We have a glove box! We
used our partially-mastered automotive fabrication techniques to construct an insert that slips in
the front and locks in place against the scuttle cross beam. It's not the best glove box in the
history of automotive glove boxes, but the important thing is, you can put things in it and they
won't fall out the back, which is a major improvement over the old arrangement. We realize this
eliminates one of our Locost's more endearing quirks, but not to worry, we still have tons of
quirks left, way more than we actually need.
Vinyl insert simulates an actual glove box
The good thing is, we didn't have to resort to fiberglass. We made the glove box out of vinyl. The idea
came to us a few weeks ago when we were making our vinyl trunk cover. We dismissed it back then
because we had way too many other things going on, but now that our Locost is totally sorted, the
idea popped up again. Vinyl isn't super stiff, but it's better than our early paper bag idea, and
bigger. In fact, we can fit a lot more in the glove box than we can in our cool door pocket, which
incidentally hasn't turned out to be quite as useful as we once imagined.
Metal strip for glove box insert
We started the glove box with a strip of 1" wide 16 gauge steel bent into the shape of our glove
box door. We next sewed up a vinyl tube, then folded one end of the tube around our steel strip, and
sewed up the edge, sealing the metal strip in the pocket. We then sewed a cover onto the open end
of the tube, and voila, a glove box insert. Of course we all know by now that any of our feeble attempts
to describe our convoluted construction techniques never work, and so as usual we hope
the pictures will help, and also as usual they probably won't.
Metal strip hand-sewed into vinyl pocket
The glove box insert is removable by simply compressing the metal strip and sliding the insert out the
door. This provides excellent access to the wires and tubes and all of the other junk under the
scuttle, which means we can still possibly install the windshield wiper motor someday, or at least imagine
installing it. Currently in the glove box is a pair of sunglasses, our proof of insurance card, and
a few clean rags. We're looking forward soon to having our registration in there, along with the
usual assortment of pens, paper, receipts, and parking tickets.
Depending on the weight of the objects placed in the glove box, we may need to find a way to
support it better. A few tools or car parts, for example, might prove too much for the flimsy
vinyl. We think that with the help of some strategically placed fiberboard or possibly aluminum
panels we could create some kind of floor underneath the box, which would help, but we're not sure
at this point if it would, and so we're not going to worry about it, at least until we actually
exceed the structural capacity of the thing. So far it's working fine.
Hood scoop repair work
Meanwhile, on the hood scoop front, we reinforced our thin 2-ply fiberglass shell with additional plies of
mat and cloth as planned, and started filling in the blemishes on top. All of this takes time to
cure, so it's slow going, especially if you totally lack patience like us and start trying to sand
things too early. Most of the scoop is blemish free, but it came out of the mold a little too wavy
for our tastes, which means we're likely to end up filling and refinishing the entire
surface, which of course will take forever. We'll keep you posted.
We don't know how this happened, but our appointment with the Bureau of Automotive
Repair has been pushed out to the 28th of this month. Okay, we do know how it happened. The delay could have something to do with the
fact that we missed our first appointment. Although that was arguably not entirely our fault. But
now we're cutting it kind of close, with our temporary operating permit good only until the end of
February. We expect the remaining inspections to go along without a hitch, however, and so in our
estimation it's too soon to panic.
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