[fjfar80]

All -

I recently moved to Hong Kong and had to put the 80 in storage at a friends house...so sad. However, a good thing has come out of it; I am in the process of getting a drawer system manufactured in China. An engineer friend of mine and I drew up a great design and did the AutoCad thing before I left.

I do need some measurements double checked and could use some help. I want to get the measurements from a broad spectrum (years) of 80's to ensure that the design is going to work for everyone (yes, I do plan on selling these things to you guys). I need the following measurements:

1. Width of floor at rear seats (not 3rd row)
2. Width of floor at widest section of rear wheels wells
3. Width of floor at rear tail gate opening
4. Height of rear seats folded down
5. Height of highest section of rear wheel wells (left and right)
6. Length of rear wheels wells (left and right)
7. Width of rear wheel wells (left and right)
8. Postion of Tie down holes (from rear tailgate center-line)

Just to let you guys know - these are about 6-months from being finished (designed and prototyped) and then we will enter production. They are going to be manufactured out of metal and 1/2 inch treated fiber board, slides will be full length and will be able to support 100lbs (or approximately 45kg) per drawer. The platform will be level, with multiple tie-down points, and the entire thing will either be carpeted or covered in "durabak". The interior of the drawers will be covered in a laminate and will feature dividers that can be adjusted. The drawers will lock and all components will be stainless steel. It is a pretty cool design and once we get a prototype built here, I will post pictures...granted it will not be mounted in a vehicle, but you should be able to get the idea. If anyone needs anything else from China - let me know. I will be here for the next few years.

[firetruck41]

Don't have the measurement, but a couple of suggestions, plywood instead of fiber board, usually fiberboard swells and deforms if wet/damp for a period of time, maybe there is fiberboard that will work though. Also bump up the drawer capacity to 200-300lbs, overkill is great, and if the drawer weighs 20-30+lbs plus people put a spare birf and a couple gallons of oil, and some BFH and other heavy tools, the drawers could get pretty heavy. I love the idea, and look forward to the final product!

[fjfar80]

Fire -

I am not exactly sure what this material is - but, I would say it is closer to a "plywood" than your traditional "American Fiberboard". The stuff is thick, incredibly strong and water proof, etc. I have been beating the crap out of a piece for a couple of weeks and it is still in great shape. I have even set it out in the lovely Hong Kong humidity. The drawer capacity is based on the slides being fully extended. The capacity is really a product of the slides and I have not been able to find one here that is rated for more than 50kg fully extended...I am still looking but, thus far have not been able to source them here.

[97 FZJ80]

Originally Posted by fjfar80

1. Width of floor at rear seats (not 3rd row)
2. Width of floor at widest section of rear wheels wells
3. Width of floor at rear tail gate opening
4. Height of rear seats folded down
5. Height of highest section of rear wheel wells (left and right)
6. Length of rear wheels wells (left and right)
7. Width of rear wheel wells (left and right)
8. Postion of Tie down holes (from rear tailgate center-line)

1. Width between the armrests - 55"
2. Width between the rear wheel wells - 44"
3. Width of the tailgat opening - 52"
4. Height of rear seats folded down - the the seatback is not prefectly horizontal when folded down - the rear is 9" and front is 12" from the REAR load floor
5. Height of highest section of rear wheel wells (left and right) - 9" at the top of third row seat bracket
6. Length of rear wheels wells (left and right) - As measured from the bottom of the seatback 27" on the driver side and 28 on the passenger side (US). Add three more inches for the entire wheel well since 3 inches resides under the middle seat
7. Width of rear wheel wells (left and right) - 8" and 8"
8. Postion of Tie down holes (from rear tailgate center-line) - 18"-19.5" This is for the factory retractable tie hooks that is shaped like an inverted J

A few more measurements:
Rear cargo floor length - 45"
Rear cargo length between middle row seat back on one notch recline and rear tailgate handle - 38"
Rear tailgate handle height - 16.5"
Rear window height - from floor to bottom of rear window - 21"

I'll try to get a trip to Hong Kong later this year. Maybe we can meet up if/when I get there to look at the prototype.

[firetruck41]

The rear seat catches(?) in the cargo floor, seem like a sturdier attatchment point than the tie downs, if you are considering using these to secure the cargo drawer system to the floor. I guess I'll have to take a look tomorrow and see if that's really the case...

[e9999]

great idea!
suggestion: aim for much more than 100 lbs per drawer. With the stuff we're carrying that's not enough probably. Seems like the slides everybody is using are good for 500 lbs (from memory)...

[jamisobe]

Something I noticed when I had the floor out. There is a high spot on the floor, located close to the middle, between the rear wheel wells and behind the 2nd row seating. This seems to be there to allow extra clearance underneath for the exhaust over the rear axle.

Its only about .5-.75 of an inch but the high spot could throw off the way the enclosure sits leaving space between either side up by the 2nd row seating. It could also create a slight incline down toward the rear.

[fjfar80]

Thanks for the input guys...I will see what I can do and keep you posted.

[jomo]

Suggestion - make sure the wood is Kiln dried before purchasing. You can buy fairly cheap testers for gauging wood water content. I used to live in Indonesia and have brought back a lot of wood from the far east. Some of it curls up after a few months in dry areas here or winter time. But if it is kiln dried before you work on it, it's golden.

BTW - I bought this for $350 in Indonesia in 2000. Gotta love Asia

[KSV]

Originally Posted by jomo

BTW - I bought this for $350 in Indonesia in 2000.

WOW! For such pocket money I would buy one just for fun.And your seems to be in decent condition. Or you did some kind of restoration? Looks great, congrats with such bargain.

[jomo]

Indonesia is the land of cheap 40s. I bought it just like that off a general's kid. He probably stole it from the military (normal there), and repainted it lime green - which grew on me. It even still had the siren and spinning light on the right hand side fender. What was really unbelievable was that it was missing the casing that held the air filter. I drove with a local friend right into a military depot base, offered a random soldier about $20, and he removed the part from his military truck and installed it for me on mine! Evern with all the taxes I pay here, I just can't get service like that from the US military.

[KSV]

Originally Posted by jomo

Evern with all the taxes I pay here, I just can't get service like that from the US military.

[pdriver]

Did you manage to see this project through?

I'm in the market for a drawer system, but having seen the prices of imported Australian products here in the UK I'm considering building my own.

I'd be really interested to know how you are getting on with the Chinese manufacturers.