In our final installment on the Civic Si hatchback's cargo space, we'll mold the fiberglass trunk panels from scratch so that they flow together. First, I laid out the key design elements for this project. The first aspect I focused on was the rear hatch stereo system presentation as it's viewed from the rear of the car.
For the second design element I wanted the overall shape of the panels to remain below the rear line of sight of the driver. The third and final element of design was to integrate the rear trunk-mounted component speakers into the sides of the hatch, around the subwoofers.
Another factor to consider prior to installation is mounting of the speaker components securely to the vehicle so that the vehicle maintains the safety standards provided by the manufacturer. An effective method for doing this is to use tiny nut fasteners in your installation. These types of fasteners are available in S.A.E. and metric threads, and can be purchased online from places such as www.mcmaster.com.
When working on this type of installation project, you also need to consider where your panels will seam together. Placement of the interior panel seams is very important in regards to any external graphics and/or two-tone paint as it flows from outside of the car to inside of that area.
Next month, we'll begin a two-part look on my favorite part of the Civic Si: the 25-piece door panels. Until then, feel free to e-mail me with questions or comments at techpanel@sourceinterlink.com.