I had been toying with the idea of removing my rear seat & seat back for quite a while.  It's about as useless as the whole back-end of a custom SUV.  You just don't use it!  But, you still have the problem of keeping it clean, and keeping all that leather from drying out!

I had seen several of the 'guys' talking about it in the Cobra Forums, and I followed a LINK to Shane's Internet Address one day - he had some great LINKs on his page, telling how he did certain Mods on his '99 Cobra.  It was just like reading a recipe - "everything you always wanted to know about doing each particular Mod."  He would preface most everything by telling the cost of the "kit," and then say "well, I just decided to make my own!"  Shane seems to be very skilled & intelligent, and I thank him for the valuable information he provided!

You can see his list of Mods (and instructions) @:

http://www.txsnakecharmer.net/

Removing The  !*&%#*!  Seat

I'd pull the front seats out!  You'll have more working space.  If you need to drive the vehicle, just pull the "shotgun seat" - it'll make a lot of difference!

Removing the rear seat is the first major chore, unless you have "insider information," which I will now provide.   It's pretty simple - unless you try to follow the instructions in the Haynes Manual!  I made several attempts prior to getting the "real story" from Shane's Internet Address.  I almost broke the seat  - it just wouldn't unlock and come out.                                            

Tilt your front seats forward, and slide the passenger seat all the way forward.  Kneeling on the ground or the rear floorboard will make it easy to:  slide a thin flat blade (6, 8", etc.) screwdriver under the bottom front edge of the seat, about 10" from the center (over the hump).

Slide the screwdriver slowly towards the outside edge of the seat, untill you feel the seat locking mechanism.  Pull out slightly on the screwdriver, maintaining pressure against the lock, untill you find the front of it.  In the very center of the lock, there is a small tab-like button. Push "in" on that, and the mechanism will unlock (you may have to lift up slightly on the seat)!

Do the same on the other side, and then lift up on the seat, pull it forward,  push the lap belt buckles through the holes in the seat, and pull the seat out.

The seat back has three mount bolts on the bottom - one in the center and one on each side - remove them.  Fold both seat backs down, to get them out of the way.  Remove enough bolts along the top of the seat back to free-up the head cushion - lift up on it, and remove the head cushion.  There are now two or three bolts along the seat back frame - remove them and then put both seat backs in the up position,  and the whole frame, with the two seat backs attached to it, will come out.

It's fairly heavy.  Make sure the previous owner didn't route any wires through it (mine had four or five wires running through the seat).  If there are wires in the way, you'll have to either remove the pivot bolt on the affected seat back, or cut the wires.  I removed the outer bolt on mine (take your time, it's a "bugger"), got the wires out, and then reinstalled the pivot bolt after I removed the frame.

Now, it was clean-up time - wisk broom and vaccuum cleaner.  Natuarally, I found almost a dollar in coins, pencils, an old CD, and many flakes of cereal!  The previous owner's wife must have used the back seat as a place for feeding her children!

The lower edges of the rear side trim and moldings are contoured, so the angles have to be transferred to a template.

The top board where the seat back was, will have a piano hinge to attach to the bottom board, allowing easy access to the storage area.

Templates have to be created, to transfer the side panel curves to the plywood.

I used old cardboard box panels that I had saved from the cabinet project in the garage.

I used  5/8 CDX plywood.  Anything thinner was warped and bent.  Side clearance is a problem.

Forming a template can be a challenge

This piece of cardboard had to be extended

It fit in place okay, but there was a problem with clearance under the headrest - see other notes in following photos about side clearance

The Lid Will Raise About 45 Degrees

              The Front Edge Of The Horizontal Board Extends 1 -  2 Inches                 Beyond The "Thin Hump" That The OEM Seat Rests On

Had to remove the top board, first ...

It's really a  tight fit ...

Carpeting has to be cut, with an estimated overhang, if it's going to be tucked-over and glued to the back side.  In certain areas, I glued the carpet to the edge of the board, as long as that area would be hidden.

Final product on bottom board.

The overhanging flap was trimmed evenly, for a good appearance on the bottom side of the board.  If too much wood is visible, a piece of carpet can be cut to size, and glued-in, to cover the entire bottom side.

Next - the top board

I attached a 1 x 2 over the hinge area, on the back side,  to give it strength, and help it support the bottom board.

Also,  because this board is not as thick as the bottom board ... the rear side of the small storage compartment is not flat (has a little hump to it), so if the 1 x 2 is installed in 2 pieces (avoiding the center) the top board will mount easier.  Mine tended to pivot in the center area, requiring longer lower mount bolts to secure the top board to the frame area.

Same method as the bottom board - make sure the

right side of the board is up when you cut the carpet,

and the right side is down when you glue it ... again, I used

white glue (dries clear) on all the cut edges to prevent unraveling.

Hinge is installed on the top board first.

Used A Little "Deco-Podge"

Final Installation Of Boards

I couldn't resist adding a little Deco Podge (see Deco Podge LINK on the main Cobra Page).   I was up early  this morning, so I banged out these few items and printed them out.

The first thing I said was, "hell, the colors aren't the same."

Well, that's as close as it's going to get.

The colors did look a little closer when I held a sample up to the carpet.

The front overhang is 1 - 2 inches.

A lot of storage space ... it needs some covering.

That's it  -  what an experience ... not a pleasure, but an experience.

My wife found some material and it fit the storage area without too much cutting ...

Well, this project is finished!

Now, on to the Upper Air Intake Manifold "Hissman Paint Mod."