Is this important???

Ok guys, I'm working on a subwoofer enclosure and am too limited on space. I was wondering if I am able to remove this brace that goes across the hatch under the spare tire. My main concern is the structural integrety. Is this brace for preventing body flex or is it just for the spare tire to mount on? If it is for body flex, can I put in a rear strut brace and still remove this one?

Also, is there any kits to relocate the windsheild washer resevoir? Are 1g resevoirs in the hatch also? I really would like to move it somewhere out of the way... All input is welcome. Thanks!

EDIT: I uploaded the pictures to webshots but they aren't appearing on my computer... So, here is the direct link if they aren't working...

http://community.webshots.com/photo/509190181lisMGf

http://community.webshots.com/photo/509190176aJUbsl

http://image57.webshots.com/57/9/1/81/509190181lisMGf_ph.jpg

http://image52.webshots.com/52/9/1/76/509190176aJUbsl_ph.jpg

i don't think it is. i know i'm going to take mine out when i finally getting around to doing my sub enclosure. i think it's just a mount for the spare tire. but becareful when your cutting it out. i believe if you cut down, you'll see ground down there and will have to do a patch job. i think i'm just going to cut it so there's like a 1/2 inch sticking up.

It is the Rear hatch washer fluid and the 5th tire mount.... neather of which are needed... they are just fine to remove.

Sweet, I'm gonna cut it out and sand it smooth then... I'm gonna try to make my own fiberglass hatch trim. I'll post some pictures of the process when its all done.

BTW, has anyone messed with fiberglass sub enclosures before? Does it need to be reinforced by anything more than the fiberglass?

wait doesnt that fluid resivoir also hold the wiper fluid for the front wipers too? on a turbo model anyway?

Sweet, I'm gonna cut it out and sand it smooth then... I'm gonna try to make my own fiberglass hatch trim. I'll post some pictures of the process when its all done.

BTW, has anyone messed with fiberglass sub enclosures before? Does it need to be reinforced by anything more than the fiberglass?


http://chris.pfharlock.com/glass/

Thanks for the link, it will help me with the process. So far I have my hatch tore apart and I have made cardboard templates for my new trim frame. I'll probably spend my evenings getting an actual lightweight wooden frame together before the weekend. I'm still trying to figure out how I wanna do the subwoofer enclosure exactly though. I'm trying to make my sub and amp visible while still maximizing my cargo space... Also, I have seen some people use "nutserts" to attach their trim to the body. I looked up nutserts on the internet and all I could find is where to buy them. Does anyone actually know how they work?

wait doesnt that fluid resivoir also hold the wiper fluid for the front wipers too? on a turbo model anyway?

yes.

are you guys sure that that isn't a support/brace of some kind??

wait doesnt that fluid resivoir also hold the wiper fluid for the front wipers too? on a turbo model anyway?
yes, their is just one, but its not a requirement to have... the car will opperate perfectly with out it, just no window washers. his main point was to remove the tire mount.

Moving the washer fluid bottle should be easy, all I think you would need is some mounting stuff and some extra hose. Fiberglass is plenty strong enough to be a box, thats what mine is. Heres a couple more links for you.http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/main/http://www.chimchim.net/rav4/how/fiber.htm

Wow, thanks for all the links guys. I'm really getting the bulk of it figured out now. I think I'm gonna look for a windshield washer resevoir thats just small and in more of a square shape so that I can hide it underneath the antenna behind my fiberglass piece. As for that brace, I'm gonna cut it all out of there so I have plenty of space to work with... I'm still trying to figure out how to actually mount the enclosure to the back half of the hatch underneath the hatch latch... I wanna make sure its secure and won't move around. I'm also debating on dynomating the whole hatch to improve on sound quality and cut down on road noise.

Oh yeah, does anyone else have that little hole in the bottom of the floor under the spare tire? Maybe a drain hole? I thought about plugging it with some silicone.

yeah i have that...sometimes the hatch drains overflow and it puddles up under there and that's just a little drain. silicone it shut but just make sure that your hatch drains are working correctly.

Alrighty I'll see to it that they work properly before I plug that one.

