With the latch attached to the floor, it was time to work on the trunk lid portion of the assembly.
The trunk lid needed a portion of the inner structure cut away to clear the latch and cover on the trunk floor. Once the cuts were made so the trunk lid would close all the way, the location of the striker was established and hole was drilled in the inner frame sheet metal. After a great deal of trial and error, a nut was welded to the sheet metal. At last, the trunk closed and latched. Now that the location is known, the opening will be boxed in and a permanent nut will be welded in place.
The good news is that the striker barely extends past the inner surface of the inner panel of the trunk lid. No where close to the tail hook I would have had to build for the other style latch. I fell a lot better about this arrangement over what I had previously put in.
