Rear Seat Delete/Replacement

[WCN621]

Having my 84’ for 10 years, I’ve found the rear seat is pretty much useless. Since I am replacing my interior, I’ve decided to make it a little more “custom” to fit my lifestyle and needs. I did a bit of research looking at other “rear-seat deletes” and happened upon RocketWrench’s post - Scoundrel, not Outlaw. Loved the finished storage, so decided to make my own. Rocket Wrench’s pic below.



So, I’ll start down the path to create my own. I’ll build a prototype first, so the finished cabinet fits properly.

[WCN621]

Here’s what I started with.

I’ve pulled the back panel, as well as, other interior panels to be recovered and shipped them off to the upholsterer. Whoa, mistake… but too late. I forgot to measure between the side panels while they were still in. Well, it’s going to be a prototype. First step, making a template.

[WCN621]

Decided to use 5/8” marine plywood, since there aren’t any gaps in the wood and will hold up to any moisture, especially when I bend the wood. Took the cardboard template that I scored to determine the curve & height and transferred to plywood. Experimenting in making the correct curve, I cut slots in the plywood, hopefully deep enough so when bending, I get a smooth surface. I decided to pre-cut the sides of the lid so I wouldn’t have to try to cut when it’s bent.

Made a makeshift tank and submerged the wood. I used load binders to help bend the wood and ratcheted about every hour a little more to increase the curve, hoping to not split the wood. We’ll see tomorrow how it turned out when I pull it out.

[WCN621]

Started to take off ratchets, but saw the shape wasn’t holding. Added glue into the cut slots that allowed the wood to bend. Really happy with shape, but got ridges across the wood where the cuts weren’t quite deep enough. Guess I can sand those off, but also realized that the arches weren’t even, so it is a little twisted. Test fitted in backseat and needs some additional support along the sides. Hard to tell if it is wide enough without the side trim panels.

[BCBarker]

Nice! If you wanted to redo it, make a form from MDF and laminate thin 1/8” bendy ply over the form. The bent lamination will be way stronger than what you just did. You’ll be able to stand on it without framing.

I like this concept for the rear seat delete


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tops911]

Impressive!

[WCN621]

Thanks all. Even considering making this fiberglass, although my woodworking skills are better. Have been doing some sourcing on the luggage rails, not easy to find something that matches the look and is not plastic or cheap Chinese junk. Finally found that MG uses similar ones on their running boards but are much longer(many, many searches on the net). Abington Spares sells the trim, not cheap, but provides the look I want. Will have to see how to attach, once I get them.

[WCN621]

Cut the lid out of the rear seat delete, noting that the entire panel is slightly warped, it’s even more so with the lid out. Edges don’t match up evenly and gaps are exaggerated with the cut lid. Tried out some hinges and with warping, closes unevenly. Will have to go with a piano style hinge to help maintain stability too.

[Showdown]

Chiming in a bit late, and with a comment that would have been best at the outset… oh well

Having built a lot of bentwood furniture the best way to approach this is with a mule and laminating veneer. There’s really no other way to ensure an even and unwarped piece.

Yes, it’s more work but the results will be better and you’ll have the capacity to make more with less effort.

Another approach that’s not necessarily less labor intensive but doesn’t result in an extra mule is to fabricate the shape out of foam and then cover it with fiberglass, then body filler. This is super lightweight, can be made really smooth and allows complex compound shapes that laminating veneer has a hard time with.

Rigid foam insulation from home centers can be glued together to make the shape, it cuts and sands really well and it’s super cheap. The one catch is that you have to use epoxy resins as they won’t melt the foam.

The water-bent plywood approach will always want to return to a flatter state and I fear you’re going to continue to see distortion as it’s exposed to heat and humidity changes.

[Dpmulvan]

Go to your lumber supplier and get a 4/8 sheet of mahogany luan. To bend use a steel pipe with a propane or other torch with flame in each end of pipe. Take piece to be bent and mist water on bend area drape over hot pipe, cover bend area of wood with a steel strap and put pressure on it. Repeat as needed.
I use this method for guitar and mandolin sides it works well.

