it's cold and i'm bored... waiting for parts...

[Deleted member 21878]

well i could not work on my engine this weekend and i pretty much have worked thru all the misc things i could work on at this point. So i decided to try making a shelf for the back of my BT7. i just don't see the seats being useful and i thought a shelf would work better.

so this is what i came up with. well at least i had a good time making it.

as you look at the first picture, keep in mind i am planning to cover all the exposed wood with carpet. Moss sells bulk carpet that matches my carpet kit. i figure i can cover the whole thing; cut it about a half inch over wood size on the ends and back and then tuck it in to fill the gaps. keep the edges of the wood from touching the panels or the seat back.

gives me some storage for some rags, spray bottle, insurance card... maybe even a bluetooth speaker and really should not be noticable to the average person. also got to use up some junk i had around. we'll see if it makes the final cut once i have the carpet.

 

[John Turney]

Looks like a great idea. One suggestion would be to put a 1" x 2" lip on the front edge. Cover it with vinyl. That will keep anything on the to from sliding off during a normal stop. I would also put some padding under the carpet.

 

[Healey Nut]

Cool , onboard storage for a couple of cold ones .

 

[elrey]

Great idea! If those pans are metal, think about spraying a few coats of rubberized undercoating on their undersides so to quiet any drumming. It is available in spray cans. I spray it under stainless sinks for the same reason.

 

[CaptRandy]

Support at front over the trans to hold in place 'U"shaped to contour of tunnel.

 

[Deleted member 21878]

all great suggestions:
i am looking at an edge on the front but have not decided anything yet. i do not have Vinyl to match the pattern or the color on the car. so i don't think i will do a 1x2 wrapped. the vinyl inside the lid is close but not a match. So i may try a metal chrome edge or a metal trim piece. also thinking a metal "L" shaped tube that i drill in to the wood and just turn up when needed. probably should decide if this is a keeper first.

i thought the same thing about the SS pots. so i did spray them. see pic below.

with the pans inside the seat holes and all the weight low, i don't think i need a tunnel support. if you look at the pic with the lid open, it has a screw that runs down in to the metal between the seats. this will keep it from sliding forward. so tilting, i hope, is not an issue. keep in mind i removed the back seat pans so all of this sits flat.


i also have been thinking about trying to find some sort of bluetooth speaker that i could mount in here for music. i am not looking for a radio. just something i can use with my phone. i can find speakers but nothing i can hard wire to 12v. i don't want to have to charge a speaker to use it. in fact the ones i have seen would be better set on the front shelf. so i am still checking things out. if i find some flush mount speakers, i would make the lid smaller and mount the speakers so the bottoms use part of the pans.

all just ideas at the moment. if anyone else has done blutooth speakers... please let me know.

 

[Healey Nut]

Where did you get the metal containers from and what did you use as support system for the containers shown in the upside down pic . It looks like you cut holes in the actual seat pans ?
I think this is a great idea for any four seater as the rear seats are basically useless unless your five or an amputee

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Are the pans an off the shelf item? Where did you get them?

 

[Deleted member 21878]

the pans are off the shelf. i got them off the internet for maybe 10 bucks or so each? they are stainless steel. i believe they were 6x9. and 6" deep. i just typed in the size and these came up. look like commercial kitchen pans. the company was out of NJ. i did not cut holes anywhere. the seat pans are out. these fit in the openings.

after getting them in, i believe i could have gone to a wider pan. the next size deeper and they would have hit the fuel pump. not sure why i wanted to make the front board angled... but if i had squared it off so the front board dropped straight down, i could have easily picked up two more inches in pan width. i think bigger pans would be better nicer, especially if i end up putting speakers in the top.

i put the boards together first and glued / screwed them. i cut them rather short so they would not hit the vinyl or seat back. i knew i was going to put another layer over them. then i put the piece in place and traced out the seat openings from underneath. placed the pans in the openings and traced the outer edge, then cut a smaller hole. i did not want wood exposed under the car so i covered the rest of the opening part with some coil stock i had left over (again using up some junk i had) next i had some rubber seal that i placed so the back edge hit the seat pan where it comes up. it presses up against the back edge rather than compressing so i did not have to hold it down. i covered the top exposed part of the lower board with vinyl and wrapped it at the openings. then i screwed the pans back on holding the vinyl and the coil stock in place. the seal is a self stick thing i believe i got from Autozone a while back. it sticks really well but just in case i ran some staples in the back edge.

only took a weekend and i don't have much invested. So if i do not like it in the end, i will put the seats back in. but it is a nice place to put a gas rag, the registration card, maybe a small bottle of cleaner to clean off bird crap quickly, etc.

 

[Deleted member 21878]

Also if i was to do over...
there is someone on Ebay selling an Armacord kit.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Austin-Hea...ash=item54530e90e3:g:u7QAAOxy3NBSdCV3&vxp=mtr

i believe you could resize and shape this sort of thing and use that for the cover. the lid would be the size of the battery cover part. Not sure how it would work out with the pan placement but worth checking. i would think this stuff would be tough and easy to clean. plus the edges are bound. he sent me the sizes if anyone wants them.

 

[Deleted member 21878]

got my carpet in and covered this thing up. i wish i had run the top boards over the face baord by about 3/4" or so. then i could have wrapped the carpet around the edge and stapled underneath. as it is, the front is a little ragged. i am going to pick up some sort of metal edge for the front. Maybe a carpet strip or just make something out of aluminum and paint it to match the outside trim.

or i could have extended everything so the front facing board was verticle, then i could have just wrapped the carpet down and probably used a bigger pan inside.

otherwise i think it will work out fine.

 

[Deleted member 21878]

i finished up this project unless i come up with something better later....
i was going to put a straight metal edge on the front and leave it up about a 1/2" to keep anything from sliding off that i might put on it. but after look at all the metal edges i could fine i worried i would not be able to keep it straight when i screwed it in. i did not want it all wavy. so i used a 1" piece of angle aluminum and painted it to match the outside trim around the cockpit of the car. it stays straight and it covers up the carpet edge. i ran the dge all the way out but only screwed it into the door part so it will lift up when i open the door and no seam in the metal to look at.