doors

My thoughts on these door panels in 2 words, Something Different. I wanted/needed several things: a clean look, speakers in the doors, eliminate window crank (power windows), and custom appearance. After a ton of (poor) drawings, I went with this one. First, I cut new panels from 1/8 MDF. Then I incorporated the lower aluminum kick panel by riveting and then fiberglassing it to the panel. Next, I took some styrofoam and formed the "pod" for the speaker. It sits flush with the bottom kick panel and doesn't protrude into the cockpit area. Those were put in place and fiberglassed over. You can get the idea from the picture. It's a pretty sturdy piece now. (See Mark Sedlack's page again) Some filler was added to smooth everything out and sharpen the lines.

For the finishing, I purchased a book titled "Custom Auto Interiors" and used some of the techniques from it. I bought an upholstery kit for hot rod doors that included enough 1/8" and 1/4" foam and glue to do the job. The vinyl is marine grade purchased locally.

The yellow insert is cut seperately from the 1/8" board and upholstered, using the 1/8" foam. The flat portion of the panel is padded with the 1/4" foam and then the template of the insert is marked and cut, removing the foam from the panel. The lower kick portion and pod is padded using the 1/8" foam. Now, the panel is covered with the black vinyl, working it into the recesses for the insert. Finally, the insert is placed on the panel and secured from the back with staples. The insert sits pretty flush with the panel with this technique.

The nearly finished product. The creases in the vinyl were caused by the material being folded vs rolled when I purchased it. The flash really highlights it. I hope they work out or are not too noticeable installed. The other panel, I used material that had been rolled. I still need to trim the holes for the the door latch and the dool pull handle along the bottom which was relocated back about 4" to clear the pod. The panel is installed with clips recommended in the upholstery book, which I purchased locally.