Parcel Shelf Repairs

Back on the horse after a long break…. A week off work and some quality time to get stuck into a couple of jobs that had been waiting for attention for some time.

First job was repairs to the two top corners of the boot aperture - just behind where the bottom ends of the spring struts fits in their little cradles. Technically, these corners are actually the back edges of the parcel shelf pressing.

We're talking about the B, C, D, E area....

Dirt and water collect behind those little cradles without you realising - or noticing. Eventually they rot through - allowing water into the boot and (if it’s fitted) unseen behind any boot lining fabric. In my case, both corners were pitted and a prod with a screwdriver soon revealed a hole - or two. On both side, I also had to replace a short length of that boot lip and the crimping edge that fixes to it. 

Poking around with a screwdriver I was able to fashion a large and ugly hole...

First job was to remove the crimping strip from the boot lip. I'd already bought a replacement on a trip to Holland about three years ago!

Removing the crimping strip from the boot lip

After drilling out the welds on the spring strut cradles to remove them, I used a cut-off tool to cut out the bad metal.

It has to get worse before it can get better...

The area affected is a fairly complex shape - where the rounded curve of the parcel shelf meets the flat face on the boot gutter and the vertical lip that forms the boot aperture. Using the very latest KAD (Kellogss Aided Design) technology, I made a template and cut a patch. Initially I tried to weld it to the correct shape and then drop it in.....And found it didn't fit. In fact I tried that several times before I learned my lesson!

If at first you don't suceed.......

Eventually I shaped it and fitted it and tacked just one side. The I adjusted the fit on a second side and tracked that. Then I checked the shape and fit and welded the third side.  With some careful grinding of spot weld heads, it was starting to look okay. 

Getting there

I fashioned a short length of boot lip and let that in.

Boot lip rebuilt

I also replaced the triangular gusset inside the boot - the bit that the boot light fits to. The second side was pretty much a repeat of the first and the last job was to plug weld on a new crimping strip to the boot lip. 

Welding on the boot edge crimping strip

I used weld-through primer when i did this, but afterwards I also I diluted some red oxide with thinners and brushed it into the join to help it wick through and reduce the chances of further rust. Once it started to drip onto the sheet i'd laid in the boot, I knew it was probably enough. 

Just the cradle left to do

All the short-term primer will get rubbed back when i come to paint the chassis.

In terms of boot sealing, I still haven’t decided whether or not to fit a replacement spongey seal to the boot lid. These were apparently fitted to cars destined for dusty climates and are also the correct fitting for my Pallas spec. car. The replacements are closed-cell foam - so won’t hold water like the originals, but they are heavy and may put a strain on the boot lid. The alternative is to fit the simpler rubber fringes to the boot aperture.