[WCN621]

Thanks for those suggestions, much appreciated. My new interior has finally arrived up after 15 months of waiting…supply chain issues. 🙄 I’ve decided to use the other half of the 4 x 8’ sheet of marine plywood. If it doesn’t turn out, I’ll start a new skill set in fiberglassing.

I made a new template after installing the rear side panels and found my original template way off, not wide enough, too deep and corrected the side contours. Cutting the panel more carefully to have consistent parallel channels to help bend it evenly. Next up, the makeshift water tank and improving bending the panel.

[WCN621]

Soaked the panel for 24hrs and this time, I used 3 load jacks and tightened each one very slowly, measuring for evenness on each ratchet. Fitted the the panel to the rear space to make sure I had the right bend, not having too much of an arc. Used a whole bottle of glue in all of the slots to hold arc, but I think I’ll add some brackets to reinforce it. I did wipe the extra glue off while drying.��

[pkabush]

Cool project. Have you considered fiberglass on the backside? I would think that one layer would be plenty to hold the shape. I’ve been a carpenter for decades. So, I understand the aversion to fiberglass. Seams like this would be a good place for it though. By just filling the kerfs with glue I’d be worried about it warping in the future.

[rwest]

I’ll also add that most most wood glues are a bit flexible and heat can soften them up and a car gets real hot.

Fiberglass mat and resin are super easy to apply and would probably be a good idea on both sides to make sure it stays in the shape you want.

[WCN621]

Was very careful with cutting the lid this time, slow and accurate. Had to increase width of cut and sand evenly to accommodate the thickness of leather on both sides.



Geez, you guys got me worried, so I’ve added braces to the frame and lid. Hopefully that minimizes any warping in the future. The piano hinge worked great, picked up at Home Depot and cut to length. I’ve screwed in the braces and I’ll fill in the holes with body filler.



Added hooks on the underside to tighten the panel against the back seat using the seat belt bolt to hold it in place. Ok, now for the most important fact….how does it look and work in the car.

[WCN621]

Got the luggage runners in. Ended up having to purchase 2 packs of 4, but will only use 6 across the lid. Question next, how to bend to get to match and make consistent lid curves.

Finished filling the screw holes that were for the underneath brackets and bolt-down hooks. Sanded panel flat and rounded the edges to prevent the wood from cutting the leather. Added a 1/8” self adhesive foam off eBay to cushion the leather as well as for aesthetics. Cut the opening for the handle out that will either close with a magnetic closure or a hook, but haven’t decided yet.




Drilled a single hole in center and I’ll use this as my guide to bend each of the metal runners. I bolted each one on, carefully bending the metal, and used a rubber mallet to help complete each curved runner.

Ran into an issue when I tested sliding in the rubber inserts. Using a flathead screw created too much height and prevented the rubber from going over the heads. I didn’t buy the screw sets with the units because they were an additional $30 for each set of 4! I’ll have to figure out how to attach them without preventing the rubber from sliding in.

[WCN621]

Meanwhile…in the confines of our basement, my wife has been dealing with the shortage of leather that I requested from my upholsterer. She has so gratefully volunteered (again) her services in sewing the leather panels for the rear seat delete. (I did get her a new sewing machine for the carpet and rear seat delete!)

Originally, I was supposed to have all smooth leather for it, as I asked for 2 extra hides, got 1 and some leftovers. I’ll just have to make due utilizing a combo of both smooth leather and basket weave. It looks like I might have just enough leather to cover the panel. I have tried no less than 15 times to fit the necessary leather layouts and finally found one layout to fit on the leather that I can get by with.

[WCN621]

Started attaching leather. I planned an additional 1.5” overlap on the pattern to wrap over the edge and to allow enough to staple. Maybe a little overkill on the amount, but when covering the curves, I needed extra to trim to get an even, smooth finish. On the lid, I had the leather wrap over the hinge to hide, making sure I kept a little loose to allow for the opening and closing of the lid.

Next I’ll install the black trunk liner on the inner surfaces. I’ll glue that down and cover the staples for a cleaner look.

[WCN621]

The metal runners were much longer than the panel, so I cut the lengths from the mid section of the lid to the hinge. Figured out how to attach the runners; tested large rivets, which worked pretty well. Rubber inserts slide easily over low profile of the rivets, using some glycerin to make it a little slipperier.

[Showdown]

Looking very sharp!