Is my floor screwed or are the knockoff battery buckets just this crappy?

[Merlin]

I am at a point where I can weld the battery box/bucket into the floor of my mini. I have had to cut out the section closest to the lid and replace it with a knockoff patch panel and followed the curve of the floor as best as I could. I have the battery box sitting flush as possible, but it just isn't spot on by any means. There are some signifigant sections sticking up that will need to be cut down. I am questioning if the floor curvature is correct, but have a feeling that its just a shitty box issue.

Anyone else experience this? cut the box to match the floor curve? You can see in the pics the line drawn that follows the curve of the current floor.

[94touring]

Last one I did I had to bang/pull the floor up to meet the box in a few areas as well. 

[Merlin]

This ones it off by quite a bit though. At least 3/4" in some places.

[94touring]

As was mine.  It was a pita.  Keep in mind it just holds a battery and spare tire.  Do what you gotta do to get things flush for welding. 

[Merlin]

I went back to the dictating source of the floor curvature...The battery cover. My floor is the right curve, so the box will need to get cut to match.

I am unfortunately too anal-retentive to bash the floor up to meet it. If its not perfect, it gets re-done over and over at my house. Remember my rear shelf? I still stare at that for 5 mins a night and decided if I want to cut it out because it has a few speaker holes in it.

[94touring]

Compare it to the shell I have in there too.  Might be able to sit the box inside the other box and note any differences. 

[Merlin]

That old box is long gone.
Ill look at the other shell, but there is a bunch of junk in the boot. I know that the boot battery cover sits flush with the floor now and since it covers the battery and the box, it will dictate the shape. I need to make a flange tool anyway for when I tub the rear wheels, so ill just use that on the battery box. Ill pie cut the front and back so that the tab stays in the same place and then use a flange tool to straighten out the right side to fit.

Weld it in and move on.

[jeff10049]

I bought a new box for my car and the fit was so poor that I sent it back and made my own. I would have had to cut it like you have marked that was OK but one side was also 3/8" too long to go in the hole so I gave up on it.

[Merlin]

I can't believe I am saying this, but my hole is a little longer than stock as I got a little lazy with the floor patch. With that said, it gets covered by the new box, but barely. I flattened the floor out in a few spots and dollied flat the flanges where required and bent the box back to the right shape.