Exhaust recirculating into interior

Always wondered, even though the exhaust on all three of Lynn and I's Foxes are 100% leak-free from manifold to tailpipe tip, there's always the stench of exhaust rolling into the interior. It's not really noticable with the windows rolled up, but if you pop the sunroof open or roll down one or both windows, sometimes it can damn near gag you (especially after a brief WOT romp). This happens on Lynn's '80 Capri, my '84 hatch, and my '89 notch, so it's apparently not limited to hatchbacks.

Only causes for this I can think of:

1. Weatherstripping around trunk/hatch is flattened out and not sealing against trunk/hatch, allowing the vortex of air behind the car to get sucked back into the interior;
2. The tail light housings aren't sealing against the back of the car fully, allowing that same vortex of air behind the car to come back inside;
3. The aerodynamic shape of a Fox, in general, just creates such a huge pocket of low-pressure air behind itself that it just seeps into the interior from every nook and cranny, no matter what.

Just curious, is this just something that happens with ALL Foxes as a common trait, or do we just have three very special cars?

I've tried sealing everything up that I possibly can on my notch, including weatherstripping the trunk, but to no avail. Again, from front to back, there isn't a single exhaust leak ANYWHERE on any of these three cars, so it can pretty much only be coming from the tailpipes and getting recirculated into the interior somehow. Additionally, at least on my notch, whenever I refuel, the leftover vapors from the spillover into the filler door area like to stink up the interior for a good hour or two afterward. (Sure glad I don't smoke! )

If possible, I'd kinda like to remedy this issue sometime. I'm reluctant to go on any really long-distance drives in these cars for fear of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Anyone else experienced (or still dealing with) this problem? Anyone found a good fix for it?

strtrcr50 said:

My last vert was horrible. This time I have cats and the problem doesn't exist.

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Funny, my '86 GT 'vert was probably the only Fox I've had that didn't stink of exhaust. Then again, it had so many holes in the roof that it probably all just dissapated or passed through all the big gaps before it could make its way all the way back up to the front seats. Actually, on second thought, I think I do remember that I could smell the exhaust a bit when the top was down - created a big pocket of air with the absence of a roof and the exhaust got sucked forward by that, I guess.

My '84 has its full original single-outlet exhaust on it (well, maybe the muffler and tailpipe are different - they look smaller than stock, actually), with the original cat and all, and the smell is still there in that car, as well - given, it's not as obvious and strong in the other two Foxes with off-road pipes, but it's still very much there. And Lynn's Capri is rockin' the cat'ed UPR X-pipe right now for smog inspection, and the exhaust smell is still there, especially after a WOT run. *cough, gag, wheeze*