apanossi

I was inspired this weekend to do a small project on my 1994 C4 while I waited for some parts to arrive later in the week for other mods. I stumbled across Babalouie's long thread on maintenance/mods he has done on his 964 here. One mod that stood out was the conversion of the bulky trunk carpet to an RS-style minimalistic design. It cleans up the trunk nicely and exposes many routine maintenance areas. Plus, I wanted to see my fancy Porsche Motorsport strut brace.

I was able to go from this:





To this:






I modified Babalouie's instructions a bit to allow for the passage of additional cables and tubing on my 1994 C4 and to allow easy placement and removal. Sorry for some of the blurry shots.
Estimated time: 3-4 hrs.
Difficulty level: 3/10.
Total cost: around $30

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1) Tools: Dremel grinder/sander, circular saw, pencil, yardstick, mini-hacksaw (alternative: band saw)

2) MDF board (minimum 5mm thickness; I used .25"); you will need about 3x3 feet minimum


3) Aerosol glue (I used 3M Super 77; works great)




4) Standard cardboard for cutting template

5) Felt, speaker cabinet cloth, or this oil drip guard felt-like cloth I got from O'Reilly's




INSTRUCTIONS

1) Remove current carpet from trunk and create a template of the floor and front wall using flat cardboard. Make sure to create holes large enough to avoid obstruction of supports and additional tubing. You don't want the weight of the MDF/carpet or anything else placed in the trunk to rest on vital components. When complete, the MDF will rest on the front and back shelves of the trunk and approximately flush with the top of the battery and ABS unit.
NOTE: Make sure you allow for an additional 2mm or so along the borders for folding of the new carpet.






2) Transfer the template to the MDF board by outlining with a pencil. Make your initial cuts with a circular saw along the outer borders of the template. Switch to mini-hacksaw or band saw to cut out smaller slots for tubing/supports. Finally, dremel the uneven areas flat. Does not have to have perfect edges, as they will be covered by carpet. Continue fitting and modifying the MDF as necessary to get it to comfortably fit in the space and not too snug.






3) When satisfied with the fit, transfer the MDF to the new upholstery. Make sure you orient it properly so that when you insert the completed product, the fabric will be on top. The rectangular front piece should be spaced approximately 0.25" from the larger piece to allow for a proper hinge. Apply aerosol glue to the appropriate surface of the MDF and lay it down evenly on the fabric. The back side will now be facing you.



4) Begin carefully folding the edges over the MDF tightly. Spray aerosolized glue as you go. Make appropriate cuts at corners of the cutouts and radial cuts along rounded surfaces to allow the fabric to hug the borders perfectly. Add a rectangular piece of fabric across the hinge to give additional support.



5) Allow glue to completely dry before placing in trunk. You may need to add additional glue or contact cement in areas that are not sticking well.

6) You're done!

HiWind

Looks great - nicely done!