Bratwurst Rear

Project: Bratwurst - Rear Section

The rear section is a bit like a continuation of the cabin area with some elements of the front section thrown in. Out goes all the boot trim and furniture (tool box, jack etc...) but there's also the rear bumper and other alterations that can be made.

Rear Bumper
The rear end strip, like the front end, is starting off with the bumper. This also has the large cross member behind it but unlike the front, this one is made of thick fibre glass. It is also still fairly heavy and the metal mounting brackets are rather substantial.
But before it is removed it is receiving some preliminary treatment to the rear valance. It's been cut off! The valance serves two purposes other than cosmetic appearances. It does a reasonable job as an air brake acting on the air trying to escape from underneath the car and it also restricts access to the mounting brackets. With this in mind it took no great deal of thought before attacking it!

This greatly improved access to the mounting brackets and considering the amount of dirt and debri that fell out of it has also contributed to the weight saving.

The bumper mounts can be clearly seen now and were soon unbolted from the bodyshell with the following result.

And out comes the cross member

The body structure behind reveals a handy ledge of attaching the new bumper brackets to.

Again small metal brackets are to be use to support the top edge of the bumper and stop it from sagging under it's own weight or trying to rotate about the side brackets. However, this time the aerodynamic loads will be trying to lift the rear bumper at speed (and tear it off). The removal of the rear valance section of the bumper earlier should greatly reduce this so I shall only bother with the upper brackets for this one.

Here they are fitted. They are basically just bits of scrap sheet ally with slight fold in them to give them some rigidity. If you look closely you'll notice that they are mounted on rubber blocks. This is to bring them down to the correct height. I only used rubber as I had it to hand. Wooden off-cuts would have done just as well.

Job done.

Boot Lid
Hmmm, I'm sure we can do something with this, now where did I put the angry-grinder?

Much lighter, but now also prone to folding in the middle if you try to slam it shut!

Mobirise

The contents of this website are purely a reflection of my own experiences and knowledge gained whilst working on my various projects. Anything you do based on what you have read here is done so entirely at your own risk.
Personally I wouldn't trust someone like me with a lawn mower! You have been warned! Flapper-bat!

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