DIY: Boot Revamp

ABS

Active Member
Premium Member
Welcome to my first DIY..

The following happened before I joined AL so I didnt take pictures of the process for a DIY :( Sorry

1. I had a lot of rust in some areas of the boot well so I decided to clean this up. In the process, I ended up spray painting the entire well to Dark Grey colour - looks much nice and cleaner.
Original colour was a Dark Olive/Brown/Black.
  • Basic process involved:
    - sanding the rusted areas,
    - wiping the entire boot well clean of dust and rust flakes
    - applying two coats of rust protectant to those rusted areas (3-4hrs b/w coats),
    - after 6hrs, mask off the carpeted areas and other areas you want to leave unpainted,
    - spray paint the entire boot well lightly - from a 10 to 15cm distance(1st matte coat)
    - after that dries, add another coat but this time only leave around an 6-9cm distance from the painting surface (2nd and final gloss coat)
You can add another matte coat after the first if you want a finer finish.

DSC_0587.jpg


2. I noticed that the genuine boot masonite cover was too small and only covered the tyre region. It was unevenly distributed and if you placed heavier items in the center, the masonite piece would over time reveal a slight bend. Mine original one was dirty and badly bent. Asked Mitsu for a replacement, they said "too dear go to bunnings and jigsaw one out" (actually cost $170 odd for the cover).

So I went a bought a straight cut masonite piece (can't remember size) for $20 and put some blood, sweat and tears into modifying it to fit the entire boot well and surrounding areas.

  • Basic process involved:
    1. Using the old cover as a template and drawing out its shape on to the new masonite board
    2. Grab the boot lining mat and trace out an outline of the inner fluffy bit (which fits the full size of the boot) on top of the first template
    3. Carefully use a jigsaw to cut the outer template (second template of boot lining)
    4. Drill holes (incl. handle) following the genuine Mitsu template
    5. Attach all the paddings and pieces from the old to the new larger masonite cover
    6. Test fit it and jigsaw small bits until it fits firmly in the boot well

Few pictures of the revamp...
DSC_0583.jpg


DSC_0584.jpg


DSC_0582.jpg


Pic of new revamp - in black...
DSC_1420.jpg


3. Another idea that sprung to mind was to cover up the ugly black plastic on some CH's, at the back of the boot, that easily gets dirty. I decided to carpet this area using corfluted plastic board and another boot carpet from the wreckers.

The thicker the corflute board, the more resistant it will be to bends caused by items in the boot rolling around and hitting it.
I used a 5mm thick board: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/969 ... C_1309.jpg

  • Basic process involved:
    1. Remove the original black plastic. This may require the rear seats to be removed, depending on how you want to set this up. I didn't remove mine but trust me, you should. :p
    See Mazio's 'Seat removal' section: http://www.auslancer.com/forum/viewtopi ... 78#p172190

    2. Also remove the boot carpet mouldings on either side.
    3. Place the black plastic cover on the corflute board to trace. Note that this doesn't exactly fit the original plastic board, as this is largest board I could find at Bunnings at the time - shoudn't matter too much though.
    DSC_1311.jpg


    4. Trace around it and cut out the corflute board to size. In my design, I deleted the hook area, as I didn't remove the rear seats. So now you may ask, how will it be secure - just wait and see.
    DSC_1312.jpg


    5. Well now it's time to wrap the carpet over the board. Apply some hot glue on to a small vertical section of the board and work your way across, before the glue dries out.
    6. Pull over the excess edges and glue them down using superglue. For extra strength staple around the excess edges.
    Leave the glue to dry for an hour.
    DSC_1314.jpg


    DSC_1315.jpg


    7. Obtain 2 small nuts and bolts to secure the new carpeted board to the rear end of the boot. Line up the board so there is enough metal to attach the bolts to. I managed to push my board through the boot, eventually.

    Top bolts are not necessary as the seat is pushed well against this area when mounted.

    8. Drill 2 holes, into the board and metal, on the bottom LHS and RHS corners. You might need someone to push it towards you from inside or pull towards you if your doing from the boot, like me.
    DSC_1317.jpg


    9. Attach the 2 bolts and nuts to secure the bottom half.
    10. Replace the rear seats and carpet mouldings, then enjoy the view :)

Some pics....
DSC_1419.jpg


DSC_1421.jpg


4. Next was to add a support hook to the masonite board so you won't have to hold up or take out the board when you need to remove the spare tyre. I got this idea from seeing it on a TJ Magna, so went to the wreckers and removed one.

Remember to take some pics of how it sits or just come back to this DIY :D

  • Basic process involved:
    1. Remove the string from the metal end, if it hasn't been already
    2. Line up the metal piece with the masonite board handle cut-out (about 4-5cm in between) and mark out the 3 holes with a pencil.

    Make sure it clears the spare tyre when the masonite board is locked into the plastic tabs.
    DSC_1454.jpg


    Also it will be useful if you turn the metal piece around so that the centre hole lines up with the small indent cut-out on the board. You'll see why later.

