59 drip rail

[Stephen R.]

I was surfing eBay yesterday and there was a guy selling dash end caps for a 59 that he had custom made. What intrigued me, were the pictures of the end caps. Included in those pics were metal drip rails under the windshield and going down the door posts. I never saw these on any of the cars I've seen at local shows. I took out my CC catalog and there they were for sale. Are these items stock? How do they fit on the car? How are they installed? And do they work? My 59 will probably never see another rain storm, but will get wet when I was it. It never ceases to amaze me, after owning the car for 35 years and being a member of this and other forums, that there are these little unknown items (to me at least) that keep popping up.
Steve

[Richard P.]

Re: 59 drip rail

My '61 has them. I'm pretty sure they are original equipment but are not a big deal and would be easy to forget to put back on during one of a 49 year old car's former lives. I haven't put the new door weatherstrip on yet but it looks like the drip rails compress the weatherstrip to hold out the rain and wind.

[Mike E.]

Re: 59 drip rail

Drip rails do actually capture water in that area and direct it down and away from the interior. As I recall, early 57's had smaller pieces--later 57 through 62 had the longer ones. They had a dum-dum material applied between them and the door, so there was no water leakage between the drip rail and the door itself.

[Dennis C.]

Re: 59 drip rail

And, I believe they we in place during body paint, retained with phillips screws.

[Stephen R.]

Re: 59 drip rail

Were these drip rails an option or did all corvettes come with them?

[Don H.]

Re: 59 drip rail

I believe they are part of the normal build - not an option. Don H.

[Steven B.]

Re: 59 drip rail

Mike, Dennis and Donald, all correct. I have a mid-December (13th) build car with original door jam paint and weatherstrip. The short drip rails of that time frame appear to be painted after install as some of the gap is covered/filled-in with paint. Later in production the longer drip rails were installed. I have the production # change somewhere and will look for it.

Steve

[John H.]

Re: 59 drip rail

I sold my '57 six years ago, but here's a photo that shows the drip rail.

[Stephen R.]

Re: 59 drip rail

Here's another issue. Looking at the pic of the 57, the short drip rail appears to be on the top of the fibreglass lip. In the ebay pic (which I, hopefully, attached below....I'm new at adding attachments), shows the longer drip rail below the fibreglass lip and which apparently seals up against the w/s on the door. Which is correct?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160305621443&indexURL=4#ebayphotohosting

[Mike E.]

Re: 59 drip rail

Stephen--please reread my earlier post. Short=early (and inadequate)
long=later 57 and beyond (adequate)
Regarding the question about were these an option or not--I'm thinking that GM may have done some not so smart things over the years, but making those optional--"do you want water funnelled into your interior every time it rains, or do you not?" was probably not on their option list.

[Stephen R.]

Re: 59 drip rail

I understand what you are saying and I'm sure you are correct. It's just that 1). I don't have them on my car (That's no indication of originality by far)
2) I haven't seen them on cars that I see at local shows or at Carlisle
3) there seems to be other w/s on the doors and frames that were intended to stop water infiltration.
When I wash the car, it always got wet inside, not much but wet. As you know, cars of that era were notorious for being as wet inside during a rain storm as out. It's just something I thought I would have to live with. Now i know I'm missing what appears to be an integral part of "corvette interior dryness" and will be installing them this coming spring ( or earlier if I can get a warm winter's day)

[William B.]

Re: 59 drip rail

They were on my '60. At least one (driver side)was. Screwed into the glass. Holes were there for the other and I added it.

[John F.]

Re: 59 drip rail

Does anyone have a picture of these drip edges installed? The ones I received from CC (part # 281150) aren't even close to being correct in shape or holes. has anyone found a good place to buy these?

[Ian G.]

Re: 59 drip rail

My car has them too. I think someone must have removed them from your car and reglassed the hoes if you don't see them.

[John F.]

Re: 59 drip rail

Does anyone have a picture they can post of a 58 59 or 60?