in pulling a rain gutter?

Thanks!

[silverbullet07]

I did mine but it has been a few years now. I am thinking that the tack strip would have to be unbolted to get to all the rain gutter screws.

[PMD1969]

Originally Posted by silverbullet07

I did mine but it has been a few years now. I am thinking that the tack strip would have to be unbolted to get to all the rain gutter screws.

Yes I too from memory remember that I'll need to remove the rear seat to then be able to roll up the well cover to get to the bolts that hold the tack strip in place. After that things get fuzzy.

Anyone have any good pictures of the assembly?

[silverbullet07]

After you remove the tack strip you should be able to unscrew the gutter and remove it. Nothing else that I remember in the way.

[mgoblue]

It's been awhile, but I remember trying to remove the rain gutter without cracking it. I had everthing else removed (seat, well liner, tack strips, etc) and it still would not come out. I left it in place and just glued-up the cracks.

[rohrt]

I had my top completely off when I removed mine. It was still was a high pucker factor to get it out of the car. I had to bend it ever so slightly and I remember hearing it cracking when doing so.

I think I just used silicon on the inside to seal the cracks. I would think you could use some fiberglass mat if you had some missing pieces.

[PMD1969]

Originally Posted by mgoblue

It's been awhile, but I remember trying to remove the rain gutter without cracking it. I had everthing else removed (seat, well liner, tack strips, etc) and it still would not come out. I left it in place and just glued-up the cracks.

Originally Posted by rohrt

I had my top completely off when I removed mine. It was still was a high pucker factor to get it out of the car. I had to bend it ever so slightly and I remember hearing it cracking when doing so.

I think I just used silicon on the inside to seal the cracks. I would think you could use some fiberglass mat if you had some missing pieces.

I did find some older threads at team camaro that said the exact same things. Guys were finding that they had to tear everything apart to even get to it to then find out that it needed to be squeezed or bent to get it out. For mine there is no way it will come out without breaking since it spent the first part of its life in IL and the last 18 years in TX. Its seen the extremes of temps of both ends and should be very brittle by now.

I guess my next question is that I hear that the repops come in two pieces? I am keeping the car as close to factory as possible as a driver. Nothing, and I men nothing, goes on this car other than NOS parts other than wearable items. Being that this part is tuck way up into the well of the car and should not be seen by a judge, can I get away with replacing it with a two piece repop rain gutter and not lose points?

I know its a long shot and a very stretched out question but from my perspective it does make a difference. Going back into this car to repair these items is hard for a novice and it continues to keep the car down where I cannot drive it. If I can replace this part to better protect it from water and body rot I need to do it. Otherwise, I might go the route of using silicone and fiberglass patches to repair the places where it is cracked.

Thoughts?

[PMD1969]

Found some more info with a better search here at PY.

ETA:

The proper way to install the rain gutter is to remove the rear seat and
side armrest assemblies, and then remove the bolts from the rear tack rail on the top
and pull the rail up out of the opening. You should then be able to install the rain gutter
from the front without going in to the trunk. Pulling the rail up out of the opening is really
not as hard to do as it sounds. You will need to have the convertible top in the halfway
down position in order to remove the rear tack rail. Also, you should be aware that when
the top was installed, a tail should have been left below the tack rail that would go into
the rain gutter, allowing the water to feed into the gutter. A lot of people who don't know what they are doing when changing tops on these cars will cut the excess material off that extends below the rear tack rail, resulting in water getting in the trunk when it rains or at the car wash, even with the rain gutter in place.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...er+convertible

This I did not know and I do not remember if the guys that installed this top in 1992/1993 cut the tailing off of the material or not? This would explain a lot of why there is water in the trunk after I wash the car. I've thinking that it is the rain gutter but it may not be. Not sure how to fix this if the material has been removed?