Storage compartments? What to do with them? Subwoofers?

[FastWoman]

Hi all,

I remember my delight when I pulled up the hatch carpet on my old '75 and found a couple of odd-shaped storage compartments in the forward part of the hatch area. The way the carpet was hinged, the compartments seemed rather useless, so I didn't use them -- and forgot about them.

Now with my '78, I've been looking at the hatch area design. Of course I have the false floor (which I've decided should probably stay, after all). Underneath the forward part of the floor are the two storage compartments, without lids. That's a lot of wasted space. I'm also looking at the big subwoofer sitting in the back of my hatch area, and that's a whole lot more wasted space.

I'm wondering whether I can build subwoofers into the storage compartments, overlaid with protective waffle grills and carpet. In the case of my '78, I'd be able to build an enclosure that rises to the false floor and simply drop the magnets through the holes, lining the cavity with fiberglass, of course. Has anyone done this?

Maybe there's a better way to use this space? Has anyone figured out how to lay/fold/attach the carpeting to actually use these storage bins for storage? Has anyone figured out a good way to do it with the flat raised deck in some of the 77/78 cars?

Thanks for your ideas!

Peace,

Sarah

[five&dime]

I wouldn't think there was enough space for "subs" Maybe you could use some mid drivers like 6.5's or 6x9's but I think that would even be a tight fit.

Best sub enclosures imo are made from the spare well. Most people lay foil in the spare compartment then cover with vasiline. Then you lay the fiberglass. Once you remove the mold, you take a piece of MDF cut to fit the top and then fiberglass the spare tire compartment form to the flat piece on top. Then you have a flush mount sub enclosure that leaves your trunk free for storage. You do lose the spare, but I only take a spare on long trips in my BMW and don't even have one for my Datsun.

[FastWoman]

Thanks, Five! I held off on responding, in hope that more responses would come in. I think my responding with "thanks" sort of caps the end of the thread, so I'm not likely to hear anything else. Anyway, I appreciate your responding.

I really like the idea of using the spare tire well as a mold for a fiberglass enclosure. Pretty slick! Even so, I want a spare and emergency tools. What do you do for a protective grill over the subwoofer? Do you use heavy screen (e.g. the 1/2" galvanized stuff) attached to the MDF? Perhaps expanded metal? I would need the grill to hold up underneath grocery sacks and an occasional 20 lb dog.

The way the '78 hatch is constructed, there is a false fiberboard floor a few inches above the metal floor. I'm thinking of removing the fiberboard and constructing a subwoofer box in its place, raised to the same level as the remainder of the hatch floor. (The rear fiberboard door would be hinged to it.) The speaker cones and frames would actually be housed above the sheet metal floor, and the magnets would drop into the two holes. I admit it's not the optimal shape for a subwoofer housing, but low frequency sound would diffract pretty easily inside a weirdly shaped enclosure. I wouldn't end up with a powerhouse of a subwoofer, but then again, my objective isn't to roll down the road blasting folks with dish-rattling infrasound. Jazz is more my style. I just need a healthy bass response to balance out the lower end of the spectrum. With an in-floor subwoofer, I could then take out the huge subwoofer system that's sitting in the rear of the hatch and free up a lot of good space, as well as having a cleaner looking hatch area.

Anyway, I was just curious how people have used these storage compartments and especially whether anyone has housed speakers in them. I guess nobody else on this list has any thoughts as to how they might be used. Of course I admit they ARE rather buried and difficult to use.

Thanks again for describing your spare compartment subwoofer! Very nice!

[Fletch]

I'm planning on putting some 6x9's in my compartments on my 240z. I'm fabbing up some mounts as we speak.

[FastWoman]

Fletch! Cool! Then there IS a bit of room in there. (I couldn't remember, because it's been easily 25 years since I've seen one of those compartments.)

So can I ask you a favor? I can't really measure/examine mine without pulling out my hatch floor. Perhaps you could eyeball the compartments for me? Do they look large enough that I could drop the magnet of maybe a 10" subwoofer through them, if the mounting surface is maybe 3" above the metal deck? Perhaps just an 8" sub? If this is within the real of possibility, then I might start disassembling the thing to see how I can do it. Unfortunately it's not as easy as simply pulling back the carpet and detaching the false floor. My car is a bit more involved than that, owing to the stereo installation.

[260zCaliCar]

Here Fastwoman, take a look at these pictures, they may help you with sizing.

I forgot to clean this area after the car was painted. Oops... Bet it will look better tomorrrow!

[TomoHawk]

I once found an internet place that made vinyl liners for those storage areas. I just use them for jumper cables, air pump, can of brake fluid, etc. so I don't need liners. Hinging the front of the deck was also nice so you can get into those storage areas.

[FastWoman]

Thanks, 260zCaliCar! That helps me a lot. (The compartments are smaller than I had remembered.) If I might ask for another favor, what is the distance from the rear-most edge of the compartment to the sloping bottom below, measured perpendicularly to the deck? I'm wondering how far down I can drop a speaker magnet.

Tomo, I also like the idea of hinging the front of the deck panel to recapture the area for storage. You don't happen to have any photos, do you?

Thanks, guys!

Peace,

Sarah

[260zCaliCar]

The compartment is shaped like a right angle triangle with the 90 degree angle just behind the seat. The depth is 9 inches, and the opening is about 5.5 inches.

This should allow you to interpolate the width at any given depth within the space.

I have a 6x9 speaker in an old cabinet. If I get a chance I'll take it out and see if it will fit in the space. Unfortunately that won't happen until this evening.

[FastWoman]

Ah, now I get it. OK, I wasn't seeing your photo the right way. There was a shadow there that was throwing me off. That's going to be a tricky space to use for a subwoofer magnet! I'll have to think about that. Anyway, I appreciate the photo and the measurements. Now I know what I'm dealing with.

[260zCaliCar]

Good luck with the installation! If you get something to work, take some pictures, I'd like to see it! On another note, Zs-ondabrain has a lot of experience with stereo installations, I was just reading a thread from him:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32386

He may know off the top of his head if a subwoofer magnet will fit in that space.