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Interior back side pannels

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Donny_L

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I'm trying to fabricate a new pair of side pannels for the back seat of my 61 AH3000. the old ones were made of some kind of plastic. When I took them off,they were broken into lots of little pieces. I'm going to use the vinel covers to make a template. Have any of you done this? What did you use and where did you get it? I tried a thin sheet of pressboard but that's a bit too rigid.
 
On my '57 BN4, they are 1/8" plywood. If you go the plywood route, apply a finish to waterproof them before covering with vinyl.
 
Hi Donny,

First, in '89 when I started my restoration my quarter interior panels were water warped where meeting the floor. To address the recreation of the panel, I used an 1/8" piece of plywood called a "Door Skin". This seemed to be as close to the original plywood base as I could find. To reduce any chance of water destruction, I first sealed the plywood with a few coats of deck sealer that also served as a base for contact cement.

To date, the panels are as first constructed, however, the contact cement has not held as well. It seems that heat induced plasticizer (the chemical that makes vinyl flexible) migration causes most contact cements to become gummy and non-adhesive. This condition has developed with all the contact cements I have tried, however, does not seem to happen with weather strip cement.

Also, for my doors, knowing I have a tendency of leaning my knee against the panel and causing a deformation, I chose a very hard and water resistant tempered masonite created for bathrooms. Again, I applied a sealer as a base coat and glued a thin layer of foam under the vinyl cover. Since this panel material is extremely hard, staples are not an option.

Hope this helps.
Ray (64BJ8P1)
 
Hey Ray,
Your comment about how the adhesives break down because of the vinyl make up finally explains why no matter how many times I spray on a good adhesive that after time it gets gooey and no longer sticks ! Plus I keep one car in a steel storage garage and the heat in there gets very high so makes even mores sense. I have tried the 3M spray ons but not one specifically for cars so will look into that. Does anyone have the part number or exact name for the 3M spray on that is meant for cars ?
Thanks,
Mike

PS - Donny, good luck on making your own panels for the 61. You might look at AH Spares in the UK as you can buy the individual pieces from them.
 
Perhaps someone has, at hand, a bare original wooden side panel from a 60 BT7 and might trace it onto a piece of paper and send it to Donny. --elrey
 
If you must, the water resistant tempered Masonite, well sealed, preferably mahogany ply, well sealed, but NEVER particleboard 'pressboard'. -- elrey
 
I will look on the can this evening. It is a black label with red. It is in an over size can. About 22 to 24 bucks a can. It is carried at all auto parts stores.
 
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