2nd Generation trunk divider board and insulation installation

[NC1968Riviera]

Today I installed the new trunk divider board and jute  insulation pad that R. E M. Automotive Parts recently started producing. I bought mine from Ebay seller 'Collector's Auto Supply, Inc.' 

 

The part numbers:

1966-1968 BUICK RIVIERA HARDTOP 1PC TRUNK DIVIDER PANEL Board BUK-TYD 180

 

1966-1968 BUICK RIVIERA HARDTOP 1PC GRAY TRUNK DIVIDER Insulation BUK-TDJ 180

 

I started the project by reading the Buick Body by Fisher manual instructions for removing the rear seats. These seats are the easiest GM rear seats I have ever removed. The lower cushion easily slid back and I disengaged the seat from the hold down brackets. 

 

After gently lifting out the lower cushion, set it aside outside the car. Next I recommend using a shop vacuum to suck out any loose debris or rust flakes (in my case) in the floor pan before proceeding further. A clean work space is important. 

I discovered a large rusted through section under the driver side floor pan under the seat. This will be a future fixit project for me. 

 

Next, unbend the upper seat cushion hold down tabs at the far left and right lower edge of the cushion. 

Remove the 7/16th head screws securing the lower cushion to the floor panel.

 

The upper section of the cushion is held tight against the upper seat back/trunk frame by three wire  retaining clips. To disengage the upper cushion, pull the bottom edge out by the lower corners to pull them free of the elbow rest panels. 

When you have pulled the lower cushion out about 6", pull down on the lower edge of the cushion to dislodge the upper cushion retaining clips from the seat back /trunk frame. 

Be careful if your rear speaker is wired to the radio. Reach around the top of the cushion and disconnect the wires from the speaker before removing the cushion from the car. 

Gently remove the upper cushion from the car and set aside. 

This is now a good time to observe the condition of the rear seat back/trunk frame and the placement of the existing trunk board and insulation, if it still exists. My original trunk board was in very corroded condition but the insulation pad was still in good shape. Gently pry the old trunk board from the seat back frame. Mine had old duct tape holding it in place, as seen below.

The first thing I noticed is that the original jute pad is rectangular shaped and the aftermarket pad is the same shape as the trunk board. 

The new pad fits great as is behind the new board but purists might want to cut the new pad to match the dimensions of the original pad. I used my new pad as is. 

After using the shop vacuum to remove more bits of rust and debris, I fit the new  pad against the seat back/trunk frame to see if it needed any trimming.

It did not require any trimming, so I sprayed contact adhesive along the seat back center cross bar and wiring harness and the upper edge of the seat back frame. I rolled down the top edge of the pad and sprayed it with spray adhesive. Don't forget to pull the speaker wires out from behind the pad. Press the pad into place, lining up the pad cutouts with the seat back frame cutouts. This would also be a good time to pull out the old under seat sound deadener and replace it with new material. 

After pressing the adhesive sprayed areas firmly against the seat back frame I then rolled the lower pad lip up and repeated the previous steps to add adhesive.

 

The next step is to verify the new trunk board matches the old trunk board. With the new board still in its bag,  (this keeps the board clean), lay the old board on top of the new one. For the R. E. M. 66-68 trunk BOARD the shape was exactly the same as the old board, with the exception of the upper outside corners of the new board. The original board has these corners cut down where the new boards corners are rounded off. See examples below:

I cut out my new boards to match the old ones. 

Since the board is symmetrical I chose to put the side with the affixed labels towards the trunk. I attached a few strips of painters tape along the top edge of the new board to help hold it in place while I put the upper seat cushion back in the car. 

If you place the left edge of the board against the left edge of the seat back frame you will then have to press the right edge of the board against the right edge of the seat back frame. See below:

 

At this point you should be ready to reinstall the seat cushions. 

 

To install the upper cushion, bring it back inside the car and angle the top edge towards the top edge of the seat back frame. Reach over the top of the cushion and reattach the speaker wires (be sure to correctly attach the wires to the right poles). Push the lower seat frame upwards to engage the three upper seat back retainers over the seat back frame anchor points (see pictures below).

