New member Welding repairs on quarters

[Dave44]

Hi everyone. New to this forum and just had a few questions regarding the rear quarters/ rear floor Area. I’m currently repairing the usual lower quarter area and after cutting it open there is a foam/ resin material in the cavity. This goes all the way up to the boot floor. There is no metal on top of this cavity, just the filler material bridging the gap between the engine bay floor and the outer quarter. Can anyone tell me if this is the factory design or has mine been altered? And if this is factory where would I find a replacement material? Many thanks in advance, Dave.
Ps I’ll get some better images in the morning of the rear floor to help explain.

 

[strandweiss62]

This is how the factory made it. Foaming was completely new at the time, and as it turned out later, a big mistake.
Sheet metal parts are available from Gordonimports and Gord Souter.

 

[Ken Chambers]

Welcome to the forum. It's unfortunate the design of that area allows water to collect. People have tried a number of things to mitigate the problem only to trap in the water and slow down the drying process leading to rust.

In my opinion the factory had it right by leaving it open and accessible so it can dry out. Wick out the water with a rag after boating.

When rebuilding apply surface treatment to the metal and use some good anti-rust spray annually.

Happy boating.

 

[Dave44]

Welcome to the forum. It's unfortunate the design of that area allows water to collect. People have tried a number of things to mitigate the problem only to trap in the water and slow down the drying process leading to rust.

In my opinion the factory had it right by leaving it open and accessible so it can dry out. Wick out the water with a rag after boating.

When rebuilding apply surface treatment to the metal and use some good anti-rust spray annually.

Happy boating.

Thankyou so much for your reply. I’ve attached a couple of images below. The right side where I am in the process of repairing and have the cavity open and the left side which is sealed over. Am I then correct in thinking this would have originally been left open from the factory and the one that’s sealed over has been done at a later date?