I am looking to re-do my interior and was wondering if by chance, anyone was making cardboard door, kick and rear panels for 52-54's. I figure I'll have to make my own, but it would be nice! Thanks guys!
If you don't find pre-made cardboard panels, I'd suggest you make them from 1/8" luan. You can buy it in builders supply houses like Lowes. It's a thin plywood used to re-skin interior hollow-core doors. I used it when making the interior panels for my '48 Plymouth coupe and it worked very well. It resists moisture very well - doesn't warp - and holds staples that pull out of cardboard almost immediately. It's also strong enough that you can use upholstery clips to hold the panels in place without fear of pulling them out when you take the panels off. Luan also accepts contact cement and holds very well. Upholsterers can even s***ch through it if the design requires it. I made templates of light posterboard first, then transferred the shape and hole locations to the luan. Luan cuts easily with a sabre saw, just use a fine-tooth plywood blade which is undercut to minimize splintering of the edges. One more advantage of luan over cardboard is that it is strong enough to hold the clips used to hold the stainless interior trim pieces in place without distorting. I understand that many upholsterers are now using thin polyurethane sheets for interior upholstery panels, but I have no experience with it. Sounds promising, though. Cardboard is really not up to the task...if you want a smooth, warp-free and long-lasting job, that is. Good luck...and post some photos of the process, okay?
I did my doorpanels using the method shown on this website,all total I made all 4 panels for $122,plenty of pics here to help make it EZ.Click on this: http://www.route66hotrodhigh.com/DoorPanels.html if you are interested in more DIY tips delete the word "doorpanels" and keep some more bucks in your wallet.One other thing while you are at Lowes or Home Depot pick up some of that heavy mil plastic sheet to make moisture barriers between the door and your new panels.
Thanks guys! I will post pics when the time comes. What I want to do is make my own panels and take them to TJ (20 minutes away) with the front and back seats to have some tuck and roll done. My panels are pretty beat up.
Great advice, Jeff, and a great reference post. Masonite is a great material and a super alternative to luan. My only addition would be to suggest that staples be used to reinforce the glued areas. Contact cement does not age well in some climates and staples will insure that the vinyl does not come loose over time. Staples also speed ***embly time and allow the installer to pull the vinyl tighter as ***embly procedes. Great post! Thanks!
For some reason I can't figure out how to post pictures here from "My Pictures" I posted pics on the main board last night showing the before and after door panels.
Use "image shack" online. Follow the prompts, then scroll down and select "Hotlink For Forums". Then "copy" and "paste" into the message window on this site. Here's a sample from my own "my pictures" which has been copied and resized by Image Shack. By the way, I learned this from Scott (Skoh73) on here. Good luck. PM me if you have problems.
Jeff, that doorpanel DIY is great, but I tried to follow your directions in deleting "doorpanels", and it didn't work. Is there another address to this gents homepage? Or, maybe, how did you find the site- I might be able to backtack. I would really like to see his other stuff! Thanks, Scott
Your door panels look great, Jeff! Found the photos of them on SlmLrd's turn signal thread on the main board. Hope you get 'em posted on this thread soon.
This should work, http://www.route66hotrodhigh.com/DoorPanels.html there is mega info there and most of the build info will be found if you scroll down and click onrogress and Tech info
These panels are so easy to make. Check out my pics, all the panels were made in my shop with a little effort and a bit of an idea. All are flat panels and should be done from water proof boarding obtained from any good upholstery supply shop. I got the fabric, vinyl and the spray glue from the same place. Have fun with it!
Jeeze, Geno...those door panels look great! How about a little more specific information for those of us who are talent-deficient? Did'ja take any pictures?
I used a combination of tweed cloth and vinyl. I drew out a patern and did a couple of practice pieces. When I was satisfied I did my kick panels first so if I screwed up I didn't ruin a big panel. This was my first attempt at doing panels... I just simply applied the suggestions of the upholstery supplier, that easy! I used thin foam between the panel and the material to give it some depth and to be able to contour the panel a bit. The dark gray stripe was done by wrapping vinly around a piece of moulding and spray gluing it together and then attaching it to the panel to seperate the vinly and tweed materials. Try it you'll be amazed on easy it is! Then you can brag to all those that see it that YOU DID IT!
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