I used an angled nail puller pry bar against the lower screw anchor points to get enough leverage to push the upper retainers over their respective anchor points.

 

After getting the upper anchor retainers seated correctly, it may be necessary to use a rubber mallet to nudge the lower anchor points into the correct alignment to reattach the retainer screws. 

Screw in the 7/16th head screws until they are snug. Do not over tighten to avoid stripping out the screw hole. 

Make sure the left and right edges of the upper seat cushion is firmly pressed back in towards the side panels. 

 

Bend over the bottom retainer tabs in the lower left and right edges of the cushion. 

 

Check that the cushion is firmly seated in place with no play in the upper and lower sections. 

 

Next, set the lower cushion back inside the car and set the rear edge almost against the lower edge of the upper cushion. 

Pull the seat belts out and lay them on top of the lower cushion. 

 

On the under side of the lower cushion, align the thick hold down wire to the front floor hold down retainers and press the cushion backwards until the retaining wires are at the back of the retainer grooves, then pull the cushion forward to seat the wire under the retainer groove. 

 

Pull the seat belts all the way up over the lower cushion until they are taut. 

 

Pull up on the front edge of the lower cushion to verify it is seated correctly. If either side lifts up, repeat steps above to seat the retainer wired in the seat retainers. 

 

Overall I am extremely happy with the fit and finish of this new trunk board and insulation pad set from R. E. M. Automotive Parts

 

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by NC68Riviera (see edit history)

[Rivman]

Nice write-up Mike.

 

You might check with Ray and see if it is something he might want to print in the Riview.

[NC1968Riviera]

7 minutes ago, Rivman said:

Nice write-up Mike.

 

You might check with Ray and see if it is something he might want to print in the Riview.

Thanks! I tried hard to capture all of the steps with pictures but I missed a couple. 

I already sent Ray a link to this posting for his consideration. 

 

[EmTee]

I'm guessing that there may be (or may have been) a leak around the back glass on the driver's side that led to water collecting under the seat.  Nice write-up!

[NC1968Riviera]

Just now, EmTee said:

I'm guessing that there may be (or may have been) a leak around the back glass on the driver's side that led to water collecting under the seat.  Nice write-up!

Thanks!

You are probably correct. The previous owner said he fixed the rear window leaks but he did nothing to fix the floor pan rust damage. 

[rocky5517]

Nicely documented job! When I pulled my rear seat on my 67 I found the computer card that was used to call out options installed during the car's construction. Did you find yours? I have a picture of mine if you want.

[NC1968Riviera]

4 hours ago, rocky5517 said:

Nicely documented job! When I pulled my rear seat on my 67 I found the computer card that was used to call out options installed during the car's construction. Did you find yours? I have a picture of mine if you want.

Thanks. Unfortunately nothing of note was found under or behind the seat cushions. 

[68RIVGS]

Nice, detailed, how to,  write-up Mike, and some great pictures too !

Some stuff there that I had forgotten since my resto was done some 30+ years ago. LOL

Most second generation cars have rust under the rear seat cushion, either side like yours has -  primarily caused by leaking rear window glass !

The trapped moisture has no place to go so it just sits there and rusts out the steel floor pan.

Some factory drain holes may have helped, or at least reduced the long term corrosion.

"A" pillars sometimes suffered from the same affliction.

[NC1968Riviera]

36 minutes ago, 68RIVGS said:

Most second generation cars have rust under the rear seat cushion

Randy, thanks for the kind words.

C2C makes a replacement under seat pan that I may end up buying. I need to pull the whole rug up and look at the rest of the interior floor pan. The passenger side rear seat pan was in much better condition than the driver side is. I was very disheartened when I saw how bad the rust damage was under the seat. I wish I had found it prior to purchasing the car. It might have had an effect on the price I paid.

 

I have not found any evidence of rust damage in the A pillars. Most of the rust damage appears to be road salt damage from being in Ohio for so many years.

[68RIVGS]

A easy fix for the "A" pillars, just open both doors, and drill a small 1/8" dia. hole up into the very bottom of each "A" pillar.

No one will even notice the small weep holes as they are hidden from view.

Again, this usually occurs from leaking front wind shield glass.