Dang cardboard glovebox

[Guest Shiin]

The inside of my glovebox is a little squishy and I tore a hole in it and was wondering could a metal one be made and be placed inside to replace the cardboard one

[DavyZ]

Cripes, yes it can! I found a Z website a while ago (can't remember where ) that documented how the owner took the old, stinky, worm-eaten cardboard thingie and used it as a template to fab a metal one.

 

This is what he did:

 

1) Removed the old carboard unit INTACT as much as possible.

2) Unfolded it and placed it flat on paper to make a good, accurate template with straight lines.

3) Used the template to trace a pattern on mild sheetmetal (it was a rather thin gauge metal if I remember correctly).

4) Folded the metal into shape and sprayed it with a wrinkle-finish paint or undercoating (it was textured).

5) Installed the glovebox and he was finished.

 

I think you could get away with step #2 if you wanted, but I think it would be helpful. This is a seemingly easy way to improve a bad box--I will certainly be doing the same if the glovebox I get is even the slightest bit ugly.

 

One reason the box was made with carboard was to keep the noise down in the glovebox. If you think items sliding around in a metal box will be too loud for you, you can always insulate the box or rubberize the inside, etc. Use your imagination, Shiin, the sky is the limit!

 

Davy

[Guest zfan]

I bought a new one that was not rotted out for twelve bucks. MSA last years sale.

 

zfan..Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

Hehehe , Hahaha , Hohoho , Davy you slay me, take the glovebox out 'Intact'... hahahahaha ... Sorry... hehe... My personal experience when I moved it to take it out and pooooooof a pile of dust... Seriously though they don't take to handling very well after 30 years...

 

To those contemplating it (myself included) you only need to measure the I.D. in both directions and the depth you need and then armed with those measurements... You lay out a big X (with a rectangular center hub) basically, the legs will all be the same length (the depth of your glove box area) and the center will be the size of your glove box. Do this layout on a piece of cardboard or posterboard.

 

Once your happy with it, transfer to sheet aluminum and cut with hand tinsnips or a jig saw and file the edges. Thin galvanized sheet steel from Home depot for example will also work great, you could even tack weld the seams that way if you wanted. Just file back the galvanization and hold your head out of the smoke in a well ventilated area as you tack weld it.

 

Sheetmetal tip: drill a small hole (1/8th" or smaller) at each inside corner of your 'X', and then cut to the hole, this will create a professional looking corner and also will reduce the chance of the cut corner following the bend and cracking along it. This is more important with aluminum if that is what you use.

 

You can get creative and create little tabs to pop rivet the seams together on two of the legs. To bend without a press brake, just lay the sheet on the bench, put a piece of something straight and solid along your fold line, clamp it down and then just lift up the sheet. If needed a wooden mallet can be used to tap it against the hold-down to sharpen up the radius. Being as its a box this will be tricky to fold all the legs but not impossible.

 

Once you get the crease in it, you can usually bend it the rest of the way by hand with just a little more radius in the corner than using a press brake. If you are a true racer, you can even just duct tape the seams inside and out (why not its meant to stick on sheetmetal a eternity.... ). Sorry this post got so long, but you're probably used to that from me by now.

 

There you are, Glovebox Sheetmetal 101, move to the head of the class.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

 

Ps: Have I done this yet? Nope, but I know it works, I've done other sheetmetal projects recently off templates. Good luck.

[fl327]

even easier, go to a jy and grab a plastic one out of a 280. cheap. no fab except maybe some drilling. mine disintegrated and i havent replaced it yet.

[jeromio]

That's what I thought. I paid $5 for a plastic box from a 280 in excellent shape. Except that it won't work with the 240 dash. I have pondered cutting it up to make it work, but, I think it would be easier to just make a sheet metal one.

[Guest Shiin]

Thanks for the help guys, I did take apart what was left of my glovebox and unfolded it and I'm in the process of making a sheetmetal one.