Josh

I realized that the "hatch finisher pannel" needed to be addressed. There were two clear points of entry: first, exhaust could enter straight through the latch assembly and enter the hollow of the hatch itself. Second, exhaust could enter the hatch through the weep holes. The weep holes are outside the rubber hatch seal. When I took the car to John, I had already removed the apolstery (hatch finisher pannel) from the interior of the hatch in my own attempts to investigate the problem. I realized that the cardboard backed apolstery pannel, that was held to the hatch by a series of sheet metal screws, was never gonna be airtight. In the case of my car, this was such an obvious point of entry, that I wanted a bullet proof solution. So John started by sealing the latch openings with silicone and installed appropriate rubber plugs in the weep holes. But we took it a step further- John fabbed a sheet aluminum pannel to replace the crappy finisher pannel. This new rigid pannel was installed with a silicon seal. Nothing is coming though now ...or ever. I think for those of us who have been beaten by this fume problem, it is this kind of redundency that will ensure a safe car. In this thread, ALL THE ADVISE IS CORRECT. It is a multi-tiered problem. Our cars are 300hp blocks of swiss cheese. I had redone my hatch seal ...but John found that it still wasn't sealing. I thought I was done ...I wasn't. I had another Z guy look at it months ago. He said he had addressed the hoses between the tank and vapor tank. John discovered that he had not been thorough. There were still hoses that were fuel soaked needing to be replaced. John, what was it that was cracked on the top of my tank? At any rate, I still haven't gotten to the firewall, and I'm sure that that will further resolve any remaining smells; although at this point, it just holds the residual smell of an old sports car that was allowed to stink for too many years. Hey Zfan, violacleff, ezzzzzzz, sparks280, how are you guys coming with your gas chambers? Josh

So I took my car to our own John Coffey, and he put a huge dent in the fume problem I'd been dealing with. Ultimately, it didn't come down to any miracle cure; rather it was just a matter of attention to detail and follow through. I'm not a great wrencher, so am not the best choice to explain all the steps taken by John, but I can say that several of the steps I had thought complete, had been done poorly. The car is infinitely better now, and has shown me that this is in fact fixable, if you're willing to take the time and check/test your steps with enough specificity. Thanks John. Nice work. It's good to be enjoying my car again ...windows up or down ...who cares!

240TIM- coming with $$ in hand, looking forward to buying any HybridZ gack you happen to be packing. And thanks for the picture link...what a rough crew -it'll be good to meet you guys. The possability of rain is a bit of a drag, since I've gone to such lengths to keep my car dry (i know how prone to rust Z's are).I just checked out the weather channel and it's saying rain Sun morn. Oh well, I guess one day of water's not gonna turn my car into a pile of rust. I don't have a pic to post yet, but I think my car might be an original scarab kit from late '70's, early '80's; I'm sure you all will be able to tell me about the origins of the body work. The car is yellow w/ flared wheel wells and big whale tail -red, orange, and blue pin striping. I'll try and see if I can get placed down on the end of the street on V8 row. Once we land, if any one is going to go for breakfast, I'm in. Josh

Unfortunately I'll be working till a million oclock friday night, so that elliminates the possibility of me getting together w/ anyone friday (22nd) before the show. Missing out on a Hooters run really hurts. So we check in our cars around 6:00am sunday -then what? We're not obligated to sit next to our cars all day are we? I'm hoping that I can walk around and meet up w/ you guys while my car sits there ...after all, my car isn't a mystery to me, what you guys bring is why I'm really there. Josh

Sorry you guys are getting your b*tts kicked by this fume thing, and at the same time it's a relief to know I'm not alone. I've redone rear hatch seal, squirted expanding foam into numerous holes, redone taillight seals, redone exhaust all the way out the back, and redone all of the gas tank/breather hoses ...still I'm getting fumes. And all of your descriptions are accurate to my experience too: windows down brings the fumes in, if I really get on the gas, it begins to smell rich, and sometimes it smells like straight gasoline. Tim240 has reassurred me that this issue is solvable, and I'm praying that he's right. I've got a few more things to try, but I've gotta say that somewhere in the back of my mind there is this little voice saying "Your gonna feel real stupid if you you put $10,000 dollars into this car and and can't enjoy it because these Z's are fundamentally prone to sucking in fumes." Any of you fume sufferers gonna be at the MSA show? I am ...assuming I survive the trip to the city of Orange. Josh

My car and I are both going. I'm definately interested in meeting hybridZ folks. If some sort of extra curricular activities begin coming together, I'd love to hear about it. Feel free to PM me. Josh