Here's an other question

[Menno van Rij]

Hi all,

 

Photobucket has advantages! Several viewers of the pictures PM'ed me and / or wrote on this forum that I had cut out the wrong shape for my door panels: I had made the bottom corners too round. So, out with the jig saw again.

Which brings me to an other question: my car came with very ugly finished door panels; with loads of padding between the vinyl and the panel: padded like Chesterfield furniture!

 

Well, here's the question: what's the correct thickness of the padding or is there no padding between panel and vinyl?

 

(BTW: I've contacted Dan Masters and I've ordered a power block wiring from him. Yes, know: originality... )

 

Menno

Edited July 2, 2007 by Menno van Rij

[Trevor S]

Hi Menno,

As far as I am aware there was no padding at all on a standard car trim panel. I have also come across a padded one but I believe this was a home made adaption.

Regards

Trevor

[TR 2100]

Hi Menno,

 

In fact, there was a very thin padding between the covering and the fibreboard

door trim - a bit like a very thin sheet of corron wool.

I have used the thinnest foam sheet available, but even that gives too much

'padding'. (the screws sink into the padding too much).

The nearest option I can think of is the thin 'soft' plastic sheet of the type that is

often used to wrap electrical items such as VCRs.

 

Remember - the original trim material was very thin and hard - the best option

for padding, if any, depends on what type of trim material you are going to use.

 

If you are going to use a stretch material, the type with a stockinette backing,

I would suggest you use no padding at all. If you use a harder, thinner sheet,

something like the original, then I would use the thin 'soft' plastic sheet I've

tried to describe above.

 

For door panels, don't glue the face - stretch the fabric over the face and glue

to the back.

It's better to drill the holes through the board for the self-tapping screws, to

match the holes in the door before you do the covering.

Also, try not to get any double thickness of fabric on the back or the panel won't

fit close enough.

 

The worst item to trim is the elbow cappings. These DO need to be glued on the

face, and the tight curve may cause you to stop and wonder how to approach the

problem, but once you have the right approach, it's not too difficult.

 

Other cappings are not difficult, but make sure the base metal is thoroughly clean

and use impact adhesive painted on with a brush to get an even coating.

 

Door cappings are not difficult but you need to find a source for the chromed end

buttons.

 

AlanR

[TR 2100]

Several viewers of the pictures PM'ed me and / or wrote on this forum that I had cut out

the wrong shape for my door panels: I had made the bottom corners too round. So, out

with the jig saw again.

Hi Menno,

 

Me again.

 

Just been looking at your photos, your 3A must be late 1959 as it's a post-60,001 car.

(The factory re-tooled at this time and there are a number of differences).

 

Earlier doors had square corners on the inner section. Post-60,001 doors were rounded.

 

If your panels match the doors, then you've done it right, but it looks to me that the

rounding on your door panel is a bit less than the rounding on the door, not more

[vivdownunder]

Hi Menno,

 

Thanks for the rear spring info on your post TS60000 car on the other thread.

 

Regarding your doors, firstly looking at your pix, perhaps you are using 3mm medium density fibreboard for the backs. I used this material and coated it with clear lacquer both sides to make it waterproof before trimming. This also makes the adhesive take better, as it can't soak into the backing material.

 

I used small countersunk bolts and nuts to attach the door pockets.

 

The closest I could get to the original thin padding for the doors and side panels behind the doors was about 2mm thick felt, which I obtained from a large retail fabrics store. It was white and sold by the metre off a roll. It is best to glue the felt padding to the backing board, especially around the screw holes, so the self tapping screws don't grab the padding and wind it up around the screw. Also, you can glue a big sheet on, then cut around it to the shape of the panel for a perfect fit.

 

As a previous contributor suggested, predrill the backing board. Then when you have glued on the vynil, turn the panel over and centre punch through the predrilled holes. This will give you the screw hole locations on the front of the panel.

 

Early on, check the size of the holes in the metal around the inside of the doors and rear panels. Some of mine would not grip the fixing screws as the holes had become too large, so I had to drill new fixing holes beside the original. On another TR I restored, I used the next size up chromed screws and cup washers for the door trims, which in some ways were better, as they did not pull through the vynil like the tiny ones with the half cup washers can do.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Best regards,

 

Viv.

[BrianC]

The worst item to trim is the elbow cappings. These DO need to be glued on the

face, and the tight curve may cause you to stop and wonder how to approach the

problem, but once you have the right approach, it's not too difficult.

Do it on a warm day and/or use a hair-dryer to keep the material as flexible as possible. This is a fun job but very satisfying when you get it right.

Edited July 4, 2007 by BrianC

[stuart]

Do it on a warm day and/or use a hair-dryer to keep the material as flexible as possible. This is a fun job but very satisfying when you get it right.

