fenders, quarter panel etc..idea..

i pulled the rear interior plastic yesterday for my other project (see my other thread), while it was out, i stuck my hand down in the quarter panel (the area that hangs behind the rear wheels) many of you cut and fold this area up under the taillights for more clearance.

anyway while in there i found about 5 inches deep, soaking wet mud on the passenger side, just sitting down in there waiting to rust or rot away the sheet metal..

best i cant figure from my lack of wheeling since i left georgia it has been there probably well over a year..i took a couple minutes pulled the plugs and forced most of the mudd out..

anyway i am looking at this vacant area trying to decide what i can do about it, so that i dont collect more mudd.(there used to be a plastic insulator(?) there, but it drowned in the mud)

the thought hit me i could fill it with expanding foam (house) insulation which would ideally prevent mud and sand from sitting down there as well as keep the area relatively dry, as well it might provide a lil more rigidity to the rear quarter panel as that stuff is hard as rock when it dries.it would add minimal weight as well as deaden any road noise that i have coming up in that area there by allowing me to fully remove the carpet which i have been hesititant to remove due to excessive road noise...althought the carpet is out now..

i was also giving some thought to blowing some of this same stuff up in the back of the front wheel well, behind the front tire and in front of the door to keep mudd and debris from ending up, up on the inner lower front fender lip, and on the door hinges again preventing wet material from sitting right on top of where rust normally starts..as thus far i ahve a mostly rust free rig..one more winter and i might be screwed..thank God err scratch that, the state of michigan for salt trucks huh?

for those that are still tracking me this far, what are your thoughts.. good bad, ugly maybe uselful may not? its just am idea..

Many of the spray in foam products will hold moisture not seal it. I think you might be able to use some kind of sealant inside there. Mine also have mud in them but it does seem to dry quickly. I don't have the plastic interios panels any more.

Why not just cut it? Would solve a lot of the problems. Im assuming that this is wheeled, or will be wheeled due to the carpet pulling.
If you still want to have the quarter panel still there, dont use the insulator stuff. Try some kind of spray on bedliner on the inside and outside. Ive heard that Walmart sells something like that.

Pool noodles front and rear?


Sorry Grifter I didn't realize you were talking about the rear.


Can we not delete threads anymore?

Starboard M said:

Why not just cut it? Would solve a lot of the problems. Im assuming that this is wheeled, or will be wheeled due to the carpet pulling.
If you still want to have the quarter panel still there, dont use the insulator stuff. Try some kind of spray on bedliner on the inside and outside. Ive heard that Walmart sells something like that.

Click to expand...

I've used the Dupli-Color Truck Bed Coating in the blue can that WalMart sells, it works pretty well. I had some MDF that I knew was going to see moisture and didn't want it to fall apart the first time it got wet. I coated it with a few layers of the coating and it's pretty much waterproof. It also looks pretty decent, but it does fade if it's in the sun. Just make sure you rough up the surface for it to stick, it doesn't like going on smooth metal.

with mine i cut the entire fender lining out and fabbed a new liner higher up and then foam filled the gaps and seam sealed the remaining. when done i just sprayed with really good rubberized undercoating. came out really good and where i'm from and the type of terrain the mud has nowhere to get caught in now.

Cut it, fold it, seal it