After reading a posting relating to water leaks I decided to pull off my kick panels because I suspected the leak was from that area. When I finally got it off I reached in and found three inches of compacted sand and a ton of leaves both fresh and very decomposed. Anyway long story short I scooped out by hand as much as I could, shoved a vacuum hose in there and got quite a bit out. My problem is I also pulled out flakes of rusted metal, and I don't think I managed to clean out entirely. What should I do next to keep it from causing further rust?

Lino Micheli
Toronto, Canada
1972 Chevelle SS Coupe
402CI
TH400

Lino. That very well may have been one of my posts you read.There is no way I could get mine cleaned just by hand and with the vacuum. I put a piece of smaller hose about 3/4 id in there and taped it up real good to the wet/dry vacuum cleaner nossle. Sprayed water in and alternately sucked it up with the vacuum. I never really got too many rust flakes out of mine but I left the vacuum in there on blow until I was sure it was really good and dry. I sprayed rust paint in as best I could. I was thinking after that there must be some kind of product on the market that I could have sprayed in there that was better than paint, so I asked a friend at a body shop. He said a product that works and travels real well when sprayed on is called "rust check" Hope this helps Terry

Thanks Terry I'll try that. Here's a dumb question. Bear with me I'm a bit of a rookie. Is water supoosed to drain out of that area, and if so where does it drain to?

You can also brush or spray POR-15. One of the best products on the market today!

FastSS396man

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69' SS396 Chevelle
L78 396/375hp
M-21 Close Ratio
Cortez Silver
10 year Resto
It's brand new again!

Lino. It drains right around, or a bit behind the rear of the front fender area. When you get it clean, believe me, you will be able to see where it drains no problem. I can not remember who helped me out on this one , but is one of my first posts after I paid my dues. Do a search on my name and have a look. I had a lot of help from people on this site and if not for them, I would still have a wet carpet! Pay the 20 bucks it costs to get into the other areas. I guarantee you, it will be the best 20 bucks you ever spent if you are trying to work on an older Chevelle, and helps them to maintain this site. You will "NEVER"!! find the info anywhere else that you can find here, and everyone is willing to help. Plus you get a really cool checkered flag next to your name, and they send you a Team Chevelle key fob and magnetic stickers! http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by bcice (edited 11-07-2001).]

Thanks again Terry.

I'll definately pay the $20.00 to access other parts of this site. It has been the best source so far for info on my car. My regards to those responsible for its upkeep.

Lino Micheli
Toronto, Canada
1972 Chevelle SS
402CI
TH400

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LM72SS:
Thanks Terry I'll try that. Here's a dumb question. Bear with me I'm a bit of a rookie. Is water supoosed to drain out of that area, and if so where does it drain to?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Crawl under the car and there are holes in the bottom of the fender in that area. Make sure these holes are open and big. The reason the crap is in there in the first place is because these holes get plugged. Once open the dirt/water should drain freely, and keep that area dry.

Same goes for the bottom of your doors, on the outside of your weatherstipping. Clean these out also. And in the rear quarter...Best just get on your back and spend an hour or so looking at it, you'll see where it should be free and open to drain http://www.chevelles.com/forum/wink.gif

Good luck, and open those holes http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif

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71-72 Malibu (http://www.geocities.com/beldarr/Chevelle.htm)
"I'm high all right, but on the real stuff
High octane gasoline
A clean windshield
And a shoe shine"

Beldar. I don't know if the 70 and up are different than mine but on mine there is no way you can get to those front drains without taking the fenders off. They are not in the fender, but on the inner body itself. When I used the vacuum and water alternatly from the inside, it started to drip a little and got better and better with every time I did it. Now you can dump a bucket of water in there and it is out in seconds. I can see it coming out, but even by laying on my back, there is no way I can see exactly where the drain is. It took about an hour messing around on each side, but now I can wash the car without ending up with a soaked carpet.