Nathan L

This is my attempt at a custom shelf for the rear of a new age car.

Anyone thinking of doing this needs there head examined What a PIA!

I'ts slowly starting to take shape now.

Just need to sand off the filler when it's fully dry and glue the carpet down.



The cutout is for the rear wiper of my STi

Nathan..

chiark

Looking good mate

Nathan L

Cheers Nick

Thought I'd do this in a day but there is far more work than I was expecting.

The hardest part is getting the angle against the screen right.

Ended up cutting the curve with the jigsaw set to 45 degrees then using a angle grinder with a sanding pad to get the angle nearer to 30 degrees.

There is dust everywhere. Missus not happy LOL

Nathan..

JockyTT

Understand entirely, Nathan. I've a part finished one in the garage and getting that angle right is damn near impossible as you probably worked out that the original shelf curves down to meet the window.

How are you planning to fix it to the metal shelf to keep it level and secure? It's restricted by the hinges for the boot lid that protrude higher than the metal shelf.

Just curious because I never worked out a satisfactory solution..!

cheers

Steve

Nathan L

Steve

What I've done is carve out the MDF on the back side where the hinges sit. Now the shelf rests on the bolts which hold the hinge plate down. So the hinge can sit and move within the cut out.

The shelf now sits at an angle similar to the O.E one, so flat MDF packers can be used between the metal chassis and shelf to hold it still. Then I'm going to use some 60mm wood screws from the underside straight through the packers and shelf.

The bottom outside edge of the shelf will have foam backed rubber on it to prevent vibration hopefully.

Nathan..

JockyTT

Nathan,

I like the solution, sounds good! One further question - I notice on your shelf you have shaped the edges. Is this to fit around the rear pillar trim, or to fit underneath it as the original shelf does? If the latter, then height is key I would imagine...

cheers

Steve

Nathan L

It fits around the pillar trim.

Using 15mm brings it just above the bottom of the trim.

With the carpet tucked down both sides of the shelf it looks as if the trim sits on the carpet.

I'll get some more pics later on.

Nathan..

Nathan L

Rear of shelf showing packers and deep cutouts for boot hinge mounts.



Carpeted and speakers in.



Fitted in the car.



Wired to a Kenwood 2 x 200 bridged amp and sounds excellent.

Really really pleased.

Nathan..

WRX_Rich

iTrader: (5)

looks really good, I took the chickens route and placed them under the shelf - its perfect for what I want, but I get no high end from the 6 x 9 no good if I didn't have good fronts

JockyTT

Nathan, looks great, nice one. 15mm mdf - how high did you have to make the packers? Looks like 60mm at front edge and 30mm elsewhere?

Steve

Nathan L

Thanks guys.

Packers are from memory

45 mm front closest to seats
20 mm middle
15 mm back edge closest to glass.

Did 350 miles in the car today and no squeaks or rattles from the shelf at all

Chuffed.

Jza

Quick question:

Why did you not just cut out the holes in the existing shelf and fix in the speakers that way? Looks a good job but do you really need to create a shelf? Anyone done it without the shelf?

Jza

chiark

Jza, I personally wouldn't dream of cutting metal on the rear bulkhead to fit 6x9s. There's a fair bit of metal there, and:
- I wouldn't want to compromise the structure even a little bit (bear in mind the rear bulkhead is solid on classic STIs etc...
- When it comes to returning to normal, this approach is *much* easier.

Cutting shelves strikes me as a bad idea. Still, I've whacked a 19mm hole in my roof for an external aerial so who am I to talk

Cheers,
Nick.

Nathan L

Exactly as Nick says

And MDF is more solid and more resilient to vibration from pumping base

Taff107

Damn you Nathan! ........I've got the week off and was looking for a little 'project' to do! - Looks like I've found it...

Nathan L

LMAO

It is a pain in the **** but well worth it

Nathan..

Taff107

Did you use the old shelf as the template and if so, is it much of a job to get out?

Nathan L

No it's easy to get out mate. Just unclip the two side panels first by pulling and coaxing them outwards from the top

Just remember to add on enough for the slanted cut on the leading edge of the shelf. You can always cut if off the straight side that fits against the seats later.

Good luck drop us a mail if you have any problems.

I used 15mm MDF for the shelf and spacers

Nathan..

Taff107

Right,...it's started to be a pain in the a** already! I've got the shelf out and am trying to mark out the rear edge (against window) - however, because the oe shelf slopes down and the MDF one doesn't, I cannot copy the shelf that I removed as the curve/cut at the rear window will be different. How the hell can I get a true mark around there - any ideas?

Nathan L

Lay the O.E shelf on your piece of MDF.

Mark out the rough line to the curve.

Cut this curve at 45 degrees with a jigsaw.

Then using a sander or similar get the angle to about 35 degrees.

When you have got the angle roughly right it still won't appear to fit as the shelf is too far up the screen.

Then carve out the area for the position of the hinges, once you have done this the shelf will lay lower and will more or less match the shape you need.

Once the shelf has the 6mm carpet afixed it will take up any small gaps so they don't notice.

Have faith

Nathan..

P.S. I did warn you

Taff107

Thanks, I'll give that a go!Those damn hinges sticking up, make the marking out a lot harder. Where did you get your carpet from?

Nathan L

Local ICE shop.

Its really thick but stretchy stuff so it shapes to the contours really easily.

I used a spray on glue which I just plastered over the shelf after tacking the straight edge all the way across underneath so I could pull it tight.

If you were local I'd give you a hand but I think you're miles away.

Nathan..