Rear Cubby Door Question

[BUDFIVE]

Hey y’all. Quick question:
I’m planning a locked cubby at the rear of the cockpit in my roadster build. These pictures show a mocked up door (5.9x11.9”) and frame (7.9x13.9”). The door will open into the cockpit on a bottom hinge. Will I have room between the seats for this ~12” wide door to open?
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I have the standard black vinyl seats-will this cubby door restrict my future choices?

Thanks,

[OSU Cowboy]

I got my cubbie from Whitby's. 10.25" wide door - I just measured it. I've got slight rub on both seats opening the door.

[BUDFIVE]

Thanks, I’ll check their cubby and other, smaller doors

[Alan_C]

Well I will throw an idea out for consideration. In the MK4 I built, I copied an idea from a builder in the 2012-2013 timeframe. I did and do not like the idea of a fold down down as it intrudes into the interior area. What I copied with the idea of a pocket door that slides to the side. I was still able to make the door lockable. You will have to fab your own tracks from 1/8" aluminum for the door to slide in. I did a rounded rectangle design so no sharp edges. Worked great and I believe I made a 4"Hx8"W door. Plenty of access to the storage area as it does not intrude into the cubby cabin much either.
Here are a few pics for you to consider.

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[rich grsc]

Don't you have the seats? Why not set them in place and do a quick measurement?

[BUDFIVE]

Rich, thanks. I’m not sure of the lateral placement, but I think I’ll set them in so they “look right” as a first measurement. But for other seats and experience with where the seats really end up is why I was asking the group.

[RJD]

This door is 10.5 x 6 inches and there is no interference.

199667

I used this marine glovebox but removed the white tub to give full access to the cubby. Remove a couple of screws and the tub pops off.

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[MPTech]

I installed my cubby without a door, because I wanted to be able to access it while I'm driving or my passenger can get it, so I can toss a hat / sunglasses / suntan lotion in there. If I want it locked up, it goes in the trunk. (to be honest, no one has ever bothered it).

[mburger]

I used a piece of carpeted aluminum with disc magnets in the back of the cover and the other magnets under the carpet on the back cockpit wall around the opening. The magnets are very strong and hold the door on firmly yet can be removed even with the car in motion. Because the door is carpeted with the same carpet as the rest of the cockpit the cubby is much less noticeable. Magnets came from McMaster.

[EZ$]

Mine was my own design. The door is approximately 11" wide and it does not hit the sides of the seats.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53740037166_954e1c826e_z.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/156322842@N02/Pao91Loc0t)20240522_163643 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/156322842@N02/Pao91Loc0t) by Rick Paul (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156322842@N02/), on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53740037156_ac2c664bf8_z.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/156322842@N02/vfN4vLEL09)20240522_163608 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/156322842@N02/vfN4vLEL09) by Rick Paul (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156322842@N02/), on Flickr

I guess ultimately, it will depend on how your seats end up sitting. I think you can basically measure the width of the tunnel cover where you figure the door will be swinging. I actually made a new tunnel cover so that the edges fit over the carpet on the sides of the trans tunnel, so it is, I think, 1/2" wider than what comes with the kit.

[Railroad]

I have the cubby hole with no door. No issues there, but something I wish I had done, is hinge the back wall of the cubby hole. Some of the areas are inaccessible for me, through the cubby hole. If the back wall hinged down, I could access the area from the trunk.

[DW66]

I made my cubby hole back wall removable from the trunk side with machine screws. It makes it nice to be able to get in there to fix cubby lighting or seat belt access in the future.

Dave

[RJD]

Some measurements for you:

- The space between my seats is about 12 inches.

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- With the 10.5 x 6 inch door open, the door has close to an inch clearance from the seats on either side.

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Bonus: While putting together the cubby area, I installed some LED lights and wired them to the courtesy light circuit controlled by the headlight switch.

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[BUDFIVE]

Thanks RJD, I appreciate it.