Making a parcel shelf for MK2 golf

Discussion:

(too old to reply)

2006-07-28 15:56:05 UTC

Hi,

I have a MK2 golf with a parcel shelf thats faling apart due to the
large speaker holes that were cut out of it (not by me - I got the car
like that).

I have seen that people have made their own from MDF (or similar)

Anyone ever tried this. If so I would be interested in knowing how you
worked out the dimensions. Did you just draw round the existing one or
will that not work. Thickness of wood used would be great

Also the pins that fit into the side of the car (where the rear
speakers are). Whats the best way of getting round that?

Ideally I would like to put some speakers in it so fairly robust,

Just want to get some idea on how to approach this before I make a
right pigs ears of it all.

BTW I have tried to look for original vw one, but black ones with no
holes in them are pretty rare/expensive.

Thanks

Bhupesh

Doki

2006-07-28 21:49:55 UTC

Permalink

Post by bp
Hi,
I have a MK2 golf with a parcel shelf thats faling apart due to the
large speaker holes that were cut out of it (not by me - I got the car
like that).
I have seen that people have made their own from MDF (or similar)

I've had one in another car. Not made one, but modified it. Pretty simple
construction.

Post by bp
Anyone ever tried this. If so I would be interested in knowing how you
worked out the dimensions. Did you just draw round the existing one or
will that not work. Thickness of wood used would be great

You use MDF. Around 10mm at least I would reckon to give it some weight and
rigidity for decent sound. Then you need more MDF to make up the shape of
the pattern on the original parcel shelf

Post by bp
Also the pins that fit into the side of the car (where the rear
speakers are). Whats the best way of getting round that?

Use a couple of bits of steel rod the same size as a couple of holes drilled
into the MDF at the front of the shelf. You may need to attach more MDF or
make up a seperate front piece - my old car had a piece of probably 30mm MDF
at the front to hold the mounting pins. You may also need to route or chisel
the edges of the bottom of the shelf to make it fit flush like the old one.
You then make speaker holes, countersink your speaker screw mounts and put
some sort of grille over the top (either stretched speaker cloth or metal
mesh), then put black acoustic carpet over the hole lot with spray glue.

Post by bp
Ideally I would like to put some speakers in it so fairly robust,
Just want to get some idea on how to approach this before I make a
right pigs ears of it all.

Find a way of mounting your 6x9s under the original 6x4 grilles VW provide
in the parcel shelf supports, or get a proper shelf and bodge some heavy MDF
to the bottom (bit of a crime to bugger up a good parcel shelf though, as
GTI ones are rare).

Post by bp
BTW I have tried to look for original vw one, but black ones with no
holes in them are pretty rare/expensive.

They're about £30 last time I checked on ebay. That's cheaper than making or
buying a "stealth shelf". There's one in my shed that I'd sell if the price
were right.

Caltrap

2006-07-29 10:34:35 UTC

Permalink

Post by Doki

I've had one in another car. Not made one, but modified it. Pretty simple
construction.

You use MDF. Around 10mm at least I would reckon to give it some weight
and rigidity for decent sound. Then you need more MDF to make up the shape
of the pattern on the original parcel shelf

Post by bp
Also the pins that fit into the side of the car (where the rear
speakers are). Whats the best way of getting round that?

Use a couple of bits of steel rod the same size as a couple of holes
drilled into the MDF at the front of the shelf. You may need to attach
more MDF or make up a seperate front piece - my old car had a piece of
probably 30mm MDF at the front to hold the mounting pins. You may also
need to route or chisel the edges of the bottom of the shelf to make it
fit flush like the old one. You then make speaker holes, countersink your
speaker screw mounts and put some sort of grille over the top (either
stretched speaker cloth or metal mesh), then put black acoustic carpet
over the hole lot with spray glue.

Post by bp
Ideally I would like to put some speakers in it so fairly robust,
Just want to get some idea on how to approach this before I make a
right pigs ears of it all.

Find a way of mounting your 6x9s under the original 6x4 grilles VW provide
in the parcel shelf supports, or get a proper shelf and bodge some heavy
MDF to the bottom (bit of a crime to bugger up a good parcel shelf though,
as GTI ones are rare).

Post by bp
BTW I have tried to look for original vw one, but black ones with no
holes in them are pretty rare/expensive.

They're about £30 last time I checked on ebay. That's cheaper than making
or buying a "stealth shelf". There's one in my shed that I'd sell if the
price were right.

