[kjett]

Well,

I have been working on a "trunk project" for my 66 off and on for the past couple of months. I saw a few pictures of different cars on this site that had the trunk updated with custom carpeting and liked the clean look. I wanted to get one of those "trunkhaus" kits for my car, but the guy that builds then isn't currently making them for 66's.

Sooo... I decided to go it my own. First off I removed all of the water based spatter paint from everywhere in the trunk except for the wheel wells. I took everything down to bare metal. I then used Eastwoods marine clean and prep to clean everything out. I topcoated everything using a brush with Eastwoods POR-15 in grey. I installed hush mat over all the trunk flooring and the inside of the 1/4 panels.

I used some really thick cardboard to make some templates. Once I had the templates made I was on the fence about whether to use wood, particle board, MDF, or.... Then it hit me... If I could build it out of plastic it would weigh less and I wouldn't have to worry about it rotting. I had a new trunk kit put in the the car when I did the frame off, and anything I can do to avoid ever having to do that again would be a plus

I found a place locally that sells 4'x8' sheets of ABS plastic. I bought it in 3/8". I used some PVC 1"x4" planks to level out the trunk. Then I cut the floor out of the plastic sheeting. I then cut out the panel facing the rear seat, the side panels and the rear panel. I bought some heavy duty carpeting and carpeted all the panels. Once the carpeting was done, I used 3/4" x 3/4" aluminum angle to build rails to keep the panels positioned. I am using industrial strength 3M velcro to hold the panels in place.

It's not 100% perfect, but given the fact that this is the first time I've ever tried to so any interior fabrication work I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

There is a subwoofer enclosure that I built housing a single 12" down firing 12" JL Audio sub behind the panel with the amplifiers mounted on it. There are a pair JL Audio 6"x9" speakers in the rear deck and a pair JL Audio of 6-1/2" component speakers in the front factory kick panels and tweeters in the dash where the original dash speaker would have gone.

I tried to make everything look real nice. No permanent modifications were made to the car at any point during this project. Everything can be removed in a matter of minutes

Below are a series of pictures at various stages of the project. Enjoy...

 

[kjett]

A few more pictures...

 

[GsxrDave]

:thumbsup: Looks good man!

 

[hpsherlin]

Ken,
That looks great!!
That just gave me the stimulus to get out there and do the trunk in my '67.
Been wanting to do the same.
You did good.

 

[Jasons 69 Chevelle]

Looks good
I plan on doing the same thing to mine.

 

[kjett]

Looks good
I plan on doing the same thing to mine.

Thanks guys! It was a fun project. Nice to work on something besides engines, trannies and rear ends for a change Good luck with all your projects, too! There are a lot of different ways to do the trunks, but if I can be of any help at all let me know.

Kenny

 

[Beaux]

Well,

IOnce the carpeting was done, I used 3/4" x 3/4" aluminum angle to build rails to keep the panels positioned. I am using industrial strength 3M velcro to hold the panels in place.

..

I think that looks great and anywhere you can save weight and potential rot is a huge plus!

Awesome man :beers:

Per above - Now, I am a noob, thats a given, can you expand on where you used the angle to keep the panels positioned? Is this what is tying those panels together and then you are holding the panels to the other panels with the industrial velcroe?

Can you elaborate a bit for me and my small brain on where / how the aluminum angle is used and velcroe?

Looks sharp. Figures as much given the car it was just done to. :thumbsup:

 

[Tegguy]

Looks good and really clean. Far simpler design than my enclosure is going to turn out to be. I'm currently in school for engineering and am a computer drafting class so I'm attempting to design the entire enclosure in the CAD program as my final project. I just started it but can already tell it's going to be a pain because of the angles and sweeping curves (I'm doing fiber glass with 2 12" subs) I'm going to have to draft the sub and the amp also.

Saw a setup similar to yours the only change was he had 2 speakers in the trunk area facing out so it had good sound when the trunk was open.

 

[kjett]

I think that looks great and anywhere you can save weight and potential rot is a huge plus!

Awesome man :beers:

Per above - Now, I am a noob, thats a given, can you expand on where you used the angle to keep the panels positioned? Is this what is tying those panels together and then you are holding the panels to the other panels with the industrial velcroe?

