Garage alteration

Check the bolt that holds down the battery. If its missing water goes directly onto the fuse box and carpets! I use a sealant on the threads as well. Theres a few plugs in the tray that could cause grief if missing. Also check windscreen and spindles. What model have you got there?

On the 461 290GDT there is a cable that goes from the accelerator pedal to the throttle transducer under the bonnet. It's located just in front of the bulkhead. Immediately above the tranducer/cable connection, in the underside of the bonnet, there is a drain hole from a double skinned area. There should be a fabric patch stuck over this hole. If not, water can dribble down onto the open end of the Bowden cable which happens to point upwards and, in winter at below freezing temperatures, your cable freezes solid, but not right away as it seems to take a half mile or so for the under bonnet temperature to drop significantly due to the initial cold air flow.... before it starts warming up properly under there. It caused me a lot of trouble before we sussed out where the water was coming from.

Now, I personally stuck the fabric patches on the on all the 290GDTs we had at the time, one of which was yours, and the problem was solved, but after several years the patch may have come off, so be aware. If the throttle suddenly sticks half open or more - which can be interesting - that could well be all it is.

I hope R49OTF gives you as much pleasure as it did me; it was a bloody good truck. As were they all, of course.