Can I just interject the thought as to what may happen to a possibly
incorrectly secured piece of MDF with a couple of speakers attached in the
case of a collision?

You may note that most parcel shelves are of a light, almost flimsy feel.
This is not a matter of chance or money saving but of reducing the
likelihood of a piece of material becoming detached from the rear of the car
and flying around in the compartment, or reducing it's capability to cause
damage if it does.

Have another think and keep your head!

Doki

2006-07-29 12:11:00 UTC

Permalink

Post by Caltrap

Post by Doki

I've had one in another car. Not made one, but modified it. Pretty simple
construction.

You use MDF. Around 10mm at least I would reckon to give it some weight
and rigidity for decent sound. Then you need more MDF to make up the
shape of the pattern on the original parcel shelf

Post by bp
Also the pins that fit into the side of the car (where the rear
speakers are). Whats the best way of getting round that?

Use a couple of bits of steel rod the same size as a couple of holes
drilled into the MDF at the front of the shelf. You may need to attach
more MDF or make up a seperate front piece - my old car had a piece of
probably 30mm MDF at the front to hold the mounting pins. You may also
need to route or chisel the edges of the bottom of the shelf to make it
fit flush like the old one. You then make speaker holes, countersink your
speaker screw mounts and put some sort of grille over the top (either
stretched speaker cloth or metal mesh), then put black acoustic carpet
over the hole lot with spray glue.

Post by bp
Ideally I would like to put some speakers in it so fairly robust,
Just want to get some idea on how to approach this before I make a
right pigs ears of it all.

Find a way of mounting your 6x9s under the original 6x4 grilles VW
provide in the parcel shelf supports, or get a proper shelf and bodge
some heavy MDF to the bottom (bit of a crime to bugger up a good parcel
shelf though, as GTI ones are rare).

Post by bp
BTW I have tried to look for original vw one, but black ones with no
holes in them are pretty rare/expensive.

They're about £30 last time I checked on ebay. That's cheaper than making
or buying a "stealth shelf". There's one in my shed that I'd sell if the
price were right.

Can I just interject the thought as to what may happen to a possibly
incorrectly secured piece of MDF with a couple of speakers attached in the
case of a collision?
You may note that most parcel shelves are of a light, almost flimsy feel.
This is not a matter of chance or money saving but of reducing the
likelihood of a piece of material becoming detached from the rear of the
car and flying around in the compartment, or reducing it's capability to
cause damage if it does.
Have another think and keep your head!

Have you actually looked at a MK2 Golf parcel shelf? The shelf is held down
at the front by the parcel shelf supports, and at the back by the tailgate.
Then it's attached to the tailgate by the lifting straps. You'd have to roll
the car pretty violently to get it flying around the cabin.

Bill Again

2006-07-29 15:02:12 UTC

I've had one in another car. Not made one, but modified it. Pretty
simple construction.

You use MDF. Around 10mm at least I would reckon to give it some weight
and rigidity for decent sound. Then you need more MDF to make up the
shape of the pattern on the original parcel shelf

Post by bp
Also the pins that fit into the side of the car (where the rear
speakers are). Whats the best way of getting round that?

Use a couple of bits of steel rod the same size as a couple of holes
drilled into the MDF at the front of the shelf. You may need to attach
more MDF or make up a seperate front piece - my old car had a piece of
probably 30mm MDF at the front to hold the mounting pins. You may also
need to route or chisel the edges of the bottom of the shelf to make it
fit flush like the old one. You then make speaker holes, countersink
your speaker screw mounts and put some sort of grille over the top
(either stretched speaker cloth or metal mesh), then put black acoustic
carpet over the hole lot with spray glue.

Post by bp
Ideally I would like to put some speakers in it so fairly robust,
Just want to get some idea on how to approach this before I make a
right pigs ears of it all.

Find a way of mounting your 6x9s under the original 6x4 grilles VW
provide in the parcel shelf supports, or get a proper shelf and bodge
some heavy MDF to the bottom (bit of a crime to bugger up a good parcel
shelf though, as GTI ones are rare).

Post by bp
BTW I have tried to look for original vw one, but black ones with no
holes in them are pretty rare/expensive.

They're about £30 last time I checked on ebay. That's cheaper than
making or buying a "stealth shelf". There's one in my shed that I'd sell
if the price were right.

