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With all of the seats removed for refurbishment its a good time to put a generous coat of epoxy mastic 121 paint on the inside of the tub. Having given the tub a good rub down / wire brush to clean off the flaky stuff I noticed something not right. Both of the tonneau drainage tubes have been directed into the cavity between the inner and outer wings. That means that any rain-water ending up in the tonneau drainage tray would be directed to fill up this cavity. Not only would the car fill with water but it would simply rust from the inside out.
I can see what has happened, and it seems to be a common problem. Replacement panels don’t come with the hole pre-drilled and it’s not an intuitive place to put a water drainage pipe – inside the car (although the MX-5 does something very similar). I have seen mention on the Stag forum that there is a steel tube that should fit through the boot floor that these drain pipes connect to. I can’t find these tubes in any parts supplier’s catalogue, so I have simply drilled through the 2 layers of steel and pushed the drainage pipe through the hole. It emerges just in front of the rear wheel arch. I have then applied a generous helping of seam sealant where the pipe meets the steel both above and below to keep any water from the rear wheel arch out.