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What a great thread! I have a long term build going myself and I can definitely relate to your build. Thanks for taking the time to post, explain, and even attach the "how to" videos. I'm still fabricating on drivetrain stuff, but when I do get to the interior, you may have inspired me to try some of it on my own.
I still have some minor work to wrap up but this project is juuuuust about done. There are some flaws, but luckily this is all hidden by the shadow of the hood.....when it's installed....in the pics it's removed because I had to notch it in two places for clearance. As careful as I was in my measuring, it seems it was not quite careful enough. Anyway here are a few pics of everything painted and installed:
Can I ask what the "custom" addition on the driver side represents?
During the American Revolution, only about 3% of the citizens actually fought the British. This "Three Percenter" or "Threeper" symbol basically means the same thing, but in modern times, of course.
Well, it's been a long time since I have posted an update. Was going to wait until this project was finished but I wanted to show you guys what I have done so far. I am SICK of having no interior, so the time has finally come to complete it. I designed it all from scratch, and I wanted it to match the dash I already made, so this is what I came up with. It's a MESSY process, so pardon the mess.
First thing I did was come up with a paper template. Had to take into account there are parts of the door that have things on it I need to avoid, such as my window motors, bolts and whatnot....
I traced the stuff out onto "hardboard", although this stuff has a coating on the back that is waterproof. It's called Marker Board, available at any home improvement store. The reverse side is white and is what you use to make a dry erase marker board. It's 3/16" thick and fairly light.
I put the pieces on the door, and as you can see, there are a few parts that won't lay completely flat. Have to correct those areas before moving forward. I am using Au-Ve-Co clips to pin them to the door, using 1/4" holes. Most people glue a second panel on top of this to secure the clips, but I decided to save the weight and secure the clips by drilling two small holes, and threading wire though them. Then I used pliers to twist the wire tight.
I have used MDF in the past to add my 3D effects, but that can get heavy, so I tried using foam board instead. In general, it worked fine, but some of the edges were not strong enough to hold their shape under the tension of the fleece. Should have used MDF at those areas. These are the top of the door (multi-piece) panels. Why did I use tape, you ask? Because it's way faster than glue.
These are two panels put together to see how they fit
Top of door panel Checking for fitment. In addition to a few of the clips I mentioned earlier, there are also four bolts that act as "pins" corresponding with four holes at the top of the metal of the door. There's also one hidden screw at the front to hold it securely to the metal of the door.
This part drove me absolutely nuts. And it's still doing so. It's a very important piece that ties several other piece together, so it has to be perfect. It has to fit the car, fit the console, and fit the weird angle where it meets the center section of door panel. It's a LOT more complicated than it looks. Took me two full days to figure this stupid thing out.
Next I wrapped all the parts in fleece. Ignore the silly pattern....it's a blanket that was on sale at Walmart for 8 bucks. Everything is stapled from the rear.
Next I put some of the panels on the door and brushed on fiberglass resin so it soaked it all up. There's no actual fiberglass...the fleece acts as the glass (for now). As you can see, some of the pieces no longer line up perfectly because the foam board was not stiff enough at the edges. If you ever attempt this you MUST do this on the door! If you try this off the car, the smallest twist or bend in the part will become permanent and it will not fit the car!
My way to correct some of the misaligned panels...
Center section fitted to the door and allowed to cure overnight. Then a layer of fiberglass filler to even it out and add strength.
Beginning of reinforcement and bodywork on the other panels
This part on both doors is driving me crazy right now. It looks like there's a ton of fiberglass filler on there but it's not as much as you probably think. I was so so soooooo careful to get these parts to line up and they were still WAY off. Took me all day to get both sides to line up again and for the gap to be decent.
Still a long way to go before I can wrap these things. I am going to ditch the red wrap too, and go with all black. The red is just too cartoony. There are two spots on the console where the glue just won't hold because the angle is too extreme, so I need to correct those angles and rewrap anyway.
Anyway, hopefully you guys can see what I am trying to do here. I am sick of talking about an interior and not having one..so here I am. I am hoping to have it finished by next weekend.
Decided not to bore you guys with endless pics of bodywork and fitment. Here's the complete interior, but the pics are not great. Will take better pics with a real camera soon. Decided to go with red and black. Had to use burgundy vinyl dye by SEM. Not happy that it came out glossy, but it is what it is.
05-12-2016, 12:46 PM
