My MKII trunk lid has an overly sharp curve from the top to the vertical section in back. Before I ask my question, here is a complete description of my current situation;

  • The car is up on jackstands and level.
    The body is attached to the car at all eight lower side bolt points, the rear quickjacks, the pin for the trunk latch, the front quickjacks, and the front body bolts. The windshield is not in but that should not affect the trunk at all.
    I'm using the stock FFR hinges. They're in and snugged down.
    I am using Mike Everson's D-seal but haven't put it in yet. I will put it in with masking tape for final fitment prior to paint, but for right now I'm just trying to get close.
    I have not completed the sanding of the panel gap all around, but it is close enough that I can see where I'm going to have my issue.
    With the rest of the trunk positioned properly in relation to the body -- all lined up from trunk lid to body -- the lower edge in back is "pulled in" about .250" across the entire trunk lid.
    The aluminum insert on the underside of the trunk lid is pretty dramatically pulled away from the main glass. The separated glass is much lighter in color than the regular glass, and is translucent. I can see that at the back, the aluminum is separated by about .250 from the underlying main glass.
    I tried gently heating the trunk and trying to expand the curve, but it just isn't happening, not with the aluminum holding it in shape.
    I don't want to just fill the trunk out to close the gap, because 1) that's a lot of filler, and 2) I would still have an issue with weatherstripping (right now I have to force the trunk over the inner edge of the body a bit, scraping it, to get it to close).


So here are my specific question;

Is the aluminum trunk liner absolutely required? What happens if I cut it out and leave it out? I think I could gently heat the piece and bend it if the aluminum wasn't there.

Thanks for any help, and thanks for this extremely cool project.

AJ