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Hey Volks, Well, since the drivetrain is out of my baby I decided to do some work on the rear cargo area. Ground away all the rust and coated the entire floor with Corroless, a rust conversion paint that is nothing short of killer. Put my tach and oil wires thru the rear seat firewall using the stock spine (main wiring harness :) -- boy, easy! Just push a tight hooked coathanger thru, put the electrical wire in the loop and pull back thru (pulling from cabin to engine compartment). Now I have a little less wiring snaking thru the cargo area. Ripped out the stock rubber mat. Well, specifically, I broke out the rigid and decaying half piece that used to be back there :) I laid down some aluminum skinned insulation in the back to pad the cargo area as well as contact cementing a piece to the engine cover. Looks *damn* good, maybe I should've been an interior decorator! Now it'll be a little less noisy in the cabin and less heat will be radiated inside as well. I also removed the rotting and oil soaked sound deadening pressboard on the back tin (the sheet metal below the engine cover, where the fuel line, throttle cable and spine poke thru for carbed engines) and tacked in a one piece replacement using the same insulation from the interior. The insulation came from JC Whitney (it's pretty good stuff, Mr. Parks, since it's not VW specific ;p""" ). I already had a black, outside carpeting cover for the cargo area so everything looks a little more pleasing for upcoming car shows. I really hated having to show my engine since the cargo area looked so bad -- now it won't bother me! I also threw away the rotting, oil soaked and decaying rubber engine cover seal (what the engine cover seals against). Believe me Volks, I have learned not to throw anything VW away unless I KNOW it's a goner! I found that common, generic automotive weather striping works rather well as a replacement. I used 7/16" x 1/2" (thick x wide) Permatite (brand name) and it came in a 10' roll. Don't worry about the name, just the dimensions. Clean the groove *really* well, lay in the seal (start and end in the front, where the hinge slots are), then carefully remove the tape from under the seal and press the seal down as you remove the tape (the weather strip should come with an adhesive side so it sticks to where it's placed). I took pictures and, along with the other two rolls I've yet to develop, I'll try to get the results (before and afters) to a web page. I'll let y'all know. My next project will be to replace the heat barrier under the engine cover, but that's not very pressing at this time (i.e. it can wait :) Now, what am I gonna do about that rusting battery niche under the seat..? Toby Erkson air_cooled_nut@pobox.com <-- Please use this address for email '72 VW Squareback 1.6L bored and stroked to 2.0L '75 Porsche 914 1.8L, ORPCA member Portland, Oregon, http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/8501/