Full boat tail on a Matrix

[KITT222]

Regular tuft testing might do good, or do what member Texan_Idiot25 did and put a large fan in front of the car, and put a water mister between the car and fan. Just wait for a warmer, above freezing, day.

The boat tail looks good! Simple and rather crude. I like it!

[brucey]

Man, this makes me want to shoot for attempt #2 on my boat tail. The first one was simply too heavy, and too awkward, and too many gaps. And I never could get accurate testing if it was actually doing anything other than causing a massive blind spot.

Looking awesome so far!

[Weather Spotter]

KISS keep it simple stupid -This is about as creative as I get

I can see a better shape in my head (with lots of compound smooth curves) but what I can build involves 1/4" accurate cuts, angles measured on a speed square and 2x4 construction. Sharp corners are a given with my form of construction. I try to minimize it but I can only do what I can do.

I am surprised that I decided to build it with foam and fiberglass, it is a new method for me. I was thinning of doing it with plywood or coloplast. that would have had a lot more squared off edges and might not have been water tight.

That being said, I think I will need to get out the bondo and smooth out some places. This will have to wait till I have it drivable and the temps are warmer. The fiberglass is taking twice as longer to cure as it should because it is cold where I am working (28-30F).

[Weather Spotter]

Originally Posted by brucey

Man, this makes me want to shoot for attempt #2 on my boat tail. The first one was simply too heavy, and too awkward, and too many gaps. And I never could get accurate testing if it was actually doing anything other than causing a massive blind spot.

Looking awesome so far!

If you have a trailer hitch you have half of a mounting system A hatch back minus the hatch = the other half

My tail weighs ~100 lb. I can lift it but it is too bulky, two people have no issues. If I put my weight on the bottom supports it will hold my weight just fine. If weight is an issue, use less 2x4s and replace many of them with 2x2s. I would have used them but I had 2x4 handy (read free) and did not have 2x2s. This would shave off about 15-20 Lb and only reduce the strength marginally. If you take the hatch off, the net tail weight is cut in half

The next question would be, can you live without your car for a week or can you put the hatch back on easily? For me it would take an hour or so to reassemble the hatch so I am leaving it off. If you add side windows you should lessen your blind spot.

[BamZipPow]

Another thing to consider is using the 2x4 metal studs like I did on my belly pan/rear diffuser and aero cap builds...

To give it strength to keep it from twisting and give some places to screw into...I inserted some 2x4 wood pieces that I cut to fit inside the metal studs.

[Weather Spotter]

Why not just use 2x4s? aren't the metal studs just extra weight? How much do they cost?

[BamZipPow]

The metal studs are easily 1/4th the weight of the wood studs. They won't pick up water/moisture like the wood ones will. They won't warp like the wood ones will. Costs under $5 fer a 9' length...

[Weather Spotter]

Day 6

I worked extra hard today and got the tail back on the car! I got 3 coats of resin on the car to tail transition area. I also got the bottom covered in one coat of fiberglass.













I also got the back tail lights back on (took off to fiberglass). In addition I put on two back up lights and mounted the license plate.

I also go the side windows on and caulked. The same for the top window. I mounted the top window with 4 hinges and put on a latch.









After the resin on the bottom was hard I got a hand and put the tail on the car. It is a bit tricky to do. The bottom is a snug fit and unless you are on the ground you can not see the receiver the hitch needs to slide into. The top is a two person job as well. The bolts on the top mounts are hard to get at (having the hatch off is a must). It took me and another person 15 min to get it on. Now that it is on I took off the protective film on the plexi glass and it looks nice.









I took it for a 3 mile test spin and nothing fell off
It rattles a bit but is not bad.
My visibility is not bad (from what I can tell in the dark).

I did take a look and where the car and tail meet there is some gaps. I need some ideas on how to fill them in. I want a water tight seal but I still want it removable from the car. Ideas?







Top:


From the inside looking out:







I have a few ideas some are bad others are weird so help me come up with a solution.
1. caulk the daylights out of it each time I take it on and off (and pray it releases off the car)
2. add weather stripping and hope for the best (do they make it 1" think?)
3. take off tail (want to avoid but will if needed), cover the car in plastic, reattach the tail, and bondo the holes shut.
4. let it leak
5 let it leak but make a barrier inside and direct water out a hole in the bottom. How?

6 your idea here_______________________

[Cd]

Why not add weather stripping, but also place a strip of clear duct tape along the gap ?
( The problem would be removal if you leave it on for very long, since it will leave the glue on the car and you will have to scrape it off very carefully. )

[alohaspirit]

can you use foil or something (plastic was stated)
to protect the car and then seal it with fiberglass/bondo

(my first thought was expanding foam but i believe that would be difficult)


also what about a horse or wheeled dolley that
the boattail could sit on to assist with install/removal
(1 person job)