Also, I have decided that I will be removing all of the sheet metal, including the upright in the middle. I'll be working with my welder to fabricate the mounts for the tonneau latches soon. That's why I'm only cutting one side out for now, I want to fab a mock up of the speaker box and make sure:

1) it fits and will provide adequate airspace for my intended speaker selection
2) it will be easy to remove once the seats are out to allow maintenance access to fuel pump, seat belt mechanisms, emergency trunk release, etc.
3) welder will be able to fabricate mounts for the latches that don't interfere with the box
4) I will be able to see the speaker through the top/back of the box when the tonneau is open
5) I will be able to have amp/caps/distribution rack that doesn't obstruct view into speaker boxes
6) Top and tonneau will be fully operational
7) All wires (OEM and new install) will be hidden both when boxes are in and out
8) All visible areas will be covered with carpet/upholstery whether speaker boxes are in or out
9) Speaker box area can be used for additional cargo space when boxes are out (possible padded cushion/seat that comes in/out to reduce any sound of shifting items in that space)

 

that will stiffen all the sureface area of that metal up

 

I am also leaving myself the option of cutting out the thin metal piece between the trunk and this area and replacing it with some thick plexi/lexan.

I would really like to do this for:

1) If I put a nitrous bottle in the trunk, it could all be visible when the tonneau is open.
2) If I plan the amp rack and speaker boxes with this in mind, you could see them from the trunk as well when the top is up and tonneau is closed
3) I could leave slots in the fiberglass and allow more airflow into the trunk area as well for better cooling
4) NOT GONNA HAPPEN, BUT - If I ever decide that 2 12" subs wasn't enough, I could forget about the plexi and put an additional sub box in the trunk firing through this opening (since I'll have the humps with scoop openings and it would have somewhere to go)

 

I wish that I had weighed my car before starting this, but I can always weigh afterwards and compare to another Roadster's scale weight. My trunk was already gutted so that I would have the maximum storage room when traveling.

For those that know that my car will see a bit of track time - I think that if I can keep down the amount of plexi, this isn't going to be an insane amount of extra weight because I've already stripped a lot as well. Even if so, the majority of the weight will be the subs/speaker boxes, and they will be removable. If I'm not happy with it during some of my future auto-x events, I think that it will be more fun to add power via FI than to strip the car down. She's a thick hipped roadster, with a fat inexperienced driver, so she's never going to be competitive in class - but if I can make her fun for me - boy howdy!!!

 

Ok, I'm back from vacation early and got to work on the car a bit more. I now have all of the metal cut out:

 

Ok, so I've change my mind about the box design a bit:

1) Once I finish with all of the dynamat, I will be putting down padding and carpet over the entire area.
2) I will then be putting in a level, flat, wooden, carpeted ledge across the bottom
3) the ledge will have foam weatherstripping on it at all points where it touches the body to create a seal and to prevent wood to metal vibration/sounds
4) the ledge will have holes cut so that each speaker can fire downwards each of the airspace/areas below the ledge (essentially creating a 5th order enclosure)
5) the area below the ledge is open to allow the sound/air to exit along the floor behind each seat
6) the speaker boxes themselves will sit on top of this ledge and be latched down securely into place for quick/easy installation and removal
7) the speaker boxes will be ported, and the ports will fire towards the backs of the seats
8) The speaker boxes will have plexiglass tops so that you can see down into the boxes from above and a mix of mirrors and LEDs will be used inside the box to achieve the best view/lighting

 

Cool project

 

Ok, this is what I'm working on now - since I have moved the latches and they no longer "click" onto the tonneau when it comes down, the top will not close all of the way. I must manually reach back underneath the tonneau and snap the latches onto the tonneau before it will complete the last step of closing. I recorded a video demonstrating what happens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3_sktM3CHQ

My goal is going to be to fake the system into thinking that the latches are connecting when the tonneau comes down. I may or may not incorporate the latches into the top of the speaker boxes later, but even if so, i will need some way to fake the system out if the speaker boxes have been removed for track/maintenance.

 

Found your post and really like what you have done and the ***** it takes to commit to this kind of project. Now almost a year and a half later you either finished the project or burned to the car to the ground. Did you finish? If so where are the pics?!?!?!

 

The roadster was totalled in some Z-on-Z violence on the interstate in Jan 2012. I now have a coupe.

 

Sorry to hear.

 

meh, it happens. She was just a car. I'm here safe and alive, so I can't complain.

There are a few other guys on here that have gutted and reworked their interiors that are WAY more impressive than anything I ever tried.

Jackson has done some sick stuff to his interior - check out: https://my350z.com/forum/exterior-an...or-advice.html