[Yum] problem with file:// url format in yum.conf

[rotten rottie]

Sorry to bug everyone again.. but I think im on crack...
fedora core 3

yum.conf :
<snip>
baseurl=file://storage/fedora/3/base
<snip>

actual path:
/storage/fedora/3/base (there is repodata here with xmls)

when yum is run:
file://storage/fedora/3/base/repodata/repomd.xml: [Errno 5] OSError: [Errno 
2] No such file or directory: '/fedora/3/base/repodata/repomd.xml'

it looks like it cuts it off .. I have tried multiple methods in the path.. 
all not working..What am i doing wrong ? am I on bushels of crack ?