Rear Seat Braces

[SimonTuffGuy]

I've always hated those braces in the back of the car when the interior is removed... So today I finally did something about them. I had started doing this sometime before parking the car last year and never finished because it was a big pain...

I took a punch and staked a small hole in each of the spot welds and then drilled them out with a 1/2" drill (thanks for the suggestion FB71).

It took almost 35 minutes per side to get through the things... There must've been 20 spot welds per side.

I got through all of them and only hit the outside of the car once. That'll be an easy fix though, and the back looks a lot cleaner than it did before.

Tomorrow I fix up the hole I made, clean up a little and spray paint to keep from rusting. I also picked up a few extra cans of paint so maybe I can give the bodykit a quick cover.

Pics tomorrow probably.

[MONSOON]

Id like to see this. I was thinking of doing the same thing with mine. What will you do about the interior panels or are they not in the car?

[SimonTuffGuy]

They aren't in the car. I was thinking of making something custom if I ever wanted to put them back in... But my guess is that I never will (slight weight savings for autoX).

Pics tomorrow.

[MONSOON]

Hmmm.. Something to think about. My brothers real good with fiberglass.

[SimonTuffGuy]

You could almost use the stock pieces... But then cut the parts where the seat brackets go out. It might take a few pieces to complete the job, but I bet it could be done without too much work.

For me? I don't really mind what the interior of the car looks like. I got the stuff painted this morning... Ripped off the rear bumper and side skirts and they are currently sitting out back drying. I wanted to get away from the primer look, so hopefully this will hold me over for a bit.

[SimonTuffGuy]

Photos are on my gallery at: http://www.pimptiva.com/?page_id=40&g2_itemId=6075

Gave the bodykit pieces a quick spray so they didn't look so out of place. Also did the grille that went with my new headlights and the headlight fillers below the lights. Everything looks like it sort of "belongs" now, even though the white isn't quite an exact match to the rest of the car. I need to do the hood yet, but I didn't get aorund to it today...

The pics of the interior are the last 3.

[Maxtiva]

Simon you have a really nice car

[SimonTuffGuy]

Thanks! I really appreciate that. It's gettingt here... It'll be a lot nicer when it gets an actual paint job and some dings and dents removed.

[Maxtiva]

Dont forget to post pic after all the work done on your car !!!

[MONSOON]

Do you think removing those affect the car structurely or impact it in any way safety wise? Or are they merely there for the rear seat?

[SimonTuffGuy]

From what I can gather, they are just there for the rear seat. It would be my guess that the car would hold up better on a side impact if they were there, with the seat still in tact... But since I don't plan on getting smacked in the side, I'll take my chances.

[Maxtiva]

But since I don't plan on getting smacked in the side, I'll take my chances.

:withstupid: LOL

[fastivaca]

But since I don't plan on getting smacked in the side, I'll take my chances.

Haven't you already "been there-done that"???

[SimonTuffGuy]

Yeah... Too many times if you ask me. That's why this car isn't driven in cold/snowy conditions... well, the fact that I don't want something like that happening and there's no heater core. :-P

[Damkid]

^this winter has been a challenge for me with a BP festiva, and with your luck, it's probably a good thing you stored it for the winter :lol: