gotta good trunk idea...

[nskforlife]

Hey guys. I've been trying to restore my car now since forever lol. but i noticed that under the trunk matting theres only a piece of flimsy cheap cardboard holding up the trunk.... and i dont like it. soo heres my idea.

the only thing i dont have an idea for is how to keep the board up without holding it by myself. if all else fails, i want to make my trunk more sturdy

[A20A1]

I got some plywood in the back... it adds more weight but it's nice and you can glue on some carpet. You could even cut holes in the board and stick in some tupperware bins to hold the emergency oil/radiator fluid and what not. But more carpet on the box top and then it becomes a somewhat hidden compartment.

Plywood is the only thing that withstood the in and out of heavy luggage.

[Pico]

what type of board are you going to use to replace the thin board thats there?
And thats a good idea, Im gonna have to try that

[nskforlife]

i'm gonna use 1/2 inch mdf board. i'm also gonna seal the wood with a sanding sealer to keeep it waterproof. i'm also thinking about putting some kind of rubber base on it too 1. make it grip the trunk body and also to keep rattle down. theres nothing worse than hearing your whole trunk slide to the left around a right turn.

[A20A1]

Yes, good idea

[nskforlife]

sweet. when i do it, (kinda busy working 6am-6pm mon-sat at the moment) i'll try to make som pretty good estimates on what sizes the wood needs to be.

keep the responses coming. i wanna know how everyone feels about this idea.

[RamThis]

Funny you mention it, because that was one of the things I was going to do while I was doing all the other work Im about to start on. I planned on using some of my leftover 3/8 D/D Sheathing (cheap, low quality faced plyboard used for structural sheathing on houses, yet just as strong, just not good for finish work, which doesnt matter anyway since it will be carpeted) I just planned to use the original piece as a template for the removable piece, and use some filler where needed to keep the truck floor all level for the carpet to set flush on.

Pieces you want to stay in place, you could use some clear silicone caulk to adhere them to the car.

Another nice thing is, if you use plyboard, you can attach some tie-downs to the floor, like boat moorings or some of those countersunk ring tie dows, and buy one of those tubes of assorted bungee cords to keep in the trunk. When you get an odd item that you want to put in the trunk but dont want it rolling and flopping around, you can secure it with some bungee straps.

[A18A]

lol i have 2 pieces of plywood in my boot aswell :P

[nskforlife]

ya i was thinking of that. i work at a paint store and could get me som clear rubberized silicone to put on it for dirt cheap, maybe even free. and just use a caulk gun and put it right back on the shelf. HeHe then i might put back the oem carpet back in the trunk to see how it looks.

[A20A1]

just use the tar that goes on the caps to acces the fuel pump... thats always yummy stuff

[RamThis]

just use the tar that goes on the caps to acces the fuel pump... thats always yummy stuff

yeah I'm about to figure out what that stuff is all about this weekend....

[MessyHonda]

yeah that is a nice idea....my uncle was looking for the fuel pump when he put his hand in the flimsy stuff just riped....i was not mad since my plans were to put a sheet of plywood. im going to take pics of mine. i just walked in with 20 bucks in my hand to home depot and got a sheet of 1/2inch plywood and a hand saw...it came out clean....i droped water and coolent and the wood just turn a bit green...it also came in handy when i had 2 10 inch subs...you can screw them down for sequrity and like that they wont slide all over the place.

[nskforlife]

just use the tar that goes on the caps to acces the fuel pump... thats always yummy stuff

while this would get the job done. That stuff is a MESS!!!!! i just put some of that on a leaking roof today. No Way would i mess with that stuff for inside my car. i'm just gonna use some clear silicone adhesive caulk and i also tweaked the plans. the side hinges are not gonna be there. i have enough room to lift up the compartment without these being in the way. i'm gonna get some cardboard cutouts for measurements probably monday or tuesday. i'll post them on here.

[HondaBoy]

sounds like you have a good idea for making that trunk piece. so, your car's trunk floor piece was cardboard? mine is a plastic sheet. kinda flemsy, but its not too bad. considering my speaker box sits on it.

[nskforlife]

plastic??? i've never seen that. i drive a lx and i have never seen a plastic piece at any junkyards. plastic would be better than cheap ole cardboard. i'm gonna use 1/2" mdf board from home depot. a 4'x8' sheet goes for a little less than 20$. and i might even make a sub box for the sides with the excess and fiberglass it off.

[mkymonkey]

there was a thread on how to do this on 7thgencivic....hmm


ok i found it:

http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...59#post3159559

kinda gives you a general idea on how to do it

[RamThis]

I love that design!!

Only question is, what is that carpet type material he used? Looks like it doesnt have an actual backing so it would be more flexible for odd curves.

Where can you get it at???

[HostileJava]

That page isn't loading for me, is there site just having issues?

[RamThis]

Just checked and the link works ok for me still....

[mkymonkey]

the stuff he used was the carpeting that they sell on crutchfield. give me a sec and ill get the link for ya

link for the carpeting used

[HondaBoy]

hmm, ill take a pic of the trunk piece thats in my car.

[mkymonkey]

well fuck it ill just post the info here

I did this cause I wanted a sexy, functional trunk, that allowed EASY access to my spare tire. Hope this gets stickied and added to DIY section!

Warning: There is alot of reading here, so I hope it is more in-depth than you need. Don't think i'm talking down to you, I just want to make this as easy to understand as possible. Hope you guys like.

-----------------------------------------
Part I

Suplies Needed:

• Large uncut piece of MDF, or other strong wood. If buying MDF get 1/2" or 3/4". I used 3/4".
• Carpeting (Link to carpeting I used, from crutchfield.com )
• 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, or comprable adhesive (worked well for this kind of carpeting)
• Wire, Wire, more Wire. Power, Ground, Signal, Amp turn-on, etc.
• Wire management (distribution block(s), etc)
• Wire ends!!!! Get em!
• Zip Ties
• my email address: diskreet(at)gmail.com
• Many, many screws. Like 10+ wood scerws, and 5+ metal screws. More is better!
• Set of hinges. 4 or 6 screw hinges from lowes for like $5 will do.
• L brackets, from lowes. small 4 screw ones are fine. About $5.
• Handle, also about $5 at lowes. MAKE SURE THE SCREWS ARE ABOUT 1" LONG!!!

Tools Needed:

• Screwdrivers, all kinds. More is better here also :p
• Cordless Drill
• Batteries for drill
• Pliers
• Jig saw
• Circular saw
• Horses
• Flashlight
• Zip Ties
• Safety Goggles
• SHARP razor
• Shears for carpet
• pens, markers, paper for designing and sketching
• other stuff I am forgetting!
• Dremel

Remove everything from trunk; including the plasic piece surrounding the latch hook, the carpeting, the floor, the spare and tools, and the carpeting on the sides. Keep all screws and mounting hardware from the removal.

Take the Carpet that covered the floor board before. Place it over your MDF and trace the edge of the carpet onto your MDF. Leave a few inches of clearence on each of the 3 sides and the 4th should be about 1/2 in the large piece of wood you have.

UPDATE: Here is a pic with the sizes I used (all measurements are rounded to the nearest 1/2". I also measured these after putting the carpet on! Yours may be a bit smaller:


Using the circular saw, cut off the other like 1/2 of the MDF which you will not need. This is the part with nothing stenciled on it. If you dont understand me here I dont think you need to go any firther with this project. :p

Now that you have a more managable piece of wood with less edge space, get out the Jig Saw.

Saw the odd little shape out, taking your time with each bend. If you cut a little off its perfectly OK! When you carpet over you will not see the mess-ups, but try to sand/dremel and edges to something smooth. Especially where the wood chips off, which it will.

Test fit the cut out MDF you have now, it should somewhat fit in there well.

Put the side carpeting back on (vertical, with lips touching the floor of trunk) and put the wood back in. Because of the lip of this stiff carpet type stuff, it will not fit perfectly, but thats ok. thats what the razor is for later.


Mark lines on each side of the wood to get something like this shape here:

Make sure that the pieces you cut will be supported on each side by the floor! We dont want you making the middle too skinny and falling in!!!!
I recommend 33" wide in a sedan trunk!

Obviously get out the circular saw and cut these pieces out.

Test fit again, this time with the spare tire in its place!

Put sub box in this time. Make a line a few inches in front of box, but make sure if you cut there that you will have enough room to get the spare out with only the front piece open!

Remove, and cut on that line. Now test fit one more time to make sure!

One last piece to cut, if you want it like mine. Measure from the top of the MDF floor you created in the side corner right in front of the tail light to the top of the trunk interior. measure the rough width of the area you are working in. With a 3/4" MDF floor I used a piece 14 1/2" x 18" in my sedan.

Ok so take it out, its time to carpet!

To carpet place one piece of wood at a time over the carpet. Cut out the piece with about 1 1/2" - 2" extra all around. I recommend getting all pieces cut first then carpeting.

Spray the Carpet and wood with a medium coat of adhesive. let get tacky for about 1-2 mins. Spray again then apply the carpet. make sure you pull tight over the whole piece and smooth on so you dont get bubbles and wrinkles.
If you have tight corners cut a slit in the carpet and cut excess so it doesnt fold on itself. any parts that lift just spray over and push hard, keeping pressure until it is set.


Let set for a while - 15 mins+.

Now lets get the handle on. Cut some carpeting away in that area and drill 2 holes just big enough to get the handle screws in. Rest is self explanitory.



