Hot Rod Forum banner

Trunk panel replacement

4K views 40 replies 4 participants last post by  horvath 
#1 ·
I was running some new wire in the trunk last night and I had to remove the side interior panels to get to the tail lights. After I removed the panels I noticed they were not in great shape, the material looks like a cardboard or some type of press product with a vinyl over it. Anyone know what this stuff is and where I can get it? Can I use Masonite?

Regards
Mark
 
#3 ·
Alot of people scoff at masonite, saying/thinking that an interior is made out of peg board. But masonite is pretty good stuff. Same basic thing as MDF (we use heavily in our interiors). So basically its just saw dust glued and pressed together, but it is always consistent, no knots or anything like that. The 1/8" masonite is great for curves.
 
#4 ·
The stuff in there now has a faux leather grain to it, I'm want to cover them in vinyl with a leather grain and insulate behind them with that bubble pack stuff Willies36 was talking about or the stuff they sell at PepBoys. If I cover them in vinyl is there a trick to get it to look tight without bending or warping the Masonite? I'm doing some rewiring in there now fixing sins of the previous owner and adding an a kewl LED 3rd brake light. I'm using spiral wrap instead of split loom because the wrap keeps the wires where you put them. The split loom lets them float to much.
Regards
Mark:thumbup:
 
#7 ·
I dunno, Mark. KristKustoms told me the untempered masonite is the stuff to use ... I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I figure when I do, I'll ask about "untemepered" masonite and see what kind of answers I get.

As far as cutting the stuff, I imagine a fine-toothed blade in a jigsaw will get you a good clean cut.

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup
 
#8 · (Edited)
Hey Alan,
I went to Lowes last night and looked around, the only Masonite I could find was the hard brown stuff. They did have some nice 1/4 plywood for about 7.00 a sheet. Since I want to cover them anyway I might opt for that. The plywood is much more durable than what's in the car now. I just wonder if it will be noisy with vibration. I had thought about using birch plywood and staining it and clear coat but that seemed a bit impractical. I asked the sales guy if they had untempered Masonite and he gave me the deer in the headlights look.

Hey Kriscustoms what is that stuff look like your talking about? fiberboard?

Regards
Mark
:thumbup:
 
#12 · (Edited)
Hey Alan.
Well started making the panels today using 1/8 plywood. I see the real advantage with Masonite no splinters! But the plywood bends nicely into place. I found some padding like yours except it has plastic on both sides. I paid .45 cents per linear foot. I also noticed this cool stuff at Home Depot for wrapping water heaters. It looks just like the stuff they sell at Pep Boys but bigger. His foil on both sides and felt in the middle, they say it's rated R45. I think I may use it on my headliner and doors. Going to cover these with black vinyl, the guy at the upholstery shop told me to use 3M 80 contact cement and let it get very tacky, then put the vinyl down. He said to wait because the vinyl has now way of letting vapor out and it will bubble. Anyone have tips on a better glue?

See Ya
Mark:cool:
 
#13 ·
Hey, Mark

Good news, man! R45 is a great rating! I'll be looking to get some of the same stuff.

For gluing to the ceiling, you'll want to use 3M "Top & Trim" (recommended by our in-house master here, KristKustoms) ... on all my floor stuff (mentioned above) I've been using 3M Super 77 with happy results.

Glad to hear the plywood is working out for ya, bro'!
:thumbup:

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup
 
#14 ·
Hey Jag...if you use contact cement it has to be dry not tacky. With contact cement you coat both surfaces and let it dry to the touch. Then when you put it together it will stick. Just make sure you know where you want it because it does not want to come back apart.

Kevin
 
#15 · (Edited)
Thanks,
I tried to make the first one last night, I think it would have been better if I would have sealed the plywood first. I noticed as I sprayed the contact cement on it was being sucked up by the wood. I ended up putting 2 second coat on and used a piece of cardboard to level it out. It seemed to stick well, biggest problem I'm having how is getting the cuts right for some of the curves. Some of the sharp bends tend to leave a small gap in the vinyl, maybe I need to paint the edges black on the next one. I'm almost tempted to trim the vinyl flush with the edge and put a rubber beading around it. Any ideas?

Anyone ever tried using a hot glue gun for tacking down the back side of the vinyl?

Regards
Mark:thumbup:
 
#16 ·
Hey, Mark

It's a good idea to make a cardboard template first ... put it in place and if there are any gaps, glue smaller pieces on to it until you know you have a perfect fit ... THEN cut your plywood from the cardboard template and you know you've got a good fit. I've been using heavy posterboard to make templates with.

