I have this old roadster I've been working on for a while now and I'm getting to where I need to build an interior. The doors are very long and uniquely curved. I would like to avoid building mdf or wooden panel pieces and make something very lightweight, waterproof and durable. Ideally would be a single piece that spanned the entire door and up over the top edge where a window would otherwise be.
I believe fiberglass would be the best option. You could make a poster board panel and tape that over the inner shell's irregular area, tape on a cardboard armrest bumpout and any other desired contours, then cover it all in sheet plastic and lay up the base panel with fiberglass. Allow to set, then take all that off and easily trim edges and refine contours. Then you could add mount tabs, reinforcements, etc to the back side. If done with careful planning, this could form a quite thin and sturdy base for your upholstery or coatings and fit perfectly.
the arm rest in my fairlane has lite covers that are curved. could not locate any replacements. (of course after i'm done i found them).. anyways, i made a form of wood, clamped a piece of 1/8" plexiglass to it and used a torch to heat and bend. it really worked fine.. using this u REALLY need to pay attention to the heat for u'll bubble it fast and then it's trash.. start over.. but it worked for me. u can then spray glue fabric to it.
Hi folks,
I would like to avoid building mdf or wooden panel pieces and make something very lightweight, waterproof and durable. Ideally would be a single piece that spanned the entire door and up over the top edge where a window would otherwise be.
You aren't going to find a one piece panel like that without fabricating something or having something fabricated for you. The older door panels had a curved metal piece at the top and had a thin flat panel attached to it.
I am planning on fabricating something custom as there is no choice. What I'm interested in is non-traditional options. I wonder if I can make something out of resin? Unless I come up with something interesting it will probably be fiberglass.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Hot Rod Forum
2.2M posts
175.7K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to hot rod owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about restoration, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!