Now lets get the razor out for some fun. Too bad I dont have any good pics for this. Pretty much just put the wood back into place in the trunk, with all carpeting and trim in place. Using the razor cut any spots of carpet that prevent the MDF floor you made from lieing flat. Usually any place the carpeting sidewall stuff curves horizontally to touch the floor cut it off. Now everything sits very level.


Now take the 2 middle piece out and install the hinges. Drill + screws + common sense = finished installing hinges. You may want to drill countersunk pilot holes before carpeting but good luck finding them later.


Put the spare back in now, and the tools if you want, since the wood is staying in place now.

Run all wires you the side now, behind the carpeting stuff that makes the "sides" of the trunk. Dont cut anything yet...

Put the box in now, using L brackets to secure it. I nice trick is mock-mount everything and mark the edge of the L brackets, seating them under the box like I did. Now take the box out. Keep the L brackets in place and screw them in using screws and the drill.
After that you want to put the box back in and screw in to the L brackets. The reason we did this is so you dont have the bottom of the L bracket sticking out, the box is actually sitting ON it! Good idea eh?

So we are down to the home stretch; the amplifier (and possibly capacitor too.)

Mock fit the wood into place. What we want to do it first take the carpeted wood piece we cut earlier and make sure your amp fits well on it. If so we are ready to proceed.


Cut a nice complete slit in the carpeting on the wall, so we can place this new piece we made behind it. You can drill holes in the carpet to run wires through to the front or just cut it and glue it to our board later on like I did. Either way works, but Maybe the way I didn't do it will look cleaner.

This is the hard part: The way I mounted the board is slightly tricky. 2 L brackets on the bottom are no problem, but the top is another story. With the board in place the very top should be resting on a large metal tab of the inner trunk frame usually hidden behind the carpet. You need to get a screw through the wood and the metal to secure this in. It took me many many tries to get it in the metal and a burn or two but if you have a helper hold the wood firmly into place you are set! Once mounted plug in the amp and mount (screw) it on.

to be continued......

[mkymonkey]

Like in the pic you want to get everything routed nicely. Spray carpet adhesive and trim as necessary to get the carpet into place over the piece we made that the amp is mounted on.


If you want the amp lit like mine replace your bulb with an LED bulb from LEDautomotive.com cause it shies right over in that direction.
Night Shot:


Clean up and enjoy!!!






-----------------------------------------
Part II

Here is how you can secure your tools and your spare tire for $5
Parts needed:

• Hard foam block (Wal*Mart sells them for under $5)
• Marker
• X-acto knife
• Optional: Drill with hole cutting bits (for spare lug nuts)

Make sure the foam fits in the trunk under the wood floor. If not, cut it down to size.
Lay everything out on top of the foam and figure where you want it. When you have it all in place, outline everything with the marker.
Remove everything from the foam.
Use the knife to cut along the lines you drew on the foam.
Put the knife in a slit you cut and turn it. It should take out the foam in chunks.
If you carry anything round (fuses, lug nuts, wheel lock key, etc) use a drill to drill out holes, a little smaller than the object, about 1/2 way down the foam.
When you have the foam with all the little channels for the tools, test fit everything. Make some adjustments as necessary.
When you are finished you will have this:







To keep it in place put a sponge between the foam and the spare tire. It will all stay in place perfectly. Enjoy!

[mkymonkey]

Like in the pic you want to get everything routed nicely. Spray carpet adhesive and trim as necessary to get the carpet into place over the piece we made that the amp is mounted on.


If you want the amp lit like mine replace your bulb with an LED bulb from LEDautomotive.com cause it shies right over in that direction.
Night Shot:


Clean up and enjoy!!!






-----------------------------------------
Part II

Here is how you can secure your tools and your spare tire for $5
Parts needed:

• Hard foam block (Wal*Mart sells them for under $5)
• Marker
• X-acto knife
• Optional: Drill with hole cutting bits (for spare lug nuts)

Make sure the foam fits in the trunk under the wood floor. If not, cut it down to size.
Lay everything out on top of the foam and figure where you want it. When you have it all in place, outline everything with the marker.
Remove everything from the foam.
Use the knife to cut along the lines you drew on the foam.
Put the knife in a slit you cut and turn it. It should take out the foam in chunks.
If you carry anything round (fuses, lug nuts, wheel lock key, etc) use a drill to drill out holes, a little smaller than the object, about 1/2 way down the foam.
When you have the foam with all the little channels for the tools, test fit everything. Make some adjustments as necessary.
When you are finished you will have this:







To keep it in place put a sponge between the foam and the spare tire. It will all stay in place perfectly. Enjoy!

[A18A]

i like that foam thingy idea, thats pretty clever