'60 Parcel Shelf

[NC Tbird]

How do I go about removing and either restoring or relacing the rear parcel shelf ?
Mine is original and sun bleached out...

[jopizz]

It's held in place with screws. I forget how many, maybe five or six. You can access them from inside the trunk. You can repaint it to match your interior. The original paint was more of a satin or semi-gloss, not gloss. I use SEM vinyl spray.

John

[NC Tbird]

Thanks !
Are SEM paints close in appearance to the original? ( I need red)
There is also what appears severely corodded / dried out caulk between the shelf and the seat back top - is this factory?
What can I use to replace this with?

[jopizz]

SEM makes a few different red colors. Of the ones I've used Portola red is closer to the red and white vinyl interior color and Firethorn red is closer to the red leather interior color. Of course all reds fade differently over time so don't expect it to be an exact match to your interior.

As for the shelf it is not caulk but weatherstrip that is between the seat surround and package tray. Once it gets hard and brittle it can look like caulk. Here is what it looks like.

https://www.macsautoparts.com/1958-1963-ford-thunderbird-package-tray-seal-coupe-66-33693-1.html

John

[NC Tbird]

How many screws / bolts hold the back cushon in place?
Is there 2 in the center of each along the bottom and then 2 on the lower ends only?

[jopizz]

That's correct. Four bolts.

John

[NC Tbird]

Gotcha.
Next, having removed the 4 bolts, and all the smaller screws securing the forward half, how does the 2 pieces of the tray remove?
Which way does the front part move for extraction? Is there a connection between the 2 ?

[jopizz]

There is no connection between the two. You need to remove the package shelf first. Then you will be able to get to the rest of the screws that hold the rear seat surround. Maybe the diagram and picture will help.

John

60 seat surround.jpg 60 rear seat diagram.jpg

[NC Tbird]

OK, so I remove the 3 screws and 2 retaining nuts for the package shelf, that should lift up and out which then gives me access to the 2 (?) hidden screws holding the front piece in place which will then be free to remove.
Correct?

[jopizz]

There's more than two screws that hold the rear of the seat surround. I think there's six altogether.

John

[NC Tbird]

Yes, there were 8-9 if I recall.
I mis-interpreted the 2 clearance holes on the photo you posted, thought they were screwheads.
Once I remove the screws on the tray I SHOULD be able to lift it out and then the seat surround which is overlapped by the tray.

[NC Tbird]

I managed to remove "unceremoniously" the surround and tray, in the process of painting them.
Should I remove the side side panels to re-install or is the another to get these parts back in place?

[jopizz]

If I remember correctly the side trim panels overlap the rear seat surround so they would be installed afterwards. Then I install the rear seat back, the arm rests and the rear seat bottom.

John

[NC Tbird]

The illustration doesnt show how the weatherstriping is positioned clearly.
Does it encapsulate the front edge of the tray itself and rest on top of the surround?
And which side up? the short or the long side?

[jopizz]

The weatherstripping gets glued to the seat surround, not the package tray. The tray rests on top of it.

John

rear seat weatherstrip.jpg