Can you elaborate a bit for me and my small brain on where / how the aluminum angle is used and velcroe?

Looks sharp. Figures as much given the car it was just done to. :thumbsup:

Thanks, Beax. There are three pieces of aluminum angle installed on the floor panel. There is a long piece that runs the width of the front and two pieces on each of the sides of the floor panel. I attached the loop side of the velcro adhesive to the aluminum angle facing in towards the trunk. The panels have carpet on both sides. The carpet I used sticks nicely to the loop side of the velcro, thus securing the panels in place. The front panel (facing the back seat) is carrying the weight of the two amplifiers. I used some two-part epoxy to bond aluminum angle to the underside of the trunk at the top of the front panel. There is velcro on that angle as well and it holds the top of the front panel in place. I've attached some additional pictures with notes that will hopefully illustrate how all this ties together. The panels are not velcroed to one another. The panels joints are a really tight fit and there was no need to tie the panels to each other. They are simply held in place by the aluminum angle (if that makes sense). Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be glad to help.

 

[kjett]

Looks good and really clean. Far simpler design than my enclosure is going to turn out to be. I'm currently in school for engineering and am a computer drafting class so I'm attempting to design the entire enclosure in the CAD program as my final project. I just started it but can already tell it's going to be a pain because of the angles and sweeping curves (I'm doing fiber glass with 2 12" subs) I'm going to have to draft the sub and the amp also.

Saw a setup similar to yours the only change was he had 2 speakers in the trunk area facing out so it had good sound when the trunk was open.

Thanks, Tegguy. Wow, sounds like a really cool project you're working on! Please share pictures as it progresses. I actually built a subwoofer enclosure that sits behind the rear seat. The trunk enclosure is separate from the subwoofer enclosure. I only needed about 1.2 cu/ft of airspace for the single 12" woofer, so the box isn't too big. It was a little tricky to build the sub woofer enclosure as I also have boxes around each of the 6x9 speakers that are mounted in the rear deck. The subwoofer box looks like an upside down "T" with the woofer firing down towards the floor.

 

[Beaux]

Thanks, Beax. There are three pieces of aluminum angle installed on the floor panel. There is a long piece that runs the width of the front and two pieces on each of the sides of the floor panel. I attached the loop side of the velcro adhesive to the aluminum angle facing in towards the trunk. The panels have carpet on both sides. The carpet I used sticks nicely to the loop side of the velcro, thus securing the panels in place. The front panel (facing the back seat) is carrying the weight of the two amplifiers. I used some two-part epoxy to bond aluminum angle to the underside of the trunk at the top of the front panel. There is velcro on that angle as well and it holds the top of the front panel in place. I've attached some additional pictures with notes that will hopefully illustrate how all this ties together. The panels are not velcroed to one another. The panels joints are a really tight fit and there was no need to tie the panels to each other. They are simply held in place by the aluminum angle (if that makes sense). Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be glad to help.

Thank you, Ken, for the illustration and explanation. GREAT work on the car, as always! :thumbsup::beers:

Very clean.

 

[kjett]

Thank you, Ken, for the illustration and explanation. GREAT work on the car, as always! :thumbsup::beers:

Very clean.

Glad to be of some help I looked at the pictures of your car on the rotisserie. MAN! That is turning out REALLY NICE! Can't wait to see it completed. What are your plans for engine/tranny?

 

[blumont]

Looks good Ken. The big questions are will that stereo drown out the sound of the engine/exhaust? and will the extra weight slow the car down :noway:

 

[kjett]

Looks good Ken. The big questions are will that stereo drown out the sound of the engine/exhaust? and will the extra weight slow the car down :noway:

Thanks Jerry and lol. Do you think the trunk will implode when I side step the clutch at 6,500?

 

[Tegguy]

Thanks, Tegguy. Wow, sounds like a really cool project you're working on! Please share pictures as it progresses. I actually built a subwoofer enclosure that sits behind the rear seat. The trunk enclosure is separate from the subwoofer enclosure. I only needed about 1.2 cu/ft of airspace for the single 12" woofer, so the box isn't too big. It was a little tricky to build the sub woofer enclosure as I also have boxes around each of the 6x9 speakers that are mounted in the rear deck. The subwoofer box looks like an upside down "T" with the woofer firing down towards the floor.

