Some of us have suffered from damaged Tool Trays due to the Differential hitting the lowest part of the Tool Tray Profile and, in my case, punching a hole in it.
Having seen Nick Taylor's marvelous Aluminium Tool Tray a few of us have request Nick to have extra Trays made for us.
These Two Drawings from Nick, give the dimensions he used for the Roadster 100. He points out that Owners of other models should cross check them with their car.
The manufacturer, Kevin, will tailor one to fit your needs if you speak to him about it.
Cross Section
I have only just made time to fit mine but before I did I decided to add an enhancement of my own. Hopefully it will prove to be useful, but if not, I can always remove it without too much trouble.
In my loft, which I am in the process of clearing 32 years of clutter I found a single sheet of 1mm thick Fiberboard which I have used in my past to make Long Life Patterns for Garment Making.
When I checked the current version I was astounded to discover that The Supplier Morpan charge for a single sheet £32.95 +VAT and they have changed the colour to red.
Not being an engineer, my design is a little 'Heath Robinson' and my Very Rough Sketches were subject to many alterations and I discovered how the board reacted to being folded.
Scribbles and Scrawling.
My Plan was to make a series of Box like Trays which each fitted a section of the Tool Tray so that any items stored there would be contained within its Tray.
Not wanting to commit too much time and material before being happy with the idea, I decided to make the Smallest Tray first.
Here are the First Two trays in place.
The Staples used to fix the corners proved to be a nightmare to insert requiring quite a few 2nd and 3rd goes before getting a 'perfect' staple.
The Largest tray needed the full length of my Sheet of Board and even then there had to be a slight compromise on the depth of the end sections to get it to fit.
This Close Up shows the deep 'Stanley Knife scoring needed to both provide a guide for cutting and to aid the folding process.
Here is the Folded and Stapled Deep Tray - You can see the compromise shorter end piece.
Here among the junk in my bedroom office you can see the Large Tray
The Last Tray type to make and fit is the Large Side Tray of which there are also two.
Here is the cut piece of one of them ready to fold and staple.
Here is the Toll Rack with all Seven Trays fitted in position.
The Last Part of my assembly process is to use this High Adhesive Duct Tape to fix the Trays together and in place.
Another 'Heath Robinson' method which may not hold up over time.
Before this stage I have taken the Tray back to the Car and drilled Five Fixing Screw Holes.
The Three Front Holes line up with the Screw Hole locations of the Original Tray.
This Frame is only 1/2in wide offering little room for manoeuvre.
The Back Two Holes are New Holes in the Upright part of the Back Support Frame which is only 3/4in deep
This stage is to apply strips of adhesive sponge which in my case was left over from fitting a Sink Unit but Adhesive Draft Excluding Strip would provide the same 'Leveling' function.
My Hood Supporting Rig allows me to work with maximum space.
Here is the Tool Tray fixed in place. Before fixing it I took the opportunity to Spray my Leaf Springs with Castrol Aerosol Motorcycle Grease.
I decided to make the Rear Fixing right through the Lining Tray.
The Side Fixing using the existing Screw Holes is a Temporary Fix using two old French Coins which already had a Centre Hole. I did not have any Penny Washers or Shaped Brackets.
The Side Supports on the New Tray were too narrow to reach the existing Screw Holes and the overlap with the Wood Frame is less than 1/2in each side so too risky to drill new holes.
Here is the finished job loaded with all of the items that I took from the original tray.
Jack
Jack Handle
Mallet
Wheel Nut Spanner
There is still plenty of extra usable space for additional items.
The white pad fixed in the centre is an A4 Square of Plastic Foam which will provide a buffer with the lid to stop it rattling
I have taken the project one stage further to eliminate the Tea Towels seen in the Photo above.
I like to make Drawstring Bags from Waterproofed Nylon Fabric. My plan was to make bags for the Jack, The Mallet and the Spanner with a Lining made from the Toweling.
The Bag for the Jack Handle is made unlined.
The Bag for the Jack Handle is made unlined.
Here is the Bag made for the Jack.
Now the Jack is tucked up inside.
The Jack Handle, The Mallet and The Spanner Bags.
The Jack Bag is seen in the Top of the Photo.
All Four Bags located in the deep trough along with the Warning Triangle Red Box
I hope this proves useful
Frank Lomax
The Morgan Centenary Roadster 100 Register
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