Back seat out...platform in

[mazilla]

As many of you know I use my car for courier work, it started life as a courier vehicle for another company before I got my hands on it. To make things easy on me I pulled my passenger and rear seats. I'm going to be replacing the front seats with some Sparcos so I need as much space as I can get now for work. To make the best use of the space where the rear seat was I decided to build a flat platform to maximize the amount of boxes(my typical cargo) I could get in. Without the platform the electrical lines running to the fuel sender/pump were taking all the weight of my cargo, I couldn't imagine them holding up to the sliding 70lb boxes for much longer.

The platform uses the old brace for the rear seat. I made two holes in the platform so I could easily get a socket in there to remove the setup the same way you'd pull the old seat out. It took me about 4 hours from start to finish and I'm pretty happy with it. It looks OEM when at first glance. I'm trying to find some caps for those two holes....

Oh yeah, I ran out of roll bar foam so I wrapped them in that black cloth...it's been removed. LOL

[blacksandiegovitz]

Looks really good

[mazilla]

Originally Posted by blacksandiegovitz

Looks really good

Thanks, the pictures really don't do it justice...I used my phone at around 11PM holding a drop light for the flash.

Once I get it all squared away(cleaned up, hole caps, etc) I'll bust out the DSLR and get some real picks.

[Klink10]

Nice job there.

[thebarber]

Solid.

[fnkngrv]

Looks like you took your time to come up with a solid design. I recently built my own platform for the trunk of my sedan because that stock plastic panel was getting roached by the customs guys whenever I would go through the border. They would crank up on the plastic panel to see what was in my spare tire well and because of my sub box they were tearing the hell out of the plastic panel. If anything you have given what could be a good solution if someone needed to use their HB to transport stuff if even not on a regular basis so they could swap between the two if they purchased a second rail.

[mazilla]

^ My original plan called for diamond plate instead of wood, however the dimension I needed would require I purchase an entire 4x8 sheet...I didn't want to spend 100+ dollars on material. I was also apprehensive in regards to welding onto the seat bracket, there's no easy way to undo that down the road if I want the seat back without having to source another bracket.

Now I can revert back to the complete rear seat in an hour or two tops.

After looking at the interior longer it wouldn't take much to fab up a front continuation for the platform as a place for the driver to sleep. I measured out a good 68" of space from the bend in my platform to the glove box. You'd still have the original hatch area to play with too for storage, etc.

[yaris4062007]

Nice job ;)

[fnkngrv]

I had looked at diamond plate as well for my trunk but also passed on it due to cost...just wasn't effective and heavier.

[bronsin]

Sweet!

[mr_miles]

Not bad! I wish i had one, i could use it.

[WeeYari]

Well done deck. Why did you choose to drop down, rather than build up to a truly flat platform? Would seem to make sense when it comes to dragging out 70lb boxes.

[mazilla]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

Well done deck. Why did you choose to drop down, rather than build up to a truly flat platform? Would seem to make sense when it comes to dragging out 70lb boxes.

I chose the drop down for a couple of reasons...

1. I can fit more boxes with the drop down, it allows me to stack boxes.

2. The taller platform would require a substructure to hold the kind of weight I put there requiring me to use more material which means more weight more cost and more to undo if I decide to revert back to a backseat.

3. Aesthetics- The lower platform prohibits people from being able to see under it from the front, and the slope adds a bit of contour which looks a little more interesting IMO. I would have had to fab up some kind of paneling to cover the front if the platform was any higher.

4. I'm 29 years old and 6' 230lbs so moving the boxes around isn't really a problem...yet.

[blacksandiegovitz]

Saw you twice yesterday first down on fifth ave in the morning then driving 5 south around noon , putting that rear seat deleat to work huh lol
Car looks great btw

[mazilla]

Originally Posted by blacksandiegovitz

Saw you twice yesterday first down on fifth ave in the morning then driving 5 south around noon , putting that rear seat deleat to work huh lol
Car looks great btw

Haha, def putting this car to work..and paying myself .50 a mile(on top of my salary) to do so.


This car has paid for all of it's improvements and it's original cost many times over.


Hopefully I wasn't driving too crazy when you saw me...hehe

[mazilla]

BTW, I have since moved the Alpine PDX amp from the side of the sub box to a wood platform I made that sits inside the spare tire. The platform has a hole in the center with a recessed ring for the "bolt" that holds the spare tire down to fit in. You'd have to unscrew the amp to remove the spare, but I'll just keep a phillips head on hand..should add about two minutes to a tire change. The mount is super solid.



I'll update with photos of the completed bracket once I get a chance to carpet it...

[why?]

i think i saw they mentioned to you not to do that, you'll flood the thing the next time it rains. Amps can be run with next to no ventilation.

a bunch of people run amps and subs in small enclosures and have no problems.

I'd hate to see you have removed a plug and flood the amp. ouch.

[mazilla]

Originally Posted by why?

i think i saw they mentioned to you not to do that, you'll flood the thing the next time it rains. Amps can be run with next to no ventilation.

a bunch of people run amps and subs in small enclosures and have no problems.

I'd hate to see you have removed a plug and flood the amp. ouch.

I decided against pulling the plugs for that reason, thanks for the heads up tho.