Building Your Own Parcel Shelf; Update: Progress Of Shelf

[Rekin]

Currently have a freshly imported r32 gtst with a cut up parcelshelf (carpet/wood) As there was a airpurifier located on the back and now 3 child restraints, the wood if full of holes and looks tacky.

Im planning on making a new parcel shelf for the r32 and have some questions for the people who have already made one.

1. What is the best thickness of mdf board to use? Im thinking of 6mm to hold two 6.5" speakers.

2. Do all three child restraints need to be on the parcel shelf to be legal? Can I only have one in the middle/or none?

3. As the speakers are larger than stock, they will not match with the existing screw mounts on the chassis, so the speakers will be mounted to the wood. Should foam be placed between the board and metal or only on the edges where it could vibrate with window/metal?

Also any other hints would be sweet

----

and an audio related question;

When i purchased the car, no signal was being transmitted to the stock rear speakers. Could this be headunit fault or the amp under the parcel shelf? I have a feeling the previous japanese owner disconnected rear speakers from headunit as they were both cracked. (tested the speakers out of the car and worked so it aint speaker issue)

Thanks

- Patrick

[r32woohoo]

hey mate

i made up a new parcel tray for mine not long ago.

just take ur old one out and trace it onto another sheet of mdf

i used 9mm mdf, you have to cut the edge that sits against the windscreen on an angle though otherwise it wont fit in properly.

you also have to cut the sides a little shorter coz theres no way you will get the parcel tray in with the speakers already mounted.

as for the stock amp, just bypass it. theres heaps of threads on it already.

when u mount the parcel tray just get under it in the boot and get some self tapping screws n screw it into place through the existing holes

good luck

[Rekin]

so the reason of no audio from rear speakers is due to the stock amp which needs to be bypassed?

Car came from japan with aftermarket headunit and 4 stock speakers. Rear stocks never played any audio.

[r32woohoo]

just run the speakers straight off the headunit or aftermarket amp

[Rekin]

decided to buy 6mm mdf board, pulled out my old parcel shelf and stripped it back to the wood. Will be using it as a template with the rotor.

[r32woohoo]

The heaver the wood ur using wud b better, less vibrations.

Plus more depth for the screws to go

[Eug]

i know its not an r32, but i did the same thing a few months ago.

just remember to taper the edge that sits against the rear windscreen. also did another install on my mate's s13

here's the link if you want to get any ideas or something.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...67&hl=ecr33

any questions just ask.

[Rekin]

  Eug said:

i know its not an r32, but i did the same thing a few months ago.

just remember to taper the edge that sits against the rear windscreen. also did another install on my mate's s13

here's the link if you want to get any ideas or something.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...67&hl=ecr33

any questions just ask.

yip mine is looking like your first pictures.

The vent holes took a while to cut out with jigsaw and so did the weird shape for the windscreeen wiper.

The speakers came with mounting clips which were too small for the thickness of wood used. So used a rotor to shed off a couple of milimtr's for the clip to fit on perfectly.

Where the holes are for the clips (which held on the original parecel shelf) ill be putting a bolt and nut to hold it nice and firm.

Will have pics of the whole process once im finished

[Rekin]

Okay, if anyone else is interested, ill explain what ive done so far

1. buy 6mm mdf from bunnings - $10

2. take out old parcel shelf from car, and strip everything off it down to the wood under the carpet.

3. Place the original wood parcel shelf ontop of MDF board.

4. Use as template and jigsaw around to get shape of shelf on the new wood

5. Jigsaw the airvents and speaker holes.

Some hints;

- Angle the edge of the mdf so it can be pressed againts the window.

- I used the original clips from the shelf on my new shelf, now it clips at the back and holds firm.

etc etc

Now for Pictures

Tomorrow, ill be carpetting it up

[Eug]

nice, very clean work... looks like how i pretty much did mine.

have you thought about how you'll hide the screws in bolting the shelf down after you've carpeted it?

i have a few suggestions if you're keen.

