False Floor

[V3ST]

I got this festy about a year ago and have only recently got it back on the road. The brakes were toast and I decided to replace them all around. As I worked through replacing the brakes (with tons of help from forum members!), I did a couple other projects to get the car ready for the road.

One of those projects was building a false floor so my dog McGee could ride in the back in comfort - as much comfort as a wolfhound / pointer can get in a festiva. My wife helped me out with this project. Neither of us had worked with carpet before, so we learned a few things but are very happy with the final result.

Step 1: We built a cardboard template of the back seat area. We just roughed out the shape of the sides by taping together different pieces of cardboard. We fine tuned the fit once we cut out the panels.

False Floor 0 (Custom).jpg

Step 2: We traced the template onto a 4' x 4' sheet of 1/4 inch plywood. You could use thinner material, but I wanted this to be sturdy enough for my dog.

False Floor 1 (Medium) (Custom).jpg
False Floor 2 (Medium) (Custom).jpg

Step 3: We cut out the shape with a jigsaw. We then cut this in half so it would be easier to get in and out of the car.

False Floor 3 (Medium) (Custom).jpg

Step 4: We test fit the panels and did some more trimming, leaving some gaps on the sides so that the carpet would fit snug. We also left a gap between the two panels on the straight edge down the middle.

False Floor 4 (Medium) (Custom).jpg

Step 5: We lay out the carpet and put the panels on top. We then cut out two pieces of the carpet in the general shape of each panel.

Step 6: Glue time! Sorry no pictures of this part, it happened fast!

We spread out one piece of the carpet and used spray on "trim adhesive" we picked up at Canadian Tire (or Home Depot?). We layed out the carpet and set up the panel we were about to work with. We coated both the carpet and the panel with the adhesive, very generously. We then carefully placed the panel sticky side down on the sticky carpet.

We then worked around the edges of the panel pulling the carpet over the back of the panel. This stuff dries very quickly so work quick. The trickest parts were the rounded edges because you have to cut the carpet when wrapping it to get it to lay smooth. The square edges were easier to fold around the back of the panel. Check out youtube to see how this done, easier to watch then to read. We didn't get it perfectly smooth but not bad for a first try.

Step 7: We stapled around the back side of the panels where the carpet was wrapped around.

False Floor 5 (Medium) (Custom).jpg

Step 8: Insert and enjoy! We left just enough space between the panels and the two pieces fit snug. I was thinking I might have to secure the panels together but they don't lift up or move around at all. They look a different colour in the pictures but have since balanced out.

False Floor 7 (Medium) (Custom).jpg
False Floor 8 (Medium) (Custom).jpg
False Floor 6 (Medium) (Custom).jpg

Here is McGee enjoying the new backseat.

Mcgee in Festiva(Custom).jpg

Very happy with the way this turned out, I would definitely recommend doing this if you don't need the back seats.

[skeeters_keeper]

Nice work!

[nonamekid]

Ditto what Nate said. That looks very nice. Thanks for showing how you did it.

[firebush357]

I did this for a Trunk Insert on my Nissan Sentra. I used a thin Outdoor Carpet because it seemed much easier to work around the edges. I will probably end up doing something similar on my own Festiva but my extend it all the way to the front seats... Not sure yet.

[V3ST]

Yes I think thinner liner / carpet would be easier to work with. Next I'm thinking of making rear side panels with speakers, same style wrapped in same carpet. Wish I had thought of this before I cut the floor to match the curves of the plastic side panels.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[1990new]

Great Idea.. and great write up on how you did it. I like it.

[william]

Yes I think thinner liner / carpet would be easier to work with. Next I'm thinking of making rear side panels with speakers, same style wrapped in same carpet. Wish I had thought of this before I cut the floor to match the curves of the plastic side panels.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

This is what I'm doing after removing the rear seat suport braces.
I'm gunna use some mlv behind the panels to block the sound
Along with some butyl sound deader and Denim insulation In the quarters.

[bravekozak]

It's very simple to remove the passenger seat and cut a plywood insert to level out with the rear. You can then sleep in the vehicle at rest stops.

[rmoltis]

I built a false floor for my last aspire.

[b337yla]

nice! iv been wanting to do this to my stiva

[firebush357]

I like where you put the Subwoofer in the Aspire. It reminds me of the Mighty Car Mods episode about turning your spare tire into a sub.

[ThisVelologist]

Nice write up!

[PCA-1]

I like where you put the Subwoofer in the Aspire. It reminds me of the Mighty Car Mods episode about turning your spare tire into a sub.

I want to look at the console to make a sub box. With the right sub, you can get complimentary sub bass. Not going to rattle the neighborhood, but make for a sweet front stage.