Door drain holes

[JJ Autosleeper]

I have had my doors rebuilt but there were no drain holes fitted on the bottom underside edge. So I assume they will rot out pretty quickly like the old ones.

At the moment when the o/s drivers door is opened water drips out via the screws holding the door catch mechanism to the door.

Can someone let me know the approx location and sizes best to keep the door bottoms dry? I’ll drill some and prime/paint if it ever stops raining.

Photos attached.

 

[Panky]

I think originally there were small inverted 'U' shaped areas pressed into the inner skin on the return right at the bottom of the door. Mine are long gone but I have a vague memory of the set up. It looks like the inner and outer panels are seam welded on your doors so it might work if you ground the weld back in a few places and separate the two panels with a thin screw driver or similar to create a passage for water to drain away.
Failing that just drill a few 10mm holes, four would be enough, at regular intervals as close to the fold as you can. Water would find its way to the lowest point though so a good spray of wax along bottom of the inside of the door should be done to seal the return, you would need to let it all dry out good and proper before sealing it up though.

 

[JJ Autosleeper]

It looks like the gap between inner and outer panel below the line of the bottom of the door is only a few mm wide and was left open at the ends. The door cavity has then been waxed and that looks like it may have blocked the drainage route. I’ll take a look and see if I can unblock but probably will end up drilling some extra drain holes along the outer edge to make sure I don’t get any water sitting in there and also that may allow it to dry out a bit quicker too.

It’s not the weather to get to this right now though. I have just put a cover over to stop any further rain getting in despite my having put new door/window seals on. I don’t think they ever work 100% though.

Thanks for the advice.