[Rekin]

  Eug said:

nice, very clean work... looks like how i pretty much did mine.

have you thought about how you'll hide the screws in bolting the shelf down after you've carpeted it?

i have a few suggestions if you're keen.

I was looking through dicksmith catalouge and they sell the same plastic clips which were on the original parcel shelf. Although they come at different heights so they can fit my 6mm mdf.

If this fails, ill use a router to make a hole and that way the bolt will be level with the wood and then carpet ontop.

[Eug]

  Rekin said:

If this fails, ill use a router to make a hole and that way the bolt will be level with the wood and then carpet ontop.

i did that on a friend's s13 install, but instead of a router i drilled a hole slightly smaller than the head, put an even smaller washer in and hammered the hex head in.

that way it would hold while we wing-nutted it from underneath.

on my car, i put in the child restraint to bolt it down.

sounds like your pretty much well clued and on your way...

just be sure its down securely, the more solid it is the better the sound quality.

dont forget to put some foam underneath the shelf.

[Rekin]

How important is the foam?

Im thinking of using the left over parcel shelf carpet under it.

If you reckon this will be a waste could you please quote me some prices of foam which will do? Any regular foam from bunnings?

If the clip idea will fail the above method will be the next to try. Thanks for the pics

[Eug]

personally i think its quite important.

i like to play some fairly bassy music, and i high-passed my 6x9s at the rear so they tend to vibrate a fair bit.

i suppose you could use left over carpet - if it's thick enough.

i personally found that the compression of the foam gave the whole shelf a nice snug fit, and gave some piece of mind in any rattles. ultimately its up to you, i cant see why the left over carpet shouldnt work.

any regular foam should be good. i got mine from bunnings it was something like $2 per metre. we bought about 5 meters worth for 2 cars. we bought some with a plastic backing (easier surface to glue)

let us know how you go... good to see some diy happening.

[2BNVS]

i didnt use any foam with mine just trimmed it in vinyl, i guess its just up to u, i have 6mm mdf that i made about 2 n bit weeks ago just before autosalon. dont get any vibrations from the tray at all and the stereo carries quite alot of bass and punch

ben...

[Rekin]

I was sizing it up and from what i could see the gap between the board and metal was real small. Afraid the pressue of the foam could bend the clips. If its only $2~ for the foam ill give it a shot.

Bunnings sells auto carpet for $19.00 for 130x100x3 i think. Seems to be the most expensive part of the whole shelf

Jaycar/dicksmith have similar prices for subwoofer/car carpet...

[Eug]

try an interior trimmer...

i got lucky and walked in when the boss was on his lunch break, some drop out was hanging around looking after the joint and gave me about 2metres worth for $10 (which i'm pretty sure he pocketted). score!

[Rekin]

after being slack, decided to work a bit on the shelf today.

Decided that the clips will be crap as the board wont be holding down well. So got some bolts,nuts and spring washers to hold everything snug.

Bought auto trim black carpet for $18 per metre.

My bunnings did not have any foam, so its off to clark rubber tomorrow. Hopefully it will be finished by end of this week.

Cheers

[Trav33]

I notice you used 6mm MDF, r32woohoo used 9mm.

Now that you have almost finished, do you think its better to use 6mm - would 9mm be harder to fit?

I'm about to do my parcel shelf on the 33, and would prefer to use thicker MDF to seal the boot off and keep noise out. Not sure if 9mm is getting too thick, compared with the stock cardboard shelf!

[Rekin]

9mm mdf would result in cutting a steeper angle, so it can be pressed againts the window. Also as the mdf is higher, the cover over the windscreen wiper will be higher and will not be in its original spot.

I used a router and machined the wood back down to the original parcel shelf thickness (2.5~mm) and the cover clips on as stock.

Im not sure on the differences between thicknesses in terms of sound, would have to ask a pro hehe

-----------------

Today:

Bolts were placed in the holes were the original parcel shelf clips went into.

Now there are 5 Bolts and 6 clips(closest to the window) holding the parcel shelf firm.

Due to the thickness of the carpet, the mdf needed to be sanded around the edges in order for the carpet to fit.

Picture of progress