Rear Bulkhead

I have been mulling over how to efficiently fit the rear bulkhead, given a lot of people have said it is a pig of a job and it invariably buckles and a lot of masking tape is needed to prevent scratching the other panels. As mine has a dent in it and will probably be replaced, I decided to have an experiment. Because the top of the panel is folded over slightly, you will always get a buckle to some extent - also, because of the cutout for the transmission tunnel, the middle is the weakest part, again contributing to the buckle. The trick is to minimize this. one of the other builders online suggested bending the panel around something curved (I think he mentioned his butt - water butt that is), which got me thinking.

So here is the solution. I tied a knot in the end of a piece of electrical wire and threaded it through one of the rivet holes in the bulkhead from the front. I used one of the holes halfway down the side, I then stretched the wire across the back of the bulkhead and threaded it through the corresponding hole on the other side. I then pulled it tight, so as to bend the bulkhead like a bow, until the length of the wire measured just under 40" (that is the width of the inside of the chassis frame), then bent the wire over to hold the bow in the panel. It was then straightforward to put it into place, with no scratching of the other panels at all (no masking tape needed), and finally release the wire. Removal is the reverse of fitting (where have I heard that before?).

So, here is the process in pictures:

1) first, thread a wire through one of the rivet holes from the front (here is the knot I put in it):

2) pull tight, like a bow (I used wire so it would be easy to hold the tension just by bending the wire back at the other end):

3) ensure that you are just under 40":

4) insert bulkhead, with no damage to the other panels, and minimal buckling. Then remove wire, once the panel is completely in place:

Only the slightest amount of buckling in the middle, which will go away, once riveted. It took less than 5 minutes to do.

You can see the dent in the lower right hand side as we look at it. I know it will be behind the seat, but it won't be covered with carpet and I will know it is there - which is why I am waiting for a replacement from Westfield.