The elbow cappings are definitely the worst piece to do on any car. I had John Skinner do a pair for me a couple of years ago and even they struggled to get it 100% correct, mind that was in original type material that has absolutely no give in it.

If anyone has watched American Hot Rod on Discovery it is very interesting to watch the Mexican guys at Gabes trimming doing the interior trim on those cars, their favorite tool for trimming is a steam gun to get the material to go into the awkward corners and around the complicated shapes.

Stuart.

[jean]

Yes, later cars had the doors rounded, but the doorpanel was only rounded at the B post side, if you round it at the front side you will have a considerable gap

[TR 2100]

Yes, later cars had the doors rounded, but the doorpanel was only rounded at the B post side, if you round it at the front side you will have a considerable gap

Now that's interesting.

 

Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing a TR3A door casing, NOS, still in the

Stanpart bag.

 

The front corner (A post) was square, the rear corner (B post) was rounded.

 

I thought that this was one of those mistakes that happen, but maybe not.

 

BUT - if the doors have a rounded bottoms to both bottom corners, as is my

recollection, and the door casing is square, surely the casing would project

beyond the door.

 

Or is my recollection of post-60,001 doors having rounded corners on BOTH

bottom corners misplaced?

 

AlanR

[Menno van Rij]

Now that IS interesting. Last Tuesday I visited a fellow-member of the Dutch TR club. He lives nearby and owns a TR3A, no. 74xxx.

 

I've taken some pictures of the A en B post edges of his door panels. I don't know if they are NOS panels, refurbished or any thing els. But this is wat I saw:

[stuart]

Now that IS interesting. Last Tuesday I visited a fellow-member of the Dutch TR club. He lives nearby and owns a TR3A, no. 74xxx.

 

I've taken some pictures of the A en B post edges of his door panels. I don't know if they are NOS panels, refurbished or any thing els. But this is wat I saw:

I would say that they are restored panels. Judging by the size of fixing screws and by the stiching.

Stuart.

Edited July 6, 2007 by stuart

[TR 2100]

I would say that they are restored panels. Judging by the size of fixing screws and by the stiching.

Stuart.

Definitely re-made/restored panels.

 

It's often necessary to use larger self-tapping screws when the hole in the door gets

enlarged, even if the door casing is original, so that's no real guide. Same with the

cup washers - the original ones were very very small and I couldn't find any source

(many years ago now) when I wanted some.

 

But the stitching - definitely not original. Nice to see the correct colour red furflex.

 

Interesting that the bottom corner by the A post is squared off (though not quite as

much as the original NOS that I saw) but even so it projects beyond the door inner

framing.

 

Both my 3As were pre-60,001 so I have no personal experience of the post 60,001

casings.

 

AlanR

[stuart]

I think that the squared off front was to aid in draught exclusion.

Stuart.

[vivdownunder]

A few years back I had the complete set of restored "3A's" being an "early" 1958 car which I still have, a post TS60000 car and a 3B. Thus I could compare the production differences.

 

The later 3A's had doors with the bottom inside metal rounded at both ends. You can see this in Menno's pix behind the repro trim panel.

 

However as Jean says, the trim panel was squared at the front so as to close over what would have been a triangular shaped gap. It is odd that this squared front bottom corner section of the trim panel was unsupported by any metal. We speculated that this may have been due to a design oversight when they retooled the doors. Someone didn't realise there would be a gap until they assembled the first retooled car, and then they took a short cut to fix it ?.

 

At the back of the door the gap doesn't really show as it is hidden down beside the seat, so the trim panel followed the rounded metal.

 

So Menno, you may decide to make new door trim backing boards with squared front corners.

 

Regarding trimming the "S" shaped capping behing the door, I found that the vynil I used would stretch one way but not the other. So I set up with the natural stretch where I needed it to make that very difficult job just a bit easier.

 

Cheers,

 

Viv.

[jean]

Viv, I used the same kind of vinyl on my 3A. In addition I slightly filled up the rounding with foam, that made it much easier to apply the vinyl without producing wrinkles

Up to now no one ever noticed it

About the triangular gap on the B post, yes I was stupid enough to shape the panel in accordance with the door roundings luckily no water entering

[jean]

Here is a good example how the door panel should be

[Menno van Rij]

Here is a good example how the door panel should be

 

And again Jean: Thanks! I've printed the picture on good quality photo paper and I'll hand it over to the upholsterer next time I see him.

 

Is there some sort of sort padding between the vinyl and the panel, or is the top-quality of the vinyl (thickness near the washers).

 

I've put some new pics. on Photobucket. 'Door panels 2.0' would be a nice name for them.

 

Menno