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On a wet and somewhat chilly Sunday, I decided to put my new cargo shade on to replace the tattered original.
Years ago, I followed a members thread and tied down the flap to stop it from blowing around with the windows down, or the targa top off.
Material required:
1) 3/8" wooden dowel approx 42" in length
2) (2) ID badge holders (Staples)
3) (2) small eye screws
4) (2) small tie wraps
5) a pair of needlenose pliers.
6) Drill with a 1/16" drill bit
a) Typical ID badge holder, As per the 2nd pic, use a pair of needle nose pliers to spread the metal triangle and remove the plastic snap portion from the ID badge holder.
b) Place the triangular piece through the eyelet of the screw, and use the pliers to squeeze the triangular piece closed in the ID badge loop hole.
c) Drill the pilot hole on each end of the dowel, and screw one of the ID badge holders on one end only.
d) insert the dowel into the bottom of the cargo shade until it comes out the other side.
e) At the other end of the dowel, screw in the other ID badge holder
f) Using a tiny pointed screwdriver, pierce a hole through the material and through the eyelet and out the other side. Remove the screwdriver and insert a small tiewrap, then cut off the tie wrap tail.
This will keep the shade from moving from side to side on the dowel.
g) The final step is to attach the badge holder under the interior trim, below the rear speaker on each side.
Rotate the ID holder in such a way as to get the rear metal clip under the trim, then rotate to hold it in place. Once under the trim, it can be slid as far back or forward as you want. Mine is as far back as it can go as per the pic.
h) The pic shows the shade with the hatch closed, to show how tight the shade is. When the hatch is open the badge string will extend and keep the shade taught.
Maybe this will be helpful to those that dislike the flapping shade in the wind.
We had a problem that any weight I used to keep the flap from flapping would cause the trunk to close in cold weather (gas struts) or if the wind was blowing from the front. I did not try OP's method.
I tried using iron-on Velcro on the lower-rear corners of the flap, and corresponding pieces along the underside edges of the main shade. The idea was to keep the flap secured against the bottom of the main shade except when needed, then I could "un-Velcro" the flap and let it hang down to help hide whatever I had under the shade.
Fortunately, I tried ironing it onto the flap first, slowly increasing the temperature of the iron until I got to where it would activate the adhesive in the Velcro.
Unfortunately, the iron started to melt the flap before getting hot enough to activate the adhesive. Made an ugly mess.
As a temporary measure, I cut the flap off using just a little bit of care, and it looked fine. After a while, I discovered that we usually have so little in the coupe trunk that you can barely spot it with the flap missing, and can't tell what it is. Or we've got so much that it's bulging and visible everywhere.
So for us, cutting off the flap worked well. For others, maybe not so much.
I took a much simpler permanent approach that makes the cover pretty much like all other Vettes before it. I took it to my local cleaners/tailor and had them cut off the flap and bind the edge. No issue what so ever any more!
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
I sewed a 1" piece of Velcro on each end of the flap and then the mating Velcro on the main cover with the flap stretched flat. That way I could use it or stow it.
10-23-2016, 06:42 PM
DIY: Cargo Shade Flap Tie-Down
