Finally, an enclosed boot!

[papak]

I have always wanted an enclosed boot in order to carry a few tools and a scissor jack. Why have a spare on the back with no way to change it. This was a perfect quarantine project. After taking a number of measurements and roughly sketching out a few ideas, I had a local sheetmetal supplier cut and bend strips of .080 aluminum to form the front and rear supports for the structure. I roughed out the inner structure with corrugated cardboard. The corners of the box are reinforced with 1"x1' aluminum extrusion (1/16' thick). The box itself is formed from .060 aluminum and a whole lot of rivets. Some of the structure was done with flush head rivets for clearance purposes. Fortunately, here in LA, we have several aircraft surplus shops. They are a great source for small amounts (50-100) of rivets and they usually have high quality stuff. Much of the sheet aluminum came from one of the local metal suppliers who has a rack of remnants on the side that are sold by the pound. Many a Socal hot rod has come from that source. The finished compartment measures roughly 12"x18" and about 8" deep. The covers are held on with camloc fasteners. Aircraft quality and dead on reliable. So far, I have opted to finish the top side with a 600 grit random orbital sander. It may get polished in the future but for now, this makes it much easier to blend out any road rash.

 

Now I feel better about venturing further from home.

Edited July 16, 2020 by papak

[Kitcat]

My Bikin came with a "boot", why didn't yours? In any event, nice work!

[papak]

Mine came with the fiberglass boot as well but it didn’t fit particularly well, a bit warped. Plus, to my mind, it’s more fun to do it yourself. I never realized it but I get much more satisfaction from doing sheet metal fabrication than fiberglass work. It doesn’t itch as much either.

[Croc]

That looks nicely done. This may sound like a dumb question but I cannot remember the interior of a Birkin boot but what are the side pieces of the rear end? Vacant space or occupied by rear suspension or gas tank?

[papak]

Basically vacant space. Access to inspect the rear suspension, fuel lines, fuel filter, etc. the floor is removable in order to be able to change the fuel pumps and access the fuel sender and fuel pressure regulator. The entire framework can be removed with eight bolts if necessary after removing the roll bar.

[Croc]

That sounds nice and simple for easy access - exactly what you want.