so i scored one of these at the wreckers awhile back. with the appropriate speaker covers. but of course the material around the hinges has crumbled. afaik this is pretty common with this fibrous material. so i am wanting to bring it back to original condition. anyone here performed the task? i was thinking fibreglassing the damaged areas. but wondering on any other methods that have been tried as fibreglass can get a bit messy
as always, much appreciated

 

i have one that is falling apart on a car i am selling, i plan to make an aluminum skeleton underneath the tray to bring it back to original form. but so far i haven't seen anyone attempt to revive one that is near death.

in fact mine is only one of 2 i have seen in probably the last decade.

 

First step of course is to get ALL of the parts, some which I do not have. I do have a couple of aluminum bars that I hope to fit in order to make it rigid, but no idea yet what to do for ratty corners.
Fiberglass seems like a good approach. I was thinking maybe some kind of sculpted foam epoxied underneath.

 

i would just worry that the epoxy wouldn't adhere to the underside of the board, fiberglass just seems to me like a temporary solution.

 

"temporary" in this case IMHO, means something that will breakdown or go ratty again. I think what we're looking for here is a "final" fix.
Still open to ideas.

 

yea i really want to keep it as original as possible. don't really want to add bars or anything. i was even thinking paper mashe. but that wouldn't last either. i think the fibre glass would last if you layer it thick. it's gonna be more durable than that particle board stuff from the factory. mines pretty thrashed. a lot of the corners, edges and hinges have crumbled. i'm gonna think on it for a bit, but if nothing turns up in the next couple weeks here i'm gonna try the fibre glass. i'm pretty meticulous. i think i can bring it back to near original condition. if i do, i'll document it i guess and post it up

 

if you use fiberglass then you should just use the original as a mold and pitch it afterwards instead of using it as a basis for repair. cover the new FG mold with carpet and be done.

 

even to make a mold though i'd need it to be in proper form, no? so it would need repair anyways. i assume this. i've never actually made a mold of anything that i can recall

 

I have one and I thought..hmm.
Shave the fuzz off the material on the underside and coat it with resin,FG cloth and then resin again.

I've got too much crap to do though,so It's sitting here for now,..waiting.
It's in relatively good shape though,so it;s not a real priority.I just thought to make it stronger I would do that...or trace some 1/2 ply and screw the cargo cover to it.

 

yea, it's just gonna be one of those things. tedious. get what you put in. maybe i'll get going on it today since i'm off work till monday....mayyyybe

 

alrighty got started. i will update this thread once the task is complete. taking pics as i go along.
i did briefly look into making a mould, but decided that the piece was just too large to make it a feasable option. for me anyways. karack there on the other hand...i had thought about producing a cf or frp shelf. probably be a pretty fair market for it, since there aren't a lot around and the ones you do see are tattered to ****. i mean, who wouldn't want one? they finish the car off so nicely. the mould would have to be modified though to fit the regular speaker covers. cf would be very nice
something to think about

 

That would be very nice. I am definitely interested.

 

it would be better to move the pivot away from the speaker covers, they already have a tough time holding themselves together without the added weight if you made a completely new one.

 

I have a parcel cover in perfect condition... Hmmm... Maybe I need to make a mold from it.

 

yea i'm layering the fg pretty thick at the hinges for that reason. also because there's nothing there on mine!

indeed you should. put me down for one in cf...my fee for royalties

 

Hmmm...I've got the shelf that folds in half down the centerline. Damage is minimal, could still make for a good mold.

 

Where are you guys hanging it from? Are there supposed to be some kind of hooks on the hatch? I mean the strings

 

Mine is from a '91 TII. I have the speaker covers, vertical panel (no rear seat), one piece parcel cover that attaches by string to the hatch, and the cargo straps.

 

How does the string attach to the hatch tho? Are there hooks?

 

In an S5, yes. In an S4, no.

 

So it's not designed for s4? Or is there another way it's hung on s4? Of course I could install something. But just curious what they did from the factory

 

Don't know about how the shelf "hangs" but there are side rails mounted on the tub on the S5 that support the sides of the shelf from underneath.

 

AFAIK the parcel covers not only were S5 but 1989 only. Not sure. I have a beautiful red cover in good condition. There are hooks on my hatch that strings from the parcel are attached to. I can post pictures of the shape so you can get a real nice idea of how it works in an S5 with the proper speaker surrounds. Realistically though, I do think you need those mounts on the surrounds for it to work properly. THAT would have a very large market and is something I'd be willing tk attempt to produce for use on regular speaker surrounds.

 

Pics of that beautiful red cargo cover would be greatly appreciated. Especially if they could include detail shots of the hooks, strings, and mounting points!

 

I'll definitely take some. Tomorrow I'll be able to do it. I'll take several and link to a photobucket album of them all.