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Scuttle Vent Drain Away


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Hi,

I am a new owner of a TR4A and am finding my way around it.

Would someone please tell me where the water would drain to if the Scuttle Vent Lid is left open and water gets in?

Should it drain to the exterior somewhere or will it come into the cockpit?

Many thanks

David F

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Hi David, 

There is a plenum section beneath the scuttle that runs the full width of the car behind the dash board ( the wiper mechanism is inside it) Any water getting inside drains to the outer lower corners and then exits the car via a short rubber hose just in front of the A post, under the front wing. The attached picture shows it. If you search on the forum you will find many tales of corrosion caused by this arrangement! 
Regards

Ian

89901F3C-E91A-41D0-836B-2CB164ED97DC.jpeg

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David,

Hello and Welcome.

Do not be tempted to run with the vent closed, you won't have a lot of heater, and if you are out in wet weather then the car will mist up inside dangerously. If you are getting water inside the car via the plenum, then you have the over narrow tubes blocked, in the very corners with leaves etc, or corrosion, ask here for remedies.

John.

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Revington solution with my added twist.It exits out of the vertical floor panel at least a couple of inches and NOT into the sill.This works for me and that is all that counts in my book.

20140915_141940.jpg

Edited by harrytr5
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Thank you all. 
I need to poke around to check that the tube is clear of blockages (assuming the tube is actually there of course - I am finding this to be a voyage of discovery as I check into things)  
Would a length of stiffish wire inserted via the scuttle lid do the job?
I am guessing that there will be leaves etc that will need to be cleared from the plenum before I get to the tube opening 

David 

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58 minutes ago, RogerH said:

Hi Harry,

I like the idea of it going straight down and out. So much simpler than going forwards.

 

Roger

I dont, do it properly first as last

Stuart.

 

Marks TR5 712.jpg

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9 minutes ago, Highcliffe said:

Thank you all. 
I need to poke around to check that the tube is clear of blockages (assuming the tube is actually there of course - I am finding this to be a voyage of discovery as I check into things)  
Would a length of stiffish wire inserted via the scuttle lid do the job?
I am guessing that there will be leaves etc that will need to be cleared from the plenum before I get to the tube opening 

David 

No what you need to do first is check that the tubes are in place first of all and not rotted out, so look up under the dash at the corner ends below the air vents and see the rubber tubes. Often that area is pretty rotten. Poking wire in the vent wont help and you need to be careful you dont disturb the washer pipes, one way to clear is open the vent flap and then open the dash vents and blow back through with an air line or tape a piece of 1" tube in the end of your vacuum tube and then insert that down the plenum from the vent flap.

Stuart.

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Hi David, if you check all above and still get water in footwell it could be the seals between the plenum and the air vent at rear of dash, this lines up closely with the drivers right knee. 

Chris 

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David 

Here are some photos which might make things a bit clearer - often the bottom rounded corners at each end by the air vent outlets are eaten away and full of holes, so they leak like a sieve.

My rubber drain hoses go straight down though the top of the sill, via a grommet and exit through an elongated hole in the lower drop down bit of the floor lower sill, so are totally invisible - I also did a lot of wind tunnel testing to get just the right length sticking out of the inner sill to take advantage of maximum low pressure areas in the vicinity so that there is a vacuum effect to suck all the water and debris out - can't show you a picture as it's a closely guarded secret!

Cheers Rich

IMG_3378.JPG - Resized.JPG

IMG_3379.JPG - Resized.JPG

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On 6/6/2020 at 8:59 AM, Lebro said:

I presume it doesn't just fill up the sill :o

Bob.

When I did my first rebuild back in 1979 I found both sill closing panels (the vertical bit that forms part of the floor panel) had rotted away.  I replaced the sills with new ones but simply cut the closing vertical bits off the floors and never reinstated them.  I can get under the car and paint the insides of the sills with Hammerite and Waxoyl, they're out of sight and not structural.  There is nothing to trap any road muck and they don't corrode any more.  I added the scuttle drain extension by lengthening the drain hose down  through the sill in the enclosed box section in front of the 'A' post.

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  • 1 year later...
On 6/6/2020 at 3:47 AM, harrytr5 said:

Revington solution with my added twist.It exits out of the vertical floor panel at least a couple of inches and NOT into the sill.This works for me and that is all that counts in my book.

20140915_141940.jpg

HarryTR5, I wonder if I could ask a followup question regarding your drainage system, which looks very nice.  I currently have the front fenders (wings) off our TR4 and one of the things I'm trying to do is improve the drainage.

I see you have made some kind of a fitting to capture water flowing through the hole in the side of the rain gutter at the top of the fender.  I would like to do the same if possible.  How did you construct this fitting?  Or, if it is a manufactured product, what is it and where can it be obtained?

Secondly, how did you attach the fitting to the side of the inner fender?

Finally, it appears that your fitting would interfere with the mounting flange at the top of the wing.  Did you have to notch the flange for clearance?

Thanks for your help.

Dave

 

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Hi Dave,

I bought the kit from Revington TR and you could make it up yourself. A flat steel plate with a tube brazed at a angle for the top fixing.Re-enforced clear plastic hose with a y joiner plus some clips. I like to drill a hole in the top of the cil and exit out of the vertical panel attached to the floor pan so the rain water has a clear route to escape. On the TR6 it is slightly different and I space the flat plate out by 4-5mm in alloy with a groove filed out to suit the hole exit, then the same process. It has to be spaced out to clear the TR6 wing construction. I do it this way as I do not know any better so there may be a better way. It works for me.

Regards Harry

20211108_184018_resized.jpg

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Andrew and Harry, thanks very much to both of you for the excellent explanations.  I will check out Revington's offering, and simultaneously have a look in my local big-box hardware store to see if I can come up with the needed bits to do it myself.

So do you in fact have to notch the top-of-wing flange to provide clearance for the plumbing reducer, as it appears would be necessary, or does it just barely clear due to the steep angle of the reducer?

Thanks again,

Dave

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  • 1 month later...

Just thought I'd post an update.  I did pretty much what Drewmotty showed in the extract from the Devon Group article.  One difference was that I used JB Weld to attach the copper fitting to the plate, and the plate to the car.  Hope it holds. 

I did have to create a bit of clearance for the copper fitting on the fender/wing flanges, otherwise they would have made contact with each other.  I did it by grinding a small notch in the flange.  After the fact, I realized that I might have done it by making a small bend in the flange to clear the spout.

Thanks all for the good information.

Dave

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