    DSC_1455%20-%20Copy.jpg


    3. Drill the holes according to the hole sizes on the metal piece. These holes are about 3.5mm in diameter.
    4. Get some rivet's measuring a bit less than 3.5mm in diameter so it fits perfect. Depending on the thickness of the board, you may need larger rivets.
    I used these: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/969 ... C_1460.jpg

    5. This is an important step. Line up rivets in the outer 2 of the 3 holes drilled previously, via the top surface of the board, whilst holding the metal piece from the bottom surface (area touching the tyre).
    DSC_1459%20-%20Copy.jpg


    6. Then rivet away :D
    7. Place the hook over the indent cut-out area and thread the string from the top surface into the remaining hole, that we lined up with the indent cut-out earlier, and into the metal piece hole at the bottom end.

    The hook must be able to fit firmly over this area and be easily removable. This is why we lined up the hole before ;)
    DSC_1459.jpg


    8. Tape down the string temporarily so you don't lose your place from above. Lightly pull the string from underneath to remove any slack from in between and tie up the knot on the bottom end.
    You may have excess string - don't cut this; just wrap it around.
    DSC_1455.jpg


    9. Now lift up the board, place the hook over the rubber seal and admire. :thumbup:

Some pics of the finished product...
DSC_1456.jpg


DSC_1457.jpg


---

A simply DIY that will last much longer Mitsubishi did in Australia. :lol:
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

good diy is good :thumbup:
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

Cheers Res :)

I'll be sure to make more when I finish my assignments and all :thumbup:
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

It's not a 100% perfect fit as you can see. The straight cut-offs you see on either end is the maximum size of the masonite board. If I got a larger one it may fully fit but I cbf now. lol
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

Zhaktronz said:
make me one :p

Sure if you really want one. I can trace my one out and jigsaw one for you. The masonite costs $20, postage not sure at this stage and my blood/sweat/tears, priceless. haha jks jks, well we can negotiate if you are actually serious about this :)
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

remember those safety googles, ear muffs and the trusty dust mask :thumbup:
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

C'mon man, I wanna see your jigsaw-ing skills :D
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

Nice DIY, funny just yesterday I did some touch up work in mine. the board had been rubbing on some metal parts for years. I had no rust but since I was cleaning out the boot because of the flat tire I decided why not. All I did was brush on some primer paint to seal the surface. My board in the CC coupe was fine and I've used some extra foam for years to reduce the rubbing.

I'm also in the process of painting a 'new' 13" steel wheel for my new spare and will update my ride later this weekend when I've finished the job.
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

Looking good man :) reminds me of mine haha
. I did mine a while ago with black carpet glued on the masonite board and also on the bits on the side of the car that dont get covered by the board. also sprayed the side bits with black vinyl dye. Come up shmick as. (Y)
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

Looking good man :) reminds me of mine haha
. I did mine a while ago with black carpet glued on the masonite board and also on the bits on the side of the car that dont get covered by the board. also sprayed the side bits with black vinyl dye. Come up shmick as. (Y)
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

Looking good man :) reminds me of mine haha
. I did mine a while ago with black carpet glued on the masonite board and also on the bits on the side of the car that dont get covered by the board. also sprayed the side bits with black vinyl dye. Come up shmick as. (Y)
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

I did a similar thing last week:

-removed all trim
-cut out all minor surface rust with medium grit sandpaper
-sprayed all affected areas with white knight grey metal primer (almost impossible to tell where effected areas are)
-cut the masonite cover where the wheel well ends woth jigsaw
-attached pieces together with 3 1$ hinges
-added thin piece of wood to cover to prevent bending when wheel is not in the wheel well...
-replaced all trim

Now i can access the wheel well without disturbing my amplifiers near the back of the boot...

I might also cut the boot carpet to make access even easier (and not disturb the left and right hand side crevaces)

Might add some pics to this post later on :)
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

HMHAMz said:
Now i can access the wheel well without disturbing my amplifiers near the back of the boot...

Good idea, anytime I have to get to the spare I have to empty most of the boot out. I've only put primer on the rubbed spots but now I'm thinking of getting a new board and making a kinda trap door so only the center lifts and the rest of the carpet can stay down, along with any crap I have on the sides. But I'll have to cut the carpet to do the job.
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

lancer1993 said:
HMHAMz said:
Now i can access the wheel well without disturbing my amplifiers near the back of the boot...

Good idea, anytime I have to get to the spare I have to empty most of the boot out. I've only put primer on the rubbed spots but now I'm thinking of getting a new board and making a kinda trap door so only the center lifts and the rest of the carpet can stay down, along with any crap I have on the sides. But I'll have to cut the carpet to do the job.
Definately would get more use out of it if did this.. ive got a spare boot carpet so i might chop up the spare + current carpet so i can have some overlap :)
 
Re: DIY: Boot Well Revamp

I've done this mod already and instantly tempted to cut my carpet to access the spare easily but haven't been game enough yet.

Anyone cut there carpet yet and looked good? Did the carpet fray on the edges once cut?
 
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