Ok, looks like I gotta re-hijack my thread for a little bit
With my recent relocation so stiflingly hot Missouri, and a subsequent lack of internet access, hence by absence here, I started a little project to keep me busy.
Step 1: Strip everything off the back of the car and throw it in a pile on the garage floor.
Step 2: Get a bunch of 1" x 1/8" steel bar-stock from your local hardware store. (Aluminum would be better, but when you're using 30' of the stuff that could get really pricey.) Once you've got your bar-stock, get all creative with it.
Step 3:
Proceed to get out the arc-welder and stick everything together with really crappy welds.
Step 4:
Get a little piece of plywood to stick on the end to hold the new taillights and license plate and such.
Now all I have left to do really is get the sheet-metal, attach it, and then figure out some way of putting on a bit of plexiglass.
Well, the boattails been done for over a week now, guess it's time to get some pics posted up of the finished product.
It's pretty amazing how much the boattail has helped with coastdown times. I'll look down at the speedo after a good 10-15 seconds of coasting on level ground and I *might* have dropped 5mph (from 65 to 60) on a bad day.
Mileage seems to have been improved at least 10%. I'm now able to consistently hit 55mpg burning 87 octane E10 gasoline. I'm positive that I'd be reliably in the 75mpg range with "real" gasoline.
I scavenged the key mechanism out of the hatches "tailgate" and with a little copious modification it made a serviceable lock for the new rear window.
