Installing BJ7 Interior panels

[CharlieCarpenter]

Anyone out there know where I can view some good close up photos of a BJ7 interior panel set installation? Also, when installing the shut pillar finisher piping how do you "end" the run? The passenger side kick panel has a large cut out. Anyone know the purpose and how it should be trimmed? Thanks

 

[John Morralee]

Interested to know the answer to cut out.My 63BJ7 has a similar cut out ,the previous owner does not know what it was (is) for.

 

[Stretch]

I don't have a photo but the screw holes in the BJ7 interior kit I bought from Moss matched the old holes in the door very well. Be careful the screws don't touch the door glass. The door piping is folded over and pinched behind the aluminum door piece at the top end to give finished look. A couple cars I looked at had the piping ending at different places. I glued carpet in the opening at the passenger footwell cutout, but I wasn't certain if that was correct. The carpet kit included a piece so I concluded that was the plan.

 

[BEEJAY7]

Charlie

The cut out panel in the passenger floorwell, (passenger side to you drivers side to me!....that gives you a clue...), is to allow the throttle pedal on a RH Drive car to be operated without fouling the panel. The passenger footwell (LHD) is slightly narrower than the drvers side (LHD).

There are some interior photo's of the restoration I did on my BJ7 on my photo website, (see link in signature line).

Cheers

 

[BEEJAY7]

Sorry...missed the second part of your question.

The panel is covered in the same material as the door panels, (leathercloth in my case) and the covering for the cut out can either be stuck onto the rear face of the panel or directly onto the inner arch, so that when the panel is positioned you can't see any of the painted surface.

Cheers

 

[CharlieCarpenter]

Thanks for the replys. I pretty much quessed how the kick panel would go but wondered about the purpose of that "cut out." BeeJay cleared that question up. Did you put any glue on the piping at all or did the alum finishers hold it in place well enough? Did you use any screws or clips on the alum door panels or just let the door handle and window winder handle hold it in place? Thanks again

Charlie

 

[BEEJAY7]

Charlie

The alum panels were secured by self tapping screws into the original holes. You do have to be very careful with the length of the screws as they can easily mark the glass. I cut the ends off all the screws I used to make them as short as possible.
The seals were originaly a made of a material called "furlex", and I did fit this on my first attempt. It has a steel core which is divided into small segments and you can get the seal to grip the alloy panels.
It didn't work very well for me and after trying all sorts of adhesive to get the things to hold in place, I gave up and used some more modern seal which clipped into place. It looks fine and forms an effective choice. I guess it depends on your choice as to the final use of the car, concours competitions or not.

One of the worst parts (I found)of finishing my Healey was fitting the window winder handles. Fitting the small retaining pin is almost impossible with the alloy panel on. The only way I could do it was to enlist the help of a friend to push the panel in so that I could slide the retaining pin in place. Let me know how you got on with this part of your restoration.

Good Luck

 

[John Loftus]

Charlie,

Glue is applied to the shut pillar finisher to help hold the piping .... at least my very original looking shut pillar finishers have what looks like the factory brushed on contact type glue on the back. Here are a couple of pictures to show the length of the piping and where it starts and ends. I believe the small top edge is covered by the Furflex piping. Also, there is a cut in the piping cover for the area where my thumb is. This allows it to make the sharp bend easier.

[ 09-26-2003: Message edited by: John Loftus ]</p>