Can I just interject the thought as to what may happen to a possibly
incorrectly secured piece of MDF with a couple of speakers attached in
the case of a collision?
You may note that most parcel shelves are of a light, almost flimsy feel.
This is not a matter of chance or money saving but of reducing the
likelihood of a piece of material becoming detached from the rear of the
car and flying around in the compartment, or reducing it's capability to
cause damage if it does.
Have another think and keep your head!

Have you actually looked at a MK2 Golf parcel shelf? The shelf is held
down at the front by the parcel shelf supports, and at the back by the
tailgate. Then it's attached to the tailgate by the lifting straps. You'd
have to roll the car pretty violently to get it flying around the cabin.

Haven't we read somewhere that something weighing a couple of pounds becomes
the equivalent of a couple tons if you shunt at high speed? I am sure that a
couple of medium sized speakers could well be torn out and go straight
through the back of your head in the right circumstances.

Bill

Doki

2006-07-29 15:53:39 UTC

Permalink

Post by Bill Again

Post by Doki
Have you actually looked at a MK2 Golf parcel shelf? The shelf is held
down at the front by the parcel shelf supports, and at the back by the
tailgate. Then it's attached to the tailgate by the lifting straps. You'd
have to roll the car pretty violently to get it flying around the cabin.

Haven't we read somewhere that something weighing a couple of pounds
becomes the equivalent of a couple tons if you shunt at high speed? I am
sure that a couple of medium sized speakers could well be torn out and go
straight through the back of your head in the right circumstances.

E = 1/2k(v^2) IIRC. Yes, if something is going fast enough (note that
velocity is squared), it'll have the same energy as something much heavier
travelling much slower. However, having rolled a car with an MDF parcel
shelf, I can tell you that it didn't break free and kill me or my passenger.
There are plenty of things in the average car that could kill you if they
got going fast enough - bottles of pop, steering locks, screwdrivers &
spanners in the door bins, passengers in the back without seatbelts... The
other important thing to note is that a car is specifically designed to not
decellerate you from 60-0 instantly - it's designed to reduce the impulses
as much as possible.

I wouldn't worry about it, but yes, if you bodged it enough, or the mounts
were rubbish, or you crashed at a truly ridiculous speed, an MDF parcel
shelf could clout you on the head. On the other hand, a fibreboard parcel
shelf might let your toolbox into the cabin.

Chris Bartram

2006-07-30 14:33:44 UTC

Permalink

Post by Doki
I wouldn't worry about it, but yes, if you bodged it enough, or the mounts
were rubbish, or you crashed at a truly ridiculous speed, an MDF parcel
shelf could clout you on the head. On the other hand, a fibreboard parcel
shelf might let your toolbox into the cabin.

If it was the same shape and size as the OE shelf, I'd have thought the
shape of the tailgate and the clips at the front would hold it OK,
privided you did a good job of the clips.

2006-07-31 17:13:14 UTC

Permalink

OK

Thanks for this info. Since then I have got one from a scrappy, but it
still has speaker holes in it, but is more robust than my old one.
The whole shelf was broken along the middle on my old one - -only the
cloth was holding it together.

I may try and fix a long MDF piece aong the bottom, and fit the
speakers to the MDF - then cover the whole bit with cloth.

Incidently, my shelf from the scrappy was from a 1.6 Driver. Was there
a difference between the GTI shelf and the Non GTi shelf? Both mine
look the same so iguess Mine was replaced once before by the previous
owner.

Thanks

Bhupesh

Post by Doki

I've had one in another car. Not made one, but modified it. Pretty simple
construction.

You use MDF. Around 10mm at least I would reckon to give it some weight and
rigidity for decent sound. Then you need more MDF to make up the shape of
the pattern on the original parcel shelf

Post by bp
Also the pins that fit into the side of the car (where the rear
speakers are). Whats the best way of getting round that?

Post by bp
Ideally I would like to put some speakers in it so fairly robust,
Just want to get some idea on how to approach this before I make a
right pigs ears of it all.

Post by bp
BTW I have tried to look for original vw one, but black ones with no
holes in them are pretty rare/expensive.

They're about £30 last time I checked on ebay. That's cheaper than making or
buying a "stealth shelf". There's one in my shed that I'd sell if the price
were right.

Doki

2006-08-05 19:26:50 UTC

Permalink

GTi ones were black. AFAIK others were grey.