MGBGT water ingress

[Griffo]

I left my newly-bought 1972 car out in the rain and two problems became evident;

1. It was clear that all the water that entered the vent in front of the windscreen ended up in the footwells. Where is it supposed to go, and
how ?
2. The driver's side door top wooden trim was distorting the rubber seal and allowing a lot of water straight in. On the passenger side, the
trim has a chamfer to prevent this, but not on the driver's side, Seems strange that the sides should differ in this way.

[Vic Butler]

Evening Griffo.
Re the fresh air vent there is a rubber drain tube which frequently gets blocked. You'll have to get underneath to find it. If you poke something up it you should be able to unblock it. You may have to remove the chrome grill if you can't clear the drain tube.
Can't help with the door.

[Charles Farran]

Hi Griffo,
Like Vic says there is a drain hole leading to a rubber drain tube which in MG circles is desctibed as "Tommy's knob". The drain hole is just about visible at the bottom of the air intake towrds the driver's side. You will need to get the car quite high on axle stands (unless you have access to an inspection lift) to get to the rubber tube.Unless a PO has damaged the tube you will find it with a bulbous end with a slit in it which i believe was designed like that to act one way & thus prevent fumes etc. coming back up & entering the inside of the vehicle. A thin screwdriver from underneath may result in some dirty water & debris landing on your face so be warned.If the tube has perished or has been cut then a replacement is available but not it is nit an easy task.
Sorry l can't help you with the window leaks.
Cheers, Charles

[Griffo]

Thanks for that.

[Peter Cresswell]

Hi Griffo,
The wooden capping is an aftermarket part, and comes as part of the wooden dashboard upgrade kit fitted to many MGBs. They should be the same shape on both doors. Your problem will be getting just the top rail rather than the whole kit, and then the new one is unlikely to match the rest of the wood. An option might lie with a furniture restorer who might be able to reshape the one you have got and re-varnish it to match if you take them both cappings.

[Ian F]

There is a further factor which you might like to consider.
My 72 BGT had plastic sheet lining the inner metal faces of the doors (from the factory). The function of this is to ensure that the water which inevitably finds its way into the door interior exits via the drain holes in the door bottom and NOT into the car interior. Making sure this is present and well fitted (glued in place) made my BGT watertight!
Not sure whether all BGTs had this though, but if yours does not, it may be worth trying?

Ian F