88 Sunroof leak.

[Sal]

Well, I bought the 88. The sunroof is taped off with electrical tape from the outside. The inside rear deck (behind the rear seat under the window) is rotted and sagging. I found a 1/4inch or so plastic tube protrucing from the inner left trunk floor. It had broken off. Is this the drain line for the sunroof? I hesitate to attack the headliner and surrounding trim with a pry bar before asking...How can it correctly be removed? Any words of caution? Also, it appears the interior center console lid is the same as found in the 88 Monte Carlo. As this one is broken I wonder if the Monte Carlo is an exact replacement for the Avanti.

Thanks, Sal

[Gunslinger]

That's why I particularly avoided Avanti's with sunroofs and '87-'91 cars...too many parts that their source is unknown for repair or replacement (as well as no shop manual) plus the legendary and inevitable leaks. The sunroofs were adapted from a generic design (or from a Lincoln depending on model year and who you talk to) instead of being designed specifically for an Avanti.

The tube you found is probably the drain. I understand it drains into the hog troughs. Since they're not drilled to allow water to escape, they're a rust problem waiting to happen from day one.

As far as the rear deck goes, I would get a sheet of acrylic and cut it to shape and cover it with matching upholstery...that problem won't occur again.

As far as the headliner goes, I don't have answer. If it's like the Stude design, the shop manual can tell you how to replace the headliner. What a local Avanti owner did with his '85 (he owns a body shop), is obtain a new roof from Dan Booth at Nostalgic and slice off the original roof and graft on the solid roof in its place and no more problem. Of course, he owns the body shop and gave daily supervision to the work being done.

Not saying this is an option for other Avanti owners with sunroof problems...this was a pretty extreme resolution to the problem by someone who owns a body shop.