Hey gthompson97, when you did your interior in the RS. Did you paint it with spraycan paint or did you actually paint them with good car paint? I wanna do my whole interior black but I don't want it to be all nasty looking and come off when you rub your fingers on it. How'd you do it exactly?

well...it's sort of a long process, or at least how i did it.

first of all, i started off by taking EVERYTHING out of the car, every piece of plastic there was. (minus the steering wheel and shifter) it kind of looked like this when i was done.
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8647/eclipseinterior4ni.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

well i've actually painted interiors two different ways

I completely stripped all the interior out and put it in a dust free environment (not outside). I then cleaned all the plastic pieces with dawn (original) dishsoap and water, scrubbing off all the stains and what not. I let that dry for a day or two. Then before I painted them, I wiped them down with 3M Wax & Grease Remover. (I get it in gallon cans at the store cause we have a big account their for our autobody shop, but i think you can get it in smaller amounts) Now when your wiping them down, you might have to do it 2 or 3 times to the whole thing, making sure you get off ALL dirt, grease, wax, and whatnot the soap left behind, we're going for cleanliness here. Each time you make a wipe, flip the rag over onto a fresh side. I fold the rag into squares so i can use it like 10-16 wipes before I need a new rag. You'll be able to tell when it's getting clean cause there won't be any dirt left on the rag. Let those dry before you apply the paint but not too long.

Here is where I've done it differently. All the stuff above is the same for both methods.

For the first way (my car), I used a sprayable paint from Dupont called VinylColor or something like that (I forget the name, I'll check tomorrow night but I think that's correct). This stuff comes in cans like regular car paint. It's put on the same way as car paint too, it's applied with a gun. Just spray on as many coats as you want or until the desired color is achieved, BUT MAKE SURE TO NOT GET ANY RUNS OR YOU'LL HAVE TO COMPLETELY START THE WHOLE PIECE OVER AGAIN! Let it dry in a dust free environment for at least 12 hours...if not 24.

The Second way (my buddies car), we used some SEM Vinyl Spray Paint stuff. It comes in regular spray paint cans. Before we sprayed on the paint though, we used Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. Just put a light mist of the Bulldog stuff and then let that tack up (or whatever the can says) and then put on the desired amount of coats of the paint until color is achieved. Let this dry for about 12 hours in a dust free environment and you're good to go.

Both ways turned out very well and hold up excellently to wear and tear. I have a few scratches on mine just because I'm constantly working in my car and laying the tools on the paint and shit but if you don't do that you should be alright. The window cranks and door handles are starting to wear through, but it's now 3 years later (and you can always re'do them anyways.

Awesome! Thanks for the write up, I used that spraycan dye in my firebird (I went from tan to black) and it looked good for about a week and then everything started to wear through bad. I will probably do it the way you did to your car but I am gonna wait until I am done tearing things apart a zillion times and then I'll do it so it will stay nice. On yous, did you use any type of clear coat also or would that make it too glossy and fake looking?

nope, no clear coat. just make sure you put enough coats of paint on, that's probably why it wore through so fast on your firebird. i think we put about 6-8 light coats on to get the color we wanted on my buddies car.

edit: and i don't think it was a dye...i think it was an actual interior/vinyl paint from SEM.

Ok... Yeah, I only put like 2 coats on the firebird parts and it just never seemed to cure properly or something. To this day they are still sticky feeling and I just don't like it... Got any ideas how I can get typical trim texture on my fiberglass parts I'm making? I don't want them to be perfetly smooth. I'm going for that "from the factory" look. lol

no i'm not quite sure how you'd do that. just smoothen it out and if you don't put a clearcoat on it, it won't make it look like a glassy finish so maybe that's what your going for.

gthompson97, do you have any pictures of your interior that show how it turned out?

gthompson's interior turned out awesome! Check out his cardomain for all the pictures. I can only hope that my interior will turn out half as good as his did.

gthompson97, do you have any pictures of your interior that show how it turned out?

yeah there's a few on cardomain like blackcrow said



gthompson's interior turned out awesome! Check out his cardomain for all the pictures. I can only hope that my interior will turn out half as good as his did.

time and patience. that's all it takes to do a good job.

Ok... Yeah, I only put like 2 coats on the firebird parts and it just never seemed to cure properly or something. To this day they are still sticky feeling and I just don't like it... Got any ideas how I can get typical trim texture on my fiberglass parts I'm making? I don't want them to be perfetly smooth. I'm going for that "from the factory" look. lol

It has to be exactly the right humidity and temp. If it isn't it will turn out sticky. Every type of paint (enamel, lacquer, etc) has different humidity, temp, and drying times. If you want really good directions on getting the best result, look up painting computer cases. Those people do some nice ass work. Maybe look for a flat clearcoat so it doesn't look glossy.

with the dupont vinylcolor you don't need a clearcoat and actually i don't think your supposed to put one on. same with the SEM spray stuff.

Will you give the link to your car domain page?