Re: Re: 1955 Traction 11B “Barn Find” Project

Yes, they can leak like that. Don’t know how they did when new. Once water finds its way in when driving, it won’t stop. Sometimes it won’t leak at all but when driving for 8-9 hours straight in heavy rainfall, it’s gonna happen. I find that when parked in the rain, the car won’t leak, but when moving it will. Also, the door drain holes aren’t at their lowest point,where the door skin is crimped to the frame is lower and the factory didn’t do much about it. This is why Traction lower door skins rust out. Try to fill the area with some sort of sealant to bring it level to the door bottom. Another pain in the ass, but necessary. I think I’ve posted about this elsewhere but the cowl vent will leak too and this is another area that is hard to keep from leaking. American cars of the same era had cowl vents but they had a plenum below the vent with ducting and a drain for water. I wish Tractions had that too.