This Tech Tip was provided by Warren Wundt
The Studebaker Wagonaires have drain tubes on all four corners of the sliding roof rails. These tubes route any water making it past the roof seals away from the headliner and through the floor pan. Unfortunately, once through the floor pan and into a sealed sill chamber where it rusts that chamber out. I extended the drain tubes past the sill chambers and outside the car.
I started with the two front drain tubes as follows:
Passenger-side front sliding roof drain tube. Note the rust where water had been draining. Treated with phosphoric acid and followed by a generous coating of POR-15 and then a color coat.
Left: The two hoses are joined by inserting them into a short piece of a larger tubing. Right: This side is completed. The hose has been extended outside the body, the rust in that area has been treated, and it has been repainted body color. All that remains to be done is to install the trim.
The rear sliding roof drain tubes on both sides also drain the water inside the sealed rear quarter panels where there is no drain provided for it. Like the front tubes, over time, the water rusts out the quarter panels. The same process was used to extend these tubes as well.
Here is a picture of the tube as it was when first extended underneath the sill of the body.
I decided that I wanted to do one more thing in the completion of this job. I decided to put small, stainless steel, clam shell vent cover over the end of the tube. I secured it with pop rivets.