What is the boot lid lining supposed to be - mine has a hard black board type material that is screwed around the edges to the inner boot lid frame - however the middle has sagged and I do not know is this material is original or not. It could be held up with screws in the centre but there are none at the moment.
Secondly I have a tow bar fitted like the one in the pic - does anyone know the ball weight and tow capacity of this bar. The after market Haymen Reece bars are only bolted to the bumper mount points and not back under the boot floor and have a 90kg ball weight and 1200kg tow capacity.
I would expect the original to have a slightly higher tow capacity but about the same ball weight.
I have only seen Carpet on the lid lining if the Owner put it there. I’m Sure that originally the lid was lined with that cardboard stuff you have, and unless the Owner put a screw in the dead center, they ALL sag as you describe. Even the carpet in mine sags.
I haven’t gathered up the courage to try drilling in the center, Through the carpet no less, but I have been giving it some Serious Thought.
(actually, the irreplaceable paint is stopping me, as it’s Carbon Black, no longer legal in CA, maybe not anywhere.)
(‘;’)
My 83 SIII has a bare boot id. No holes or evidence of ever havong a board or carpet. the paint is shiny original Grosvenor brown. I like it that way.
Same for the bpnnett, sorta. Teh liner was awful. Akion to amangy bear rug. I tossed oit. but, the paint is dull and will not shne. oh well, it is what it is.
Why is not carbon black NLA? CA restricts the base to water, No acetone and the like. But, as far as I know, silent on pigment.
I have an SIII XJ6 (American spec) with a tow hitch on my car. I put the hitch on the car myself. It is not just attached to the bumper, but also to the floor of the boot. I suspect my “Curt” Class 1 hitch, that supposedly is rated for up to 200 lbs on the ball, and 2,000 lb towing. I have used the hitch to tow up to at least the maximum weight, but I never try to have any more tongue weight than minimum possible to keep the tongue down on the ball. I don’t want the extra weight on the suspension and it also causes the headlights to aim too high when driving. I have towed over a 1,000 lbs across the US for thousands of miles without problem. In fact, I need to replace one of the springs on my trailer due to overstressing it once or twice hauling windows and drywall sheets (or was it the thousands of pounds of flooring?) for the house we’re building.
I think the hitch will definitely haul 2,000 lbs without problem, but there are only the two attach points in the boot floor, and the two on the bottom of the bumper, so it is probably rated down to a low number to definitely not cause any boot floor and/or bumper deformation. I’ve hauled more than 2,000 lbs with it.
I don’t think these things ever sag - they are way too hard for sagging. It rather seems they are so inflexible they don’t follow the rounded shape of the boot lid enough and thereby steal quite some luggage space. That being said, they don’t even cover the rearward facing part of the boot with the light and lock housing.
If yours is missing, it may qualify as the least relevant departure from original condition;-)
On the boot lining - what you describe is what I have - it has sagged possible due to our poor roads and high temps. I will take mine out and lay out in the sun o try and get some shape back into it and look at also supporting it in the centre not just on the outside.
