So, in an effort to locate the source of the huge amounts of dust that come billowing in the rear of the car every time I run a gravel road, I took off the plastic wheel well panels, thinking the open areas in the body panels were the source.

My rear quarters behind the wheels are rusted out, and all that dust comes right up into the body, through the access holes, and out from behind the plastic panels sure enough.

But the surprise...some previous owner tried to fix the problem by inserting into the hole:

1: plastic realitor's sign, 1: (allmost ) empty bag of potting soil, and topping it all off...1: pair of old denim jeans. Surprise!!

 

I filled the hole with insulating expand-o foam, and duct-taped off all the access pannels before replacing the plastic covers. Hopefully, this will cure my dust problem.

The good news is, after pulling up the rear carpet, the floor is in pristine condition without a hint of rust. Wheelwells too.

I have heard stories like this from VW owners.

My mom had a beetle (before I was born.) and apearantly she and my dad were out with another couple and they went through a puddle and the back seat passengers got splashed!

 

My uncle had a bug he was driving down the beach in NC with a buddy one time. They had been cruising along just fine when all of a sudden the bug just quit. They turned around and realized that the back seat was full of sand and for several miles back there was this trail of gouged out sand in the dunes.

that rust will sneak up on you.

the foam is such a good idea my rockers were gone one role of silver tape and four cans of foam and presto ,! my subi is amphibous11

That thing about rudty buugs is true. A friend of mine has one.. lets just say she isn't the most observant person in the world.. One day she was diving along and the car quit.. no apparent reason. The floorboard under the battery had rusted out and the battery was dragging under the car, dangling by its cables!

Between the rusted right front wheelwell, and the two rear ones, I now have 5 cans of foam in Eyesore. Stuff works great! Doesn't do squat to stop more rust, but I'd have to spend way more $ cutting and patching and Por-15ing than the old girl will ever be worth. Oh, well. She still runs like a top!

my brother has a rusty 300 wagon that the rear fenders used to flap in the wind, foam and duct tape and blammo! new subauru once again

Put up the sign to sell the jeans and put them in the bag for whoever buys them...Oh yeah, Check the pockets first (I am sure you already did you poor *****)

I should have, I am that poor! :boohoo:

But any $100 dollar bills in those pockets are staying there.

Those jeans were nasty

LOL!!!!

My dad's last Soob ('89 DL wagon) came from one of his colleagues who did his own repair work...Since it looked fairly decent he didn't go over it too carefully. It was only $400, anyway. The first set of railroad tracks he went over caused what was left of the door and fender bottoms (and the Bondo therewith) to descend from the undercarriage in a most unSubie-like fashion.

 

Not to mention the ham sandwich under the hood, resting on the paper towel stuffed in the oil filler cap. That was one beast not worth saving.

Obviously not everyone knows that if Drywall Screw and/or Duct tape can not fix it, you didn't fix it right!

if ever the case with ambient dust like as in going down county roads, rull up the indows and crank up the vent, to keep positive air pressure in the car!

 

otherwise, having the front windows down will suck in dirt from the rusted trunk.

Unfortunately, not in this case. Any / all configurations netted the same result: someone in the backseat with a shopvac full of dust on full reverse. Rolling down all 4 windows, and opening the vents worked best, but that got old. Haven't tested the car yet...hope this fixed it...

Actually......I left the plastic realitor sign in, as a bottom/base for the foam. then sealed it from the outside too. Just finished cutting / sanding off the excess that oozed out, and painted to match car......not too bad.

My poor car was clean on the top side so......,

 

I was undercoating it and noticed I was actually undercoating my carpet:boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo:

 

BUGGY TIME!

 

Glenn,

82 Hatch, rust inspired Buggy!:temper:

01 Forester, better not rust!:madder:

so is it a century 21 car now or a HuD car?

ReMax....I think. It was once blue and red.....I didn't inspect it too closely.