Alright, im interested in making a custom enclosure for my 98 mustang convertible. Im in the process of gettin rid of the rear seats, jus need to take the belts n clean it up nicey nice.
My dilemma is, i cant figure out how to make the box. I feel as tho if i make the box it wont look clean bcuz the rear panels are round and the box will be more square. Does anyone have pics of their 98 convertible with a rear seat delete and a custom enclosure there??
If not, gimme some ideas as to how i could do this, i have a decent imagination but ive only made one fiberglass box so i want it to be kinda easy..lol!
I had a 98 stang but it was a hardtop. Easy vehicles to work on overall.
I don't have any pics of a ragtop enclosure that you wish to build but can give some ideas. One way to achieve the curve you desire might be to use "bendable" wood for the sides. Select products sells this but others may as well. There is a way to do this yourself by cutting "grooves" into the MDF and bending it. someone once told me you could wet it but I know MDF will swell terribly so don't try it unless someone else can post how to do that correctly.
Any other shaping can be achieved with framing, resin, fleece,fiberglass, bondo, sanding,grinding etc. the good old fashioned way.
I also had a 93 LX Stang. Virtually no room in the trunk as is, but with the hardtop was even worse. the trunk torsion rods were in the way so I purchased convertible springs from a junkyard. These mount on the sides and gave me substantially more height without needing actuators or a prop rod to hold the trunk lid up. Not that it has anything to do with what you asked, just figured any pre 94 LX stang owners would appreciate the info.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
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thanks for the tip. never realy thought of thinner wood to shape it.
Glad to be of help,
However, if you purchase the "bendable" wood I replied about, it is not thinner. It is flexible. If you use anything thinner to accomplish the bend for anything other then cosmetics you will need to glass it or whatever it takes to strengthen it.
It also need to be dense...you don't want heavy bass to flex it or leak in any way. You also don't want it to burst or fall apart from all the weight and bouncing around while you drive.
If the enclosure itself is a properly built "box", and you want to "flush" it to the sides for looks, thinner material (wood, ABS etc,) should do the trick.
Take care.
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My vote would be either bendable plywood like mentioned above or just make a rounded edge with mdf strips and fleece and glass it. Hard to explain this I would go to alpine-usa.com and you can see what im talking about how they get rounded areas.
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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!