Package tray gone - why? & now what?

[70Bronco]

Has anyone ever seen a car where somebody completely cut out the package tray? Any thoughts on what to do or where to find a replacement?

It's a CA car with great metal besides this weird mess.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Time to look in the parting out car posts. Think there are several 66/67's in there now.

 

[POMONAMISSEL]

as a young lad i carved a lot of weight from a 66 sat . i cut that away as well . but mine didn't have rear wheel houses either . and was just frame rails from the trans member back to . nice car too , not one spot of rust . whats that old saying if i know then , what i know now . well i would have retired years ago rich as hell , lol ;) .

 

[POMONAMISSEL]

still got the whole deck lid in the rafters , lol .

 

[Bruzilla]

My package tray was just shot when I got the car. I bought a sheet of particle board at Home Depot and cut out a new one. Glues some carpet insulation to the bottom and put it in.

 

[beanhead]

You can find them fairly cheap(well, MOPAR cheap anyway) check some of the usual spots...tony's, classic ind., dante's etc

 

[Fran Blacker]

My package tray was just shot when I got the car. I bought a sheet of particle board at Home Depot and cut out a new one. Glues some carpet insulation to the bottom and put it in.

Did you look at Masonite? It's thin, 1/4" and not as messy. Makes good bench top material if you don't want metal.

 

[747mopar]

Mine wasn't missing but somebody took an air chisel to it and really opened it up, boom box maybe? Lucky for you they usually survive even in the roughest cars so they're easy to find.

 

[70Bronco]

I don't think Masonite or 1/4" plywood will put strength back in the car. I'm not missing the top cover--the steel was torched out.

 

[flypaper]

i think some here are very confused..lol
back in the day when these cars were worth squat
people did all kinds of crazy stuff.
it looks like the hacked out the side supports also.
depending on the car,you can get the main piece in repo
but seeing you need more then that
i would be hunting down a donor.
either someone parting a car or a cheap parts car..
what year and model is the car?

 

[Fran Blacker]

I don't think Masonite or 1/4" plywood will put strength back in the car. I'm not missing the top cover--the steel was torched out.

View attachment 514212

Forgot you need the metal part of pkg tray. You need to find a guy parting the same model.

 

[70Bronco]

i think some here are very confused..lol
back in the day when these cars were worth squat
people did all kinds of crazy stuff.
it looks like the hacked out the side supports also.
depending on the car,you can get the main piece in repo
but seeing you need more then that
i would be hunting down a donor.
either someone parting a car or a cheap parts car..
what year and model is the car?

It's a '66 Belvedere 2 door hardtop. I've got a lead on one close to me. Hopefully it works out. We'll see. Bad news: Nobody made repops of 66 or 67 model years. The good news: even the most rotted, rusted POS should still have a good package tray.

 

[beanhead]

I don't think Masonite or 1/4" plywood will put strength back in the car. I'm not missing the top cover--the steel was torched out.

View attachment 514212

Ooooh yeah now I see....as some have said you'll have to find a parts car and cut it out and weld it into yours, or maybe just make your own pieces out of similar thickness steel...depends I guess on how original you're trying to get(you'll only see the tray support structure from the trunk..)

 

[70Bronco]

Ooooh yeah now I see....as some have said you'll have to find a parts car and cut it out and weld it into yours, or maybe just make your own pieces out of similar thickness steel...depends I guess on how original you're trying to get(you'll only see the tray support structure from the trunk..)

Yeah, finding a cut out replacement is the main goal and fabricating a replacement is the backup plan. I'm less concerned with 100% stock appearance and more concerned about structural strength, so one way or another, I'll put something back in.

 

[Photon440]

how far out is the fit for a 1968 tray from AMD?

 

[Bruzilla]

I don't think Masonite or 1/4" plywood will put strength back in the car. I'm not missing the top cover--the steel was torched out.

View attachment 514212

Ah, okay, the package tray is the piece that goes over the metal you are missing, not the metal itself.

I would just go to Home Depot, get some steel stock, cut it to length, and weld or bolt it into the area so it adds the support that's supposed to be there. No sense paying $$$ and expending a lot of effort to replace it with OEM steel when it's going to be covered by the package tray and rear seat so no one sees it.

 

[flypaper]

I have one I salvaged out of a 71b
with the side supports
And it took quite a bit of work
To remove without destroying it.
enough work that I would rather hang it on a wall then sell it cheap..lol

 

[70Bronco]

Found one with support braces. Thanks @Dodge33 !