Rear SEAT Area -> Rear CARGO Area

[Thirty-Two]

So I've been carrying bikes around with the Fist. I take the front wheel off, stuff it in there. I've had two bikes in there at the most; a 29er (took both wheels off), and a 26in road bike stuffed in there. I'm not doing that again. It caused some damage in the plastics. My passenger and I were squeezed up against the dash. But you make do with what you have. I'll be getting a hitch and rack soon, but before I do that... I have this 4x8 sheet of ABS that is just sitting in the garage.

Now I could follow Siestarider and Friends and create some sort of underbelly pan, but I am now waiting for some sort of a final prototype and then hopefully a product that I can order, instead. So I got to thinking. For us who want the versatility of a rear cargo area for track days, dogs, sleeping area when the spouse is angry, a rear seat delete kit would be great. The FiST is great in the aspect that the seats don't fold flat and that the rear area is cumbersome in its packaging and design from Ford. They might fix this in the next model, but at expense of a larger car, probably. Levels Performance I believe started to develop something, that never really came to fruition. Some of the members on here have then gone on to create their own with great success.

I endeavor to create something that can be removed with minimal effort, that is light, but supportive enough to lay on, that will protect both the rear cargo area and the cargo itself, while looking presentable. No, sound insulation is not one of my goals, hoping it is just an extra bonus. I'll be drawing inspiration from members on the forum who have made their own, kits from other similar vehicles, and the Fiesta Van across the pond. I'll be getting help from some friends who have done custom work before and some fab shops nearby. I'll spend this week in idea development. If all goes well, between school, work, life, I am budgeting that by Springtime, I'll have a final kit. No, I am not a pro or anything in this. I've never messed with the plastic before, other than for small replacement pieces for MX plastics when I take a spill in the woods (this is why I have this huge sheet here). If all goes well and the time allows I might mess around with different materials in search of strict lightness or a different design that will create a whole enclosure. I'll post pictures and updates on this page along the way. I might consider selling a few examples if there is any interest and if I can package it for shipment. My main motivation for doing this is that I really need to get rid of this sheet and I want to see I can get some more versatility out of the FiST.

Feel free to follow along, and contribute ideas/comments/questions. Thanks.

 

[Thirty-Two]

Fiesta Van

*not mine, just some pic off google*

 

[nickstewartroc]

Sweet! It would be nice to have something to make it better back there, had to pick up a sheet for 2ft x 4ft plywood yesterday and it was a pain and barely fit, but would have felt better without the back seats and having some sort of bumper or something to keep it off the interior

 

[frankiefiesta]

Good idea. I've been thinking about doing the same thing down the road. Can't wait to see any progress you make

 

[Siestarider]

Rear seat delete

Search function will find my thread with pics. If I were doing it again, I would use thermoply for the vertical supports and wood faced aramid honeycomb for horizontal pieces, its about half the weight of thermoply and plenty strong in tension. There may be some newer composites that are even better.

Best part is I can remove it faster now with practice, one minute and its all out.

 

[Thirty-Two]

So this week I have taken stock measurements of the car in preparation for the upcoming week. I've moved the 4x8 plastic sheet out of the garage into the house (pictured), again for preparation for next week. I've also researched different materials. Looked into that aramid and found it to be expensive and with limited availability. Definitely am considering thermoply for the vertical supports in front and as a supporting structure somewhere along the actual abs plastic surface sheet. Also looked into a few other material types. All in preparation for next week.
What is happening next week? Hopefully tear down and more measurements. Also hopefully sometime from Wednesday night to Friday night, I will be posting pictures of a 3D model of the rear (with dimensions!) to allow for testing of different layouts without having to cut cardboard out over and over again. I will note that I might have to bring the car into the shop as I am getting vibrations and slight ?jumping? when shifting along, (I have posted these woes in another thread) so I will be doing the best I can this upcoming week. So if push comes to shove the model and dimensions might be delayed.

Regular ABS 1/8in plastic - This is what I have now. It is really middle-ground in terms of cost, weight, work-ability. This 4x8 sheet was 60 bucks, smooth and textured side. I need to figure out a way to weigh it before I start cutting into it just as a baseline.