PS - If you're using black vinyl, and your piece is not in a very visible spot, I suppose you could caulk with some black RTV and get away with it, eh?

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup
 
#17 ·
Hey Alan,
I've been using the original panels for templates and fixing areas that are missing. Panels are cut and fit well, I'm having a problem getting the vinyl I picked to wrap well. Just a matter working with the material and getting the proper results. The RTV ideal is an interesting idea.

Regards
Mark
 
#21 ·
Thanks to guys like you, and everyone else who have been so informative. I'm not up to a complete interior yet but the wood dash and headliner are in my sites. I'm going to pull all the rest of the trunk pieces and clean and amoral them. I'm also replacing the rotted carpet foam from behind the rear seat. I'm very tempted to make a trunk lid panel too. weight is a consideration there.

Thanks again Alan and everyone else for the info. I did cheat a little on the back and used hot glue to tack the vinyl in place. I'll go back when I glue the insulation in place and contact cement them on the rest of the way.

Amazing stuff that high temp hot glue.

Regards
Mark :thumbup:
 
#22 ·
Hey, man ... if it works, it works!
:D

I can't wait to get to the interior on my truck! First, I'm waiting for a "recent" Lincoln 2-door wreck to make it to the junk yard so I can have two primo-power seats for my truck ... then, I'm gonna design and make a killer console and start making door panels, ceiling, behind the seats, kick panels and under-the-dash panels to accept my AC/Heat vents -- I removed the AC/Heat under-the-dash plenum and put all the knobs in my lower dash, using 55 Chevy chrome knobs (so now ALL my dash knobs match) -- then I'll match the color of the Lincoln seats and do a two-tone interior.

This stuff is FUN to me.
:thumbup:

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup
 
#23 ·
Electric seats, kewl! How about a small cooler behind the seats for sodas? Are you going to have to make adapter plates to mount them too or will they drop right in? Hey Alan, how did you cut that felt stuff on your floor? I was trying to cut mine with a heavy pair of scissors last night and my hand is still sore... That is some tuff stuff. I was also wondering about it around the peddles, do you have any problems with it binding up on them? Since my brake peddle comes from under the dash it shouldn't be a problem but my accelerator does sit on top of it (2 piece). I didn't notice in your photos if you had installed carpet yet, what color are you going to use?

Regards
Mark
<><:thumbup:
 
#24 ·
Hey, Mark

I'm gonna have to design and weld new mounts for the seats ... not only to mount them, but to get them to the correct height, too. The bench seat that's in my truck now (looks like it's from a mid-70s Monte Carlo) is way too low for me -- I'm only 5' 7"

I cut the felt stuff with a razor-blade knife ... cut a hole and a slit to get it snugged around my brake pedal, which comes out of the floor ... and I removed my gas pedal, which is floor-mounted, then cut two small holes (with the razor knife) around the holes and re-mounted the pedal on top of the felt -- I'll repeat that when I put the carpet in.

No carpet yet ... those Lincoln seats, which will be in mint condition and probably from a late-90s or early-2000s Lincoln, will determine the colors I do the interior in.

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup
 
#25 · (Edited)
Hey Alan,
Are you going to need to run wires to the seats? You might want to use spiral wrap on your wires under the carpet, slip loom will crush when you step on it. I just did my new wiring to the trunk in spiral wrap, it takes a little more work but the results are worth it and since it "hugs" the wire you get a much smaller bump under the carpet. In fact you could cut a groove in the pad and you'd never see it.

I'm debating rather on not to glue my padding to the panels, reason being if it's to thick then I'd have to try and get it off. I think I could just lay it in first and see what I have. I still have to drill and install the L brackets at the bottom and then they'll go in ( I hope) :)

See ya
Mark:thumbup:

BTW anyone have a good source for stainless steel Phillips screws? I'd like to replace the standard steel Phillips screws with stainless.

Regards
Mark:thumbup:
 
#26 ·
Hey, Mark

I've got wires ready for the seats (from my EZ-Wire install) -- thanks for the tip! Sounds like spiral wrap is the way to go.
:thumbup:

Re: Gluing the padding to the panels -- if you use 3M Super 77 it wouldn't be a problem. You can pull the padding off after gluing, no problem at all ... just spray some more Super 77, put it back, and you're back in business again.

Re: stainless stell phillips screws -- I go to a local Harley Davidson bike shop for stuff like that. My gas pedal (all stainless) didn't come with mounting bolts, so I went to the Harley shop and got beautiful button-heads (allen) and they look great!

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top