Repair / Strengthen / ReCover / Stealth my parcel shelf...

[Jim 2]

Ahoy hoy.

 

Well i'm considering doing some work on my standard Corrado parcel shelf. Its bowing a bit thanks to the weight of some 6x9's on it, and I want to do a bit of a stealth modification on it and 'hide' the 6x9's as it makes it one less thing to inspire thieves to break into the car, and it helps it look a bit more OEM.... and a bit less chavvy ;) :D

 

So yeah - never done anything like this before but i'm confident I can do it - get some thin MDF type wood from B&Q for inserts / strengthening, some recovering material, some thin like carpet tack / small nails for attaching on the underside, etc...

 

Does anyone have any tips or suggested materials / stuff I should use so that this hopefully won't come out like a Blue Peter job but something a bit more professional looking?

 

Thanks :)

[Jim 2]

Or would I just be better buying an effing great chunk of 20mm MDF and making a simple stealth shelf? :)

[coolrado 0]

i wouldnt bother with thin mdf as it just bows under its own weight so its pretty pointless for stiffening.

some nice strong pre seasoned batons in front and behind the chav speakers :lol: :wink: should stiffen it up nicely and instead of using tacks/nails just get a cheapo staple gun (9.99 for a decent draper one in b&q)

 

the best place i have found for acoustic cloth and box cloth is the parts counter in maplin they have plenty of styles/ colours in stock and are very cheap compared to halfrauds and you can buy as much or as little as you want

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Use thin MDF mate, you don't want all that weight associated with the thick stuff.

 

Here's the deal...... Strip all the carpet from the underneath, bond some 5 or 6mm MDF bracing panels along the open areas around the cross bar, then fibreglass and resin the whole lot, recarpet.

 

That will give one incredibley strong shelf whilst still being light, and I know, cause I did it on my Golf :wink:

[yalan 0]

my plan:

 

1- strip carpet from top of shelf.

2- mount speakers to a strip of 12mm mdf (width of 6x9 by width of shelf)

3-bolt mdf strip to shelf from above using countersunk bolts & T-nuts

4-thin out the shelf's pressed wood material in the areas above the speakers

5-in this 'thinned out area' hot glue in some steel mesh (from B&Q) just in case you put something heavy just above your speakers

6- re-cover the shelf using spray glue & acoustic carpet

 

worked in my Mk2..... just waiting ro get a spare shelf to butcher for the rado!

12mm mdf also means that the speaker cones are a healthy distance from the mesh to prevent collision.

HTH

[Jim 2]

Well those have all given me some ideas.. still not sure whether to recover the original hacked up shelf or try and 'create' something new.

 

I'll give it a bit of thought in the week :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Creating a 'new' shelf to mimic the original is feckin difficult to do properly mate, and without weighing a tonne!

 

Or you could step into the light Carol-anne and lose the rear speakers altogether :wink:

[Jim 2]

Well I could do.. but it seems a shame considering stuff is already in place for them.

 

That and i'd have to find a replacement black Corrado parcel shelf again, and I know what kinda money they fetch :|

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Paid £10 for my shelf :wink:

 

They're about, that's for sure.....

 

But don't come up that often :?

[coolrado 0]

or if you can try one of these

 

http://tinyurl.com/4xglj

 

sorry about the size of the link :oops:

 

mod edit-link sorted-vr6storm

[RadoAds 0]

its better if you use a solid piece of mdf surrounding your speakers as your speakers will sound a hell of a lot better, it gives your 6x9s something to work against, if whatever you bolt your speakers to move (as in the OEM shelf) you lose the clarity and definition in the sound as the speaker moves and not just the cone. As for material use some accoustic cloth as mentioned above.....just my 2 penneth :roll: