Saturday I made my first attempt at making the trunk latch mechanism work. It all started with creating a solid mounting surface out of metal. I marked/drilled the holes on the metal and then welded some nuts onto the back. I also traced the pattern onto some 1/2″ plywood that will serve as the core material for attaching the latch to the trunk lid.
I also used a chisel to recess the area under the metal so that the steel would sit flush with the surface of the plywood.
I drilled some small holes into the corners of the metal plate so that I could use a few flat head screws to secure it in-place. This plywood and steel will eventually all be sandwiched in a layer of fiberglass to seal it all together.
Once everything was ready I secured all the parts together and started to do some test fitting. As I tried a few things there were multiple rounds of trimming and adding other pieces to the plywood.
I can say that it was a very frustrating day and my nemesis “the trunk” won round one. It also previously won round one-and-two when I was trying to make the hinges work, but I stuck with it and eventually got my revenge…
I decided to call it quits for the day, regroup, and try a few different things on attempt number 2.
Building The BatBerry 