Miniacal - Greg's 2007 Mini Cooper S

DIY Rear Seat Delete

I had removed the rear seats to make more room for cargo, but this leaves two awkward dips in the cargo area. I had a spare piece of pegboard and decided to use it to make a cover, also known as a rear seat delete kit.

Parts
37" x 24" pegboard
3/4" square wood, 3' long
1 1/4" square wood, 3' long (two pieces)
3' x 4' black flannel
brad nails
Headliner spray glue
Loctite Stik'n Seal glue

Tools
Dremel
Drill
Hammer
Saw
Clamps
Scissors

I used the drill, Dremel and saw to make the cuts shown below, to fit around the seat attachment at the rear. Make triangle-shape cuts to the sides for proper width.

Place the board in the cargo area for a test fit.

To prevent cargo from sliding forward and hitting the seats when I brake, I attached a 3/4" strip of wood to the front edge of the pegboard.

For the main support at the front, attach a 1 1/4" strip near the front edge. Glue it in place and clamp it until dry.

Cut four pieces from the other 1 1/4" strip. Two pieces are 2 5/8" long. The other two are 7/8" long.

Glue them to the pegboard as shown below. They create a nook which the metal loop slides into, as shown in the fifth photo below.

The top side.

The bottom.

Do a test fit.

The blue metal loop is where the seat was attached. It now fits into the nook formed by the wood blocks, and keeps the board from moving.

After verifying the board fits properly, use brad nails to secure all pieces.

Next, drape the flannel over the board. There should be a few inches of excess around the edges. Use clips to hold the fabric in place over the rear edge.

I didn't want to try to glue the entire surface at once, so I did half at a time. I sprayed the headliner glue on the top half of the board. The unfinished wood soaks up a lot of glue, so I had to spray a lot.

Press the fabric down onto the glue. Use scrap pieces of wood and clamps to press the fabric until it is dry.

Glue the rear half of the board next.

Wait a few minutes for the top to dry. Then turn the board over. Cut away some of the excess fabric, and glue it down.

The seatbelt receivers will rub against the board, so I attached a piece of fabric in the middle to cushion them.

Here is the finished RSD. It weighs 8 pounds.

There are small gaps at the sides. If you want a better fit, start with a 44" x 24" board.

It might be better to use speaker box carpet, rather than flannel, but I didn't find speaker box carpet at the local fabric store. The flannel doesn't appear to match the rest of the carpet in these photos but it looks better in daylight.