Material ideas to create isolating partition behind back seat in first gen

[Gandalf]

I'm looking to seal off the cabin area from the trunk in a 69 Camaro and not sure what base material to use. Ply? MDF? Steel? Aluminum? If metal then I will be applying sounddeadening material. My goals are to clean up this area so you don't see through but mainly to help isolate the sounds from the trunk entering the cabin. I expect to be running a moderate amp/sub/speakers. Trying to minimize vibration and still keep it serviceable/removeable (can't think of a reason why - just seems like a good idea). Ideally like to keep the weight down also but that might be asking for everything at once. Appreciate any ideas.

Additionally, I'm looking to beef-up the parcel tray area to create a solid mounting point for some 6x9's and maybe a small sub in the center. Can I secure some thick MDF under the shelf? I expect I will have the interior guy put a nice padded and covered finish to match the rest of the interior.

Thanks,
G.

[First Bird]

I'm subscribing to your thread. Looking for this answer too for a 1968 Firebird.

[dontlifttoshift]

I used 3/4" MDF in the back of my roadster to do the same thing. Those cars had no bracing at all and the mdf bulkhead really stiffened up the car. That airex stuff Parsons has been using looks good and would likely fit the bill for your car, its light but not cheap.

[toxicz28]

Sheet metal is definitely going to weigh less than mdf or fiberglass. You can make it removable with nutserts if that's the route you want to take. For the back seat partition, you can use a 1/4" piece of luan (plywood) or masonite to keep costs down.

[go-fish]

Plexiglas.

If you can find some of the stickers that have the adhesive on the face. The kind that are made to stick on the inside, or non-exposed portion. Maybe something like the "Camaro" script or have something custom made at a sign company. Put the sticker on the trunk side and paint the trunk side. The logo/script will stand out and the rest will be whatever color you choose while the surface will be smooth and shiny.

[Gandalf]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm thinking I like that nutserts idea but maybe with a sheet of aluminum for behind the back seat. For some reason I still like the idea of a MDF type base to help beef-up the parcel-shelf. Above or below the factory steel?

Johnny C - I get the plexiglass suggestion but what's up with all the sticker stuff lol? I probably should have said that this will be covered by the back seat and not planning on it being really "seen" from inside the trunk. Eventually I imagine I'll run some closeout panels and/or sub box in the trunk anyway.

Gregg

[go-fish]

Johnny C - I get the plexiglass suggestion but what's up with all the sticker stuff lol? I probably should have said that this will be covered by the back seat and not planning on it being really "seen" from inside the trunk. Eventually I imagine I'll run some closeout panels and/or sub box in the trunk anyway.

Gregg


Okay. I though it was going to be visible (no backseat-due to tubs or something). The sticker or stencil idea would be to break up the large expanse of painted plexiglass, assuming it would be exposed.

[The WidowMaker]

my plan is 1/2" ultra light mdf on top of the shelf. its not actually ultra light, just a little lighter. i plan to route a substantial amount of material out from the bottom basically making the 1/2" sheet into a 1/4" sheet with reinforcement ribs. ive also thought about just putting two 1/4" sheets together, but cutting out the areas before i glued them together.

im going to be running a component set along with an 11" sub, so it needs to be stout. my sub box will mount from the bottom and give additional reinforcement.

[1969CamaroRS]

I made some closeouts out of sheet-metal, closed out both the top package tray area and created a 2nd firewall between the trunk and passenger compartment. Everything is bolted on so I can remove it if ever necessary. Also it will be covered by sound deadening and sound absorbing material. Here is a few pics.

Firewall:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/InteriorFloor016-1.jpg

Top closeout mockups:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/Interior043-1.jpg

Top closeouts covered in sound deadener (minus two firewall plates):
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/Interior052-1.jpg

[grenade inspector]

what about fiberglass? you could make a fiberglass panel out of jersy/mat/resin just like the curved sub enclosures are often made of