13 replies to this topic

[AlasdairM]

Hi folks

The roof gutter on my mini 1990 cooper seems to collect water rather than efficiently disperse it.

Is this common? Where are the drain points supposed to be? And I guess there ideally shouldn’t be any water sitting at all?

Thanks

[Steve220]

They should be next to each of the A and C pillar trims.

[nicklouse]

common unless driving. drain points in each corner. the plastic cover trim kinda stops them working if fitted.

[AlasdairM]

Yes my plastic covers go all the way around, but aren’t hindering the corners at all- but yet there are still pools of water.

I suppose the metal can’t rust if it’s submerged!

[sovenmini]

Sadly it will rust if metal is submerged H2O being the key as the O is oxygen, but if there is a good coat of paint in the gutter that will protect it.

Any chance you can park it on a little slope and just change angle so the water can run to a drain hole

[slidehammer]

Another thing you can try to aid water dispersal is keep the gutters clean of any moss / debris and polish the paint in them with a wax type polish. This will help the water to bead up and move across the painted surface quicker, hopefully running off.

[AlasdairM]

Thanks for the tips. I’ll polish and maybe try mounting the kerb when parking (there are just bushes behind the kerb).

[Ethel]

Something hydrophobic to get the water to bead & run off will help, Wax Polish, WD40.

[minifreek1]

Mine doesn't have ANY drain holes anywhere on the roof gutter. I do keep meaning to sort the issue by cutting a line with my Dremel and then opening it up with a chisel or similar tool to aid it. im not too worries about mine at the moment though because it aint anywhere near ready for the road, and is under a weather cover anyway...

[Bobbins]

My '98 holds water up to the top of the gutter lip, particularly at the rear.

[roblightbody]

You should see a hole at the corners underneath the roof trim - the cutout at the corners should be partially revealed as long as the roof trim isn't pushed too far down.  Its not a great setup at all really - my friends tell me to lose the roof trim altogether as its a rust trap, but I like the way it looks with it on, and remove it every now and then to check the rust situation.

[mab01uk]

Back in early1959 there were no drain holes, then Dealers started drilling or chiseling them as a return to dealer fix and eventually in 1960 the factory added 4 corner slots and side drip rails as time went on. Drip rails were also retro fitted sometimes with pop rivets. The Mk4 Mini introduced the black plastic trim to cover the now full corner cut outs in the metal gutter and deleted the drip rails again, see photos below:-

https://1959miniregi...riations-shell/

Edited by mab01uk, 01 July 2020 - 07:29 AM.

[Cooperman]

The introduction of the plastic trim on the gutter edges certainly provided a new area for rust generation.

I always remove that trim, de-rust and re-paint the gutter edges as necessary.

[whistler]

Sometimes over enthusiastic bodyshops use a sealer in the gutter before painting a roof and inadvertantly block up the drain slots.