Luggage Compartment Strap

I think they're rivets, which makes me wonder how you mount the new strap. Someone on this forum replaced his fake leather straps with real leather ones. I don't know how he attached them within the compartment though. I'd be interested in that too. Fake leather is pretty lame for cars of this caliber. Even rubber would be better than imitation leather.

 

I changed my belts out a couple months ago. Yes those are pop rivets and take a #30 drill bit and follow the dimple straight into the body "Right angle to the river".

New rivets and pop them in place.

 

Do you need a special tool to pop in the rivets? Never "riveted" anything.

 

Why on earth did you order a new OEM (crap garbage) strap!!!!

For the price of just one OEM strap, you could have all straps made in new, real leather. The pop rivet tool is inexpensive along with the rivets. Not hard to drill out the old and install the new. I recommend using washers to spread the load and backup against the panels. Also should replace the crap hardware buckles for better quality ones (wish I did that when I had my straps made).

Good Luck

 

I have this happened to me? Anyone know the rivet size?

 

It's a bigger job than it first appears but a really simple one to do right and lots of wiggle room to learn here. There is a metal plate behind the rivets that you will not see until you remove the trunk liner. This is a fun puzzle that you may enjoy. Make sure to get yourself some masking tape that you can write on with a marker and take your time with the removal process. Label everything! Go slow.

I think the 430 is like the 360 in that you must remove the rubber trim piece that seals the whole thing from water, etc. Get your shop vac ready because there is this "sealer/glue/stuff" that may go everywhere when you remove the rubber trim.

I think the rear most panel has to be removed first and pay attention to the screws that come out because there are different sizes! To make it easy I would just take a screw out and tape it right to the carpet where it came out. Seems silly but it's your car, enjoy the process.

When you remove the carpet part that has your bad strap on it you will see that behind the panel there is a metal plate with a hole in it that helps the pop rivet "squeeze". Pop rivets are easy to work with and cheap. Good luck, post up any problems and folks can walk you thru.

 

It's a metric size just a bit smaller than 1/8". Of course you can chase the hole with a drill bit to make it work perfectly but I think I was able to force a 1/8 aluminum rivet through to get it started. I can't recall now.

Disclaimer: my experience is with the 360 and I have a good rivet tool that can be man-handled.

 

I've done this recently on my F430. Here's what I did.

Supplies:
- Belt with 9 holes: https://www.bullhidebelts.com/collections/black-bullhide-belts/products/black-smooth-edge-bullhide-belt-one-inch-wide
- 1/8" Screw-On Rivets: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KFBLV8
- 1/4" Screw-On Rivets: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E5XSS6
- Skiver: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036KZ9KC
- Hole Puncher: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F27AMI
- V-Shaped Stamper: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0177NKLR4
- Mallet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MWVAUUA
- Cutting Board: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SJV0XC
- Black Leather Dye: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HHM20M
- (Optional) Black Felt: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054G5XA2

First you have to remove the panel that houses the strap. This can be done with the supplied OEM hex wrench. Note the screw lengths so you put it back together correctly. I didn't have to remove any rubber seals. This part was actually really easy, but you may need some force to get it out once all the screws are off.

Basically I used a dremel to remove the old rivets. Then I used the existing (broken) strap as a guide for cutting into the new belt's shape and length. When you cut the belt into 2 pieces, save the middle part to test the other leather tools. Replace the bullhide belt's belt loop and buckle with the OEM hardware (you can leave everything alone and use the new hardware). When done, use the black rivets to secure it down. You will need to use a skiver to thin the leather a bit because the bullhide leather belt is a lot thicker and optionally dye it back to black. Also skiv the ends that will be attached to the car. Be gentle with the skiver and test it on some scrap pieces first. If you shave too much, you'll need a new belt...

Now use the V-shaped stamp to match the shape and length of the OEM strap on the other end. Test it out on the scrap leather first. Practice practice practice to get the cleanest cut!

Making sure the end are beveled / thinned using the skiver, punch holes matching where they belong on the OEM strap. I personally skivved the entire belt because it's so thick and then dyed the cut leather black. You may need to use a drill/dremel to make the holes of the OEM metal plates a bit bigger. Then use the 1/4" metal rivets to secure down tightly to the panel. Optionally cut small felt pieces to hide the screws/rivets if you want. Finally re-attach the whole thing back to the trunk with the hex screws, remembering the correct lengths for each hole.

The new belt is impressively strong. I don't think it'll ever break again.