1966 Sprite interior panels

[Whitephrog]

My recently acquired 1966 Spite project came with a set of interior panels without the vinyl covering. I'm not certain that the panels are original. They appear to a bit crudely cut, not very precise. There are holes around the edges as if there had been attached in the past. The rear panel that separates the boot area from the cockpit was made of plywood and wrapped with am ochre colored vinyl (autumn leaf) that looks to be original. Does any of this seem to be correct?

 

[RickB]

I'm kind of in the same boat with my 64 Sprite, lots of little panels covered with a hideous light brown color vinyl. I want to change it all to black, so what I want is a good source for black vinyl that will look "right" in the car.
I can recover the panels, I can cut new by using the old as a pattern.
Should I just ask my wife to take me to a fabric place?

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Rick,

You can find suitable stuff that looks good at any of the Chain Fabric Stores. And you can go there without your wife. Vinyl as well as thin foam backing sold by the yard. Those women in there love to help men who have no clue as to what they are looking for.

 

[RickB]

Ah - that's the plan then!

I'm good at looking clueless :wink:

 

[68_sprite]

Rick, Pacific Fabrics has a pretty good stock of different vinyls, but my favorite place for car fabric stuff is down at the old B & I in Tacoma. It is a kind of divey type area, but the woman who owns it does a ton of car interiors. She also has a good supply of vinyl in stock and books to order almost anything you need. When I recovered the panels the first time, that is where I went. She is very helpful.

 

[RickB]

Thank you, I don't get to Tacoma that often but this might be worth a special trip.

 

[68_sprite]

I havent' found anything close to the selection she stocks. Some of the auto interior shops carry and order vinyl, but they were about double the cost. Worth the cost of gas to get there.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

I also found that thin foam that you can buy works well under the panels. Gives them some dimension and if panels are sort of cruddy to begin with hides a lot of sins. Do not as I found out try to use thin fabic batting. It looks good until you try to drill the panels and the fabric wraps around the drill bit and tears up the vinyl. BTDT.

 

[George Zeck]

Raay -

When I bought my seats from the ebay guy - he had me buy from these guys. I think is was $10 / yard (could have been more) -- it was cheaper than a local fabric store. Bought 6 yards for the entire car and had some to mess up with.

https://www.silverstatefabrics.com/

Geo

 

[George Zeck]

Make that $20 per .....

 

[HAN8L1965]

As mentioned you can by vinyl with a foam backing. Check the fabric stores and marine vinyl sites on line. Large selection available at reasonable prices. I redid the interior of a boat with the padded back easy to use and strech when needed. Our panels will benefit from the foam backing as it gives a softer feel to the finished product.

Mark

 

[Whitephrog]

Back to the original question. What do the naked panels look like? Material? Preciseness of cut around the edges? Was the panel that separates the boot from the cockpit made from plywood?

 

[theleisure]

All of the interior panels that I've ever seen have been made out of board that was similar to masonite. Who knows if that was original as they were on my father's cars.

I work in the sign industry and we substitute pvc board(Komacel) for wood all the time. That's what I'll be using if I ever have to redo the panels in my car. There's a product called star-board that is available at marine supply shops. I'd consider star-board before masonite but it's not as good as Komacel.

 

[George Zeck]

I agree with the above that star-board is better. I priced it and it came to $near $300 for the boards + foam + vinyl and $20 for masonite @ Home Depot.

I went the cheap route -- willing to redo one later for the cost diff and I bought pleanty of vinyl.

Geo

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Ray,

The original panel that separates cockpit from trunk was fiberboard / cardboard painted I believe not covered in vinyl. I went with plywood so it was sturdy and a nice platform to install a set of 6 x 9" speakers. Covered with carpet, it looks nice.

 

[spritenut]

The panels are made from 1/8" masonite AKA tempered hardboard and a few other names, about $8-$10 for a 4x8 sheet at most lumber or home stores.
It's dark brown and smooth on one or both sides.
Do NOT use 1/4" and do NOT use anything thicker than 1/8" foam backer.
The window cranks will rub and wear if you do. The inner door latch will be a bear to fit too.
The car/trunk panel was also 1/8" and can be made with the kink in it using a piece of duct tape along a cut where the bend is.
Do be careful with fabric store vinyl as it is not the same grade or as stretchable as auto/marine vinyl. It will dry out and crack in no time.

 

[Whitephrog]

Thanks all. From this thread it's obvious that my panels are an imperfect copy of a set of originals. I'm going to toss them today and start fresh. Already have some 1/8" masonite from Home Depot that I was going to use for Bugeye panels but ordered those from AH Spares a few days ago. "68 Sprite" has offered a set of paper patterns so I'm good to go.