[200q20v] fuel smell

[Donna or Chris Locke]

Hi all.  '91 200 20vtq, my wife's car.  I get a very strong gasoline
smell at times.  It doesn't seem to matter whether the fuel tank is
empty, half, or full, regardless of how the car was driven prior to
smelling the odor, this smell of gas pops up.  Outside the car,
passenger side, right near the rear door (of course, right where all the
fuel stuff is located!!) and on occasion, you can smell it inside.  I
looked all over for drips, none to be found, some rust here and there on
the seam of the fuel tank, but the seams look dry.  Took it for a ride
tonight, really drove it, hard cornering, hard braking, hard
accelerating (my kind of driving anyway!!) and got home with no smell.
NOW, about 5 minutes after I shut off the engine, I got one quick whiff
outside the car, by the rear passenger door.  No smell in the trunk,
very very faint where the rear seat used to be, nothing up by the
headrest or seatbelt area.  I'm really lost on this one.  Anybody else
come across this one?

Thanks for the help..

Chris Locke
'91 2C20VTQ
'86 4KCSTQ