Kimnach's
1988
IROC-Z
T-top
storage plus carputer/audio compartment--first rev
2018--this is what I had originally done; however, I did not
like the coffinesque look, so I removed it and have another idea.
This page is is as originally written with the exception that images were
resized and the videos re-encoded to mp4 in order to be HTML5-compliant.
****************************************
With the advent of of third generation of
Camaros, the trunk was eliminated from the f-body. It was nice
to have a real trunk and a real spare in my 1979 Berlinetta. In the
thirdgen f-bodies, there is only the passenger compartment with a rear hatch
area: this doesn't afford much security for storing "stuff." So how to
store/mount audio and other gear?
My original amplifiers, a 100Wrms x 2 Cruthfield amp and a small 30Wrms x2
Sony, were just placed in the rear hatch cavity and a dedicated pair (hot +
return) of #10 twisted wires were run from the battery back to the amp.
When I purchased the car an Alpine head unit with cassette deck
immediately replaced the factory Bose system, which I installed in a buddies
Lebaron convertible. The Alpine was replaced a few years later with a
Sony CD HU, which was then replaced with the DEH-P7600MP in the 2000 time
frame. The Crutchfield amp died in 2003 after nearly 15 years. I
replaced it with a small Pioneer GM-X362.
When I decided in the summer of 2008 to install a carputer, I thought of
placing it behind the dash next to the ECM: insufficient room. Under
the seat? No way. Just in the recess as with the amp? Too
theft-prone. Fortunately, as I contemplated all of this (not on "The
tree of Woe" as did Conan) the zipper pull on my t-top storage bag broke.
Well, now there has to be a better and faster way to store the t-tops
and provide a mounting area for the carputer.
My solution--not yet complete--is below.
It's constructed from 1/2" MDF. Poplar supports and a cross-member
running the width on the bottom will keep it from sagging. The storage
top is framed with poplar and will have a locking lid on it. The
computer, haed units (sans faceplate, of course), the HD radio receiver,
battery+UPS controller, etc will be mounted in here. Fans will also be
installed, and the enclosure painted and carpeted.
Construction Pictures
I'm not going to detail the process here. If you have a saw (table,
circular, or jigsaw), a router (or jigsaw and drill), glue and screws, then
you can make this out of MDF or plywood. I will mention, however, that
I used clamps (turned around into expansion mode) to hold the t-tops in
place when I determined where to route the slots. also, instead of
making the slots curved, I decided to just make them straight and will
fashion nice plastic grommets with curved slots. The base is cut to
extend from the back or the rear seat all the way to the rear plastic cover,
and the storage bin is built on top of this.
Videos
Routing is done with a number of successively deeper passes. the
following two (boring) videos are of me routing one of the slots for
the t-tops.
Redo in the works
Although it does the job, I'm thinking of bending thin plywood to make a
larger and more form-fitting enclosure which would blend well with the
plastic trim.
Questions, broken links, comments,
concerns?
e-mail me, Greg Kimnach
(non-hyphenated American)
Just
what in the hell do you think you're doing?
--Mr.
Hand