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UPDATE:
I have posted below how I built my own cover. Now, no one will ever have reason to suspect that my 28-year-old Honda contains valuables!
https://www.3geez.com/forum/showpost....06&postcount=8
original thread follows.
Quote:
Originally Posted by huntz0r
They did have them, and I've plundered and sold a couple in the past. It's near impossible to find a decent one, most have deteriorated and split or faded badly. If you can find one though in any kind of shape, it should be pretty easy to reinforce it, repair it, and re-cover it to look as good as new.
Figured as much. Seems like the best route would be to make one, then. I'm thinking cheap pegboard wrapped in speaker box carpet. If I do that, I'll write it up.
I'm not as clear on how to secure the piece. Does it just sit loose in those channels next to the speakers, or are there supposed to be clips there?
Here ya go:
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...REAR+SHELF+3DR
Now that I've seen this, I remember now that there is a part that attaches to not only the hatch, but also another part that attaches to the portion between the speakers. At least that's what I think I remember... it's been so long. I'd love to find the hatch cover for my 1gee.
lmao, $331.45?!Quote:
Originally Posted by 2ndgenguy
Dealer prices are always insane for stuff like that. $600 carpets, $150 trim panels, and on and on. They want you to just buy a new car!
It looks like the setup is about the same as on other hatches I've had. Plastic clips up front, strings on the back that hook on posts on the inside of the lift gate. I noticed today there are rubber plugs inside the lift gate, probably threaded holes where the posts would go. Of course all that stuff is long gone from factory/dealer stock.
Manual lift seems the simplest way to do this. Easy to take out, and no extra work for the poor hatch struts. It'll need the clips up front and a couple rubber stops fastened to the rear edge of the trunk to hold it in place and prevent rattles. There's probably a few items in Lowes' random hardware area that would do the job.
I've got the prototype done! Pegboard really is the perfect material for this, it makes the design so easy -- like working on graph paper.
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg46/...jpg&res=medium
Just need to find a material to cover it; I'm hoping someone makes speaker box carpet in blue, to match the interior.
I have pics so I can post the process in detail. Should be really easy for anyone to replicate who wants to, now that I've done the development. Used less than $20 in materials from Lowes, not counting a Roto-Zip bit or two, and an hour and a half but that's including a bunch of trial-and-error.
All told this cost me less than $40 and a few hours of work. It does the job, and I think it looks pretty decent!
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4973.jpg
Materials:
-48"x48" pegboard -- Lowe's calls this "tempered perforated hardboard". Usually found in lumber, next to the plywood. Have them cut it in two, with one piece measuring 23"x48".
-3/8"x3ft steel rod. Available in nickel or chrome plated varieties.
-3/8" ID clear plastic tubing. Lowe's only sells it in 10' rolls, but you need about 3'1"
-Medium zip-ties
For the covering, I bought two yards of 54" wide speaker carpet and 3M Super 77 spray adhesive from Parts Express. In hindsight, thick felt would probably work just as well, and I could have got it in blue to match the interior. The 3M spray adhesive works great in any case.
Tools:
-Something to cut pegboard. You can't really cut this stuff with a knife. I used a Roto-Zip with a Sabrecut bit, which did the job brilliantly. You could perhaps make do with a cutting wheel or even a Dremel.
-Drill and a bit about the same width as your zip-ties
-Turpentine (recommended) or 90% isopropyl alcohol for glue spray cleanup
-Awl or punch, the one on a swiss army knife will do
-Scissors
----------------------------
To start with I determined I would need 23" of depth from the rear seat to the trunk sill, so I had my piece of pegboard cut at the store. Starting with 23"x48" of pegboard, and armed with various measurements, I cut this simple shape:
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4358.jpg
Unfortunately, this didn't quite fit and needed some trimming:
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4363.jpg
There's a bit of trial and error needed here. I matched the strut tower shape well enough to fit, like so:
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4364.jpg
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4365.jpg
Not done yet. I found that I needed to notch a bit more because the cover hit the C-pillars when it was raised. You can see the second notch here:
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4369.jpg
It would of course have been easier to cut this shape in the first place. To anyone who wants to build this monstrosity, I suggest following my development above with pencil, cutting the final shape all at once, and then test-fit and do extra trimming as necessary. One nice thing is that the pegboard has all those grid holes for reference, making it easy to mirror fancy shapes from one side to the other for a nice symmetrical-looking finished product.
Anyway, it clears:
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4373.jpg
(Note spiffy "handle" cut on rear edge.)
Which brings me to the hinge rod. The rod's purpose is to provide lateral rigidity in addition to thrilling hinged-rotation action. Since it's metal and will be resting on hard plastic, a bit of squishy tubing is needed to prevent annoying rattles. Now, if you set the metal rod down in the trunk where it's obviously meant to go, you may notice it's a little short. To resolve this, before cutting the plastic tubing I brought it to the trunk and cut it a little longer than the rod to take up this slack. This will also prevent the cover shifting around and making noise.
Four zip-ties are plenty to hold the bar to the cover. You'll notice above my first attempt was to wrap the ties through the first row of peg holes and around the back, but this doesn't work very well. In fact the better way is to drill holes about 3/8" on the other side of that peg hole and mount the bar in between, which allows the cover to have a bit of overhang on the front.
Test-fit:
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4372.jpg
For the covering, I simply folded the carpet/felt over the back edge, spray-glued one side making sure to pull and press the carpet down evenly; let that dry, and repeated on the other side. Each side needs at least 30 minutes to dry before any further messing-around. I ended up doing them many hours apart. With the glue fully dry, the excess carpet can simply be trimmed off the front and sides.
Final product with the hinge rod mounted up:
http://hclar.net/pix/accord/cargo_cover/DSC_4971.jpg
wow great work looks good!:thumbup:
How heavy is that pegboard?
Nice work! Looks really good!
Probably heavier than the factory cargo cover, but not that heavy. The holes are good for weight reduction :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicktorius
If I had a pair of hatch struts that worked as well as the ones on my wagon, I'm pretty sure I could tie it to the liftgate so it would lift automatically. As it is, the supposedly new ones on there now won't even hold the liftgate up most of the time...