Which JL sub are you running? Is there plenty of power to hear the stereo over the car?

 

[kjett]

Which JL sub are you running? Is there plenty of power to hear the stereo over the car?

I'm using a JL 12W3v3-4 powered by a JL Audio 500/1 amp in the new setup. When I had the ~750hp 540 in there I only had 2-way component speakers in the front (kick panel) and the 12" sub running off of a 300/4 JL amp. With that arrangement I had 2x75w to the front channel and the rear channel was briged 150x1 to the sub. I should be pushing about 350w-400w to the sub with the 500/1 amp now and the 300/4 is running the front speakers (2x75w) and the new 6x9 JL audio speakers I installed in the rear deck (2x75w). I could hardly hear the radio before when the car was under acceleration, so I'm hoping the new setup will provide more sound. The new engine is going to be close to (or over) 900hp, so I'll have to wait and see.

 

[Beaux]

Glad to be of some help I looked at the pictures of your car on the rotisserie. MAN! That is turning out REALLY NICE! Can't wait to see it completed. What are your plans for engine/tranny?

Thanks. LONG build and I am getting really impatient with the body shop at this point (typical body shop prison scenario)

Its getting an AFR or Brodix headed 496 (wolfplace / cstraub) and a road course prepped SV1 from Patrick, old school induction through the high beams for intake. Shooting for the 650+ hp range but we will see what happens and where the real numbers end up.

RS600 5 speed on order from Keisler, quicktime bell, centerforce DF clutch (may be swapping over to a mcleod unit), hydraulic throw, etc

Kind of a resto mod / tribute / road course / scca type build....that, of course, never really existed.

And I am going to follow your lead on the trunk - FOR SURE. :thumbsup:

 

[kjett]

Thanks. LONG build and I am getting really impatient with the body shop at this point (typical body shop prison scenario)

Its getting an AFR or Brodix headed 496 (wolfplace / cstraub) and a road course prepped SV1 from Patrick, old school induction through the high beams for intake. Shooting for the 650+ hp range but we will see what happens and where the real numbers end up.

RS600 5 speed on order from Keisler, quicktime bell, centerforce DF clutch (may be swapping over to a mcleod unit), hydraulic throw, etc

Kind of a resto mod / tribute / road course / scca type build....that, of course, never really existed.

And I am going to follow your lead on the trunk - FOR SURE. :thumbsup:

Beaux,

I completely understand your frustration with the paint/body process. I had my car in three different shops before it was finally finished. You've got the right parts and people plugged into your project. It's gonna be an awesome ride. I've never tried auto-crossing, but it looks like fun. Can't wait to see it all done!

 

[hpsherlin]

Ken,
Could you explain and maybe post pictures of the rear of the trunk and how you attached and created the bend to the trunk latch area?
Thanks. I'm gonna jump on this pretty soon.
Appreciate it.

 

[kjett]

Ken,
Could you explain and maybe post pictures of the rear of the trunk and how you attached and created the bend to the trunk latch area?
Thanks. I'm gonna jump on this pretty soon.
Appreciate it.

Hey Herbie,

I snapped a couple of pictures of the rear panel this morning. The design is pretty simple. I used the same 3/4" x 3/4" aluminum angle to join the two pieces of the rear panel together. There are a lot of different ways the rear panel can be made. In hindsight, I could have probably "welded" the two plastic pieces of the rear panel together eliminating the need for the aluminum angle. Going that route would also do away with the need for the screws that hold the two panels together making for a little cleaner installation. The rear panel is not secured to the trunk at all. It sits in a tight joint with the floor panel. Forward motion of the rear panel is limited by the trunk latch assembly. You could secure the panel to the trunk, but I really didn't see a need for it and it's very easy to take in and out of the car the way it is.

I spent quite a bit of time looking at what others have done to customize the trunks in older cars. The following site has some really nice pictures of how to do custom trunk paneling from start to finish:

http://www.customtrunkpanels.com

Take a look at the 66-67 GTO PDF file for some good tips/pointers. I personally didn't like the slant on this particular trunk kit rear panel, so I came up with my own design.

Hope this helps, Herbie. Let me know if you have any other questions.