Another DIY seat delete (with pics)

[bazzookatooth]

Hello! Getting my toes wet here so as usual if this is redundant/in the wrong section my apologies.

Seeing some guides (and the abhorrent $300 Shrader solution) I was inspired + the 'tine got me stir crazy.

Materials:

CA Automotive Carpet (black): O'Reilly's $11
Permatex Spray Adhesive: NAPA $5(?)
2x Plaskolite Corruplast 36"x30": Lowe's $11
3M Hook and Loop fasteners: O'Reilly's $4

[Mock-up]:

1.88" gorilla tape: Lowe's $8
Large cardboard moving box: Lowe's $2

1.) Seats were removed. Seatbelts and brackets were retained so they can be reinstalled in five minutes if need be. Plenty of info out there on how to do this. Essentially four bolts.

2.) Cardboard was trimmed to fit the gap. Mostly trial and error here! Insert, trim, repeat. I used gorilla tape to clean up where I trimmed too much off.

3.) Plaskolite was cut using cardboard template, flipping for the opposite side. A small piece was used to fit the middle. **I kept it as a three piece install so I could easily remove and store.

4.) Carpet was applied. The entire job used a full can of adhesive. It is somewhat tough to balance good adhesion and zero bleed through. You'll notice some bleed through here and there. 'Dries clear' is fake news.

**Key tip here is to do a coat on each surface, let it tack up for a minute or two, and apply slowly and deliberately. A gap or two was filled by pulling small pieces of fabric and almost flocking the trouble spots.

5.) (Not pictured) Hook and Loop fasteners were applied to the bottom tabs of the large pieces, as well as the middle piece. Pics available upon request.

6.) Results: No rattles! No squeaks! Stays put but /won't bear weight/. I made them removable for this last reason alone. I am happy with the results and the scales show just around a 65lb reduction including spare and tools. The exhaust (TRD) is louder and the acoustics remain relatively untouched. Maybe a tad more bass/reverb due to lack of sound absorption. Road noise is up but not unbearable. I'd say cabin noise went from a 3.5/10 to a 5/10 - granted my other car is an NB with an axle back so take that with a grain of salt. No smell from the adhesive or carpet either!

Next step: Fab some foam or styrofoam to brace the area where the trunk liner and seat delete meet. Add a cargo net. This way I can do grocery runs with my girlfriend without needing to remove anything! Velcro tabs for the rear most deck bit to attach to the trunk liner would be great too as this sometimes works its way out.

(Excuse the jagged lines on the trunk mat for the finished product, trying to hold my camera steady while taking a panorama on four cups of coffee is hard)

Anyway, let this be inspiration that this DIY is easy! 2 hours to do the templates and an hour to upholster. Cheers!

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[bazzookatooth]

Thank you for moving this to the cosmetic mod section. Still getting used to Tapatalk!

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk