Widening Interior Space

[Quinn Wood]

I have a 2009 Chevy Impala. I’d like to open up the interior space on the passenger side a bit more so I can have full trunk width and height from the trunk to the front firewall. To do this I’d need to cut away metal from the rear parcel shelf / passthrough opening from trunk to backseat. I’d also have to reduce the front dash where the passenger airbag and glovebox are currently. This is now a single seat vehicle for driver only.

What can I do to ensure I maintain and/or replace structural qualities of the vehicle when removing metal like this from a unibody? I do own drilling, cutting, and welding equipment and have a decent amount of cash to put toward the car project as a whole. (Oher things are going on. Feel free to ask if you want to know about the rest of the project too.)

Topic

[Mike]

In my opinion, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be cutting metal and brackets out of a unibody. Your insurance company probably doesn’t think so either.

Perhaps you should be looking at a van, either intermediate or full size. They’re storage containers on wheels.

[Author]

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