Single piece of plywood that has a (double)piano hinge at the bottom and leather belts up top.
Carpet that matches the trunk covering the plywood using basic techniques to avoid ripples for a traditional look. Or you can take the thing to a shop and have them lay some special material or inlay over the plywood.

You place the hinge on the battery side out of sight of course and double hinge it using bolts/nuts in the center section so the panel will lay flat.
If your using a wet battery stuff it in a box and vent it out the wheel well.

It is a basic setup that works and allows easy access. In the event you drop the battery on the plywood during removal/installation it will take the hit better then something fabricated out of thin steel or plastic.

 

Thank you for the advise... I'm going back and forth on doing like you said and hinging a door... or option 2, using a pull out with strong magnets.
Do you have any pictures of how you did yours. Thanks again

 

A high strength commercial Velcro is more than adequate to hold an upholstery panel in if you can make a few mounting flanges.

John

 

There are some very strong industrial type self adhesive Velcro products out there. I installed some on a fire truck that is still working well. That said, the price of that Velcro was through the roof. Not cost effective at all.

 

Looks better in person than in pictures, but still not happy with my fitment and design. I didn't account enough gap for material and they are hard to get in and out. Plus I didn't take enough out for hinges. The material is causing them to hit. I may have to start from scratch since the hinges are messing my material up.

 

Amazing work on the stitching.

Is the material pulled and stapled on the back or is it glued? If Stapled you should be able to remove a bit from the top and hinge area before try pulling it tight once again to avoid redoing the thing.



If glued don't throw the thing across the shop just yet.


You can try pulling the piece of trim then cutting the material along the trim line.
Throw a heat gun on the material and pull it off sanding the area smooth(mostly removing glue here) then make your adjustments to the hinge area and top. Lay down new material and cover the cut hiding it behind the new trim to avoid making the thing from scratch.

Doing it a few times to get it how you want is part of customizing anything. Enjoy it as a process. If your happy cutting the thing behind the trim and the results then you saved all that stitching work. If doing it bugs you afterward you have the skills to make it from scratch at any time.

 

Thanks for the advise...definitely some good points to think about.

 

Redone my trunk panels in Dads car...it looks blue in some of the pictures, but it's actually charcoal grey. Has two removable panels.

One for jumper cables and fuses and the bigger panel comes out to remove battery. All held in with magnets. Haven't got carpet to finish floorboard.

The old panel was a pain to take in and out and was getting damaged. Just did something easy and user friendly for Dad.

 

Couple more pictures of the hard pleats. Used PVC board to make pleats.

 

Finally done... Now time to give her a bath.

 

Trunk

I like to do some traveling in my '39 2 door humpback (read: small trunk) and need to carry some spare parts, cleaners, paperwork and tools. Due to very limited space the battery ended up in the trunk too. What to do to make it look "non-ugly"? Went to a junk shop and got an OLD suitcase, put travel stickers on it and filled it with spare parts, cleaners and paperwork. Battery cover was done the same way and behind the suitcase is a full tool kit strapped to the wall. In a pinch the straps could be used for towing. On a trip only room for a couple of chairs and an AWOL bag.

 

Looks great, I like that look... I wanted to do a suit case look, but Dad wanted as much room as he could get. 2 lawn chairs is about all that will fit. His only 2 demands were easy access to battery and don’t lose any trunk space. LOL