Bolt-On Body Parts: Deck Lid

Next Article Bolt-On Body Parts: Deck Lid The exterior of the deck lid appeared to be fairly straight and was not in bad shape. There were old newspapers wedged between the inner structure and the deck lid skin and the inside had some rust. I first cut out the center section thinking I could clean up any rust from the inside. However, I couldn't reach to the edges so I decided to separate the skin from the inner structure.
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*Removing The Deck Lid Skin* The outer skin of the deck lid is folded over and spot-welded to the inner structure much like a door skin. To remove it, the first step is to locate the spot welds and drill them out without penetrating the outer skinframe. Once the spot welds were drilled out, I used a prying tool with a sharp edge to get under the fold and lift it off the inner frame. I used a paint stick to support the tool so I didn't dent the frame. *Note:* The deck lid skin is spot welded to the deck lid handle mounting bracket. I had a hard time locating the spot-welds, so I cut out panels above the bracket. Be aware that if you do this, the the mounting platebracket is under tension and will spring open. Once the spot welds were drilled out and the skin was separated from the frame, I removed the skin by lifting the big end of the frame away from the skin.
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*Rust Removal* Both the inside of the skin and the bottom of the inner frame left the factory as bare metal so both parts were rusty, but salvageable. To remove the rust, I applied multiple coats of DX 579, each time scrubbing away with a wire brush. Eventually, the rust disappeared and a pitted but essentially rust-free surface remained.
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*Deck Lid Re-assembly* Before assembling the deck lid, I applied PPG DX 520 and then rinsed the parts with water. DX 520 leaves a phosphate coating on the metal to prevent corrosion. I then primed the parts with DP 40.
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Before attaching the skin to the frame, I covered the inside skin with Lizard Skin, aka Cool Car Ceramic. This stuff is a combined insulator and under coater.
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Reassembling the deck lid was somewhat tricky. When the inner structure is removed, the skin springs open so it has to be re bent to fit the frame. Starting at the small end, I used C clamps to hold the skin to the frame so it could be crimped over the frame edge. Once the skin was crimped tightly, I welded it to the frame using the previously drilled out spot weld holes.
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*Sources* Lizard Skin Insulation: http://www.coollizard.com © 2001-2005 Chariot Software Group Project 40 Home \| Section Home