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Kydex - Fire Retardant, pretty light, gray textured color, very durable, would double as insulator. Needs some sort of vacuum former. It is only available from local suppliers in much small sheets than needed, anything larger (4x8) would require a special order and it is too expensive.

PVC Foam - Closed cell, waterproof, insulates, heat-resistant, long-life span, easy to form with a hairdryer or hot water, many colors, very light, cheap, readily available. But may become split/bent with continued hard impacts on the surface, and it shrinks and expands with extreme fluctuations with temperature. And the acid fumes from cutting with machinery or using a heat gun can wreak equipment and will most certainly affect people who do not take precautions for proper ventilation. I could imagine this being used strictly as a seat delete and not for anything that will hold weight, but I will not confirm this until I get my hands on some. I will certainly look to order/buy some after I've cut out a final template.

Wood - Most likely no. But it would be very cheap and easy to work with. As a structural material, its fine but as the main material, just no.

Aluminum - I found some sizable rolls that will need to be cut up and riveted together. Extremely cheap and easy to work with. Probably would need some sort of mat glued to the underneath for sound insulation. Would also need a skeleton structure underneath.

Also going to get a roll of automotive carpet soon so I can lay it onto the actual body.

I'll also be going to another supplier in the area to look at rubber as a possible material as it would be easy to shape/cut and install/remove.

 

[Jking]

I really like your Fiesta Van. If I go out of town I take my Great Dane and while the cargo area is big enough the extra height would be very nice. Plus you have the weight reduction of the rear seats.

 

[Siestarider]

I am using 1/8" ABS for undertray testing, latest version (a lot smaller than a rear seat delete floor) has four aluminum supports pop riveted to it, its still a little flexible and I would not want to load it with more than air.

 

[Jking]

He's still a puppy, but weighs 130. I was thinking of goggles so he can stick his head out of the moon roof.

 

[Ronbo]

He's still a puppy, but weighs 130. I was thinking of goggles so he can stick his head out of the moon roof.

I've had Great Danes for over twenty years and can tell you that he will just curl up and go to sleep in back after about five minutes of driving.

 

[Thirty-Two]

So I haven't posted anything in a while, but here is what I've been working on. Hopefully trying to get a final example done sometime before the end of March.


The ABS plastic (4x8, 1/8in) was about 23 pounds before I started to cut into it, about 11 lbs currently.

Below I'll list a summary of what I've done.

- Took rear seats out. Link to a helpful guide below. Weights were same.
http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/3161-Rear-Seat-Delete-and-weights

- With everything cleaned up I started to measure everything. Used a combination of string, cardboard, paper, tape, pencil, measuring tape. There is alot of annoying bends and curves that aren't the same for right and left which meant it took time.

- Placed template on ABS. I tried to use a jigsaw, and handsaw and all that fun power tool stuff but it started to melt the plastic even on the lowest setting so I decided to use a scoring tool. If there's any chance I need to make more I found a shop that can get everything cut out perfectly and the edged rolled, but in interest of cost, I wanted a sort of "rough draft" first. Because of this I cut everything about 1/4in large so I wouldn't end up with it being smaller than I needed it. I'm going in sometime this week and sanding it down so I cut the desired measurement. For the edges I'll use a heat gun so it's all smooth.

I am currently in the trial/error phase of creating a structure. I found some light materials, just need to figure out execution. I want the plastic to simply lay on the structure, with the structure providing support in the near the front seats and a place to attach a barrier. The rear of the body and spare tire provides a good amount of support there. I also need it to be easy to install/remove. I am even considering having the front piece fold or slide back so it's faster to install the seats.

Anyways here are some pictures.

Wrinkling in the spare tire hold.

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Removing the seats allowed sand to get through these openings, will have to get some plugs.

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The cardboard I had in place for about three weeks. Worked somewhat. Here you can also see my first templete I made that would have have a folding piece up against the seats. Decided not to do that because it would complicate the support and barrier.

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Creating template on some paper.

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Had scored and snapped plastic I needed. Starting to measure out everything.

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Looks better than cardboard, though it's cut a bit large.

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This is the area I need to sand down.

I laid down on it with the spare tire underneath and surprisingly it didn't budge. Looking at it in person I am sure I could fit two bikes with their front wheels taken off upright, possibly a 26in with both wheels laying down. The cargo space is much bigger than I believed it would turn out.

That's all for now.