Custom Door Panel Help

[The WidowMaker]

70 chevelle is the man and has given me some advice and many ideas with his pictures. hopefully he will chime in with some answers for you.

but, i still dont see the need to worry about replacement panels. making a mold is a crap load of work and i just dont want to invest that much time. my basic frame will be mdf with a lot of material removed to save weight. then im going to do as i said above and just stretch fabric over it and apply some resin. i will probably come back and do a little glass work on the back to reinforce some areas. the goal is to do it with the least amount of sanding possible.

all of this will be negated for me if marquez comes out with their chevelle interior in the next 4 months or so.

Tim

[LowchevyII]

Originally Posted by The WidowMaker

70 chevelle is the man and has given me some advice and many ideas with his pictures. hopefully he will chime in with some answers for you.

but, i still dont see the need to worry about replacement panels. making a mold is a crap load of work and i just dont want to invest that much time. my basic frame will be mdf with a lot of material removed to save weight. then im going to do as i said above and just stretch fabric over it and apply some resin. i will probably come back and do a little glass work on the back to reinforce some areas. the goal is to do it with the least amount of sanding possible.

all of this will be negated for me if marquez comes out with their chevelle interior in the next 4 months or so.

Tim

thanks tim!. 70 chevelle is the man with those panels. I would love to see how youre going to do yours. maybe start a build thread with pics of the panels. I think i might use your route to avoid the molds becuase the more and more i think about it the more i feel like i need to listen to reason and not make them. I just want a modern look very similar to feslers stuff or in this case 70 chevelle's .

[ProTouring442]

I'm making my own for a '72 Olds. I'm using he blue foam you can buy at Lowe's with epoxy resin and glass mat.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

[LowchevyII]

thanks Bill!...ill definitely be checking that out.

--Does anyone have any info on mounting the door pulls and the actual panels themselves for that matter?

[ProTouring442]

Originally Posted by LowchevyII

thanks Bill!...ill definitely be checking that out.

--Does anyone have any info on mounting the door pulls and the actual panels themselves for that matter?

The door pull will need to mount in some way that is directly attached to the door, and not just the door panel. When I made the armrests in my father's '56, I used a 90* bracket that attached to the door, the armrest then slid over that, then the pull (a cup style) mounted down through the armrest to the 90* bracket.

As for attaching the door panel, I plan on using the stock christmas tree style clips along with a set of screws down under the door panel. These will be concealed by their position under the bottom curve of the panel, as well as by covers.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

[LowchevyII]

beautiful. thank you, Bill! I really appreciate the info.

same goes to all the others that have contributed thus far. Im always overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge here.

[70 chevelle]

Thanks guys I'm definitely no expert. The reason I made the molds was soley to vacuum bag the parts which made them lighter and stronger. I wanted sealed air space for midwoofers , I could not find a way to do this with mdf without the panels being stupid heavy. My car will not be a feather weight when its done but I simply refused to make 50 pound panels.

If your just making a specific shape and have no need for a double walled panel, I'm sure you can make some from mdf that would be a reasonable weight. As for mounting the I 'm using screws through the door pull hole and speaker access. If you look at the pictures the door pull screws directly to the mount which attaches to the door itself. Your never actually pulling on the door panel itself. the panel could just mount with screws but I did not want it to vibrate so the outer perimeter has the same material used to mount an Ipass to your windshield . Its strong stuff.

There is an interior thread on here started by the recovery room where he shared a few tips abut making the base panels from aluminum and how to mount them. There work is simply incredible and picking his brain would be the best thing you did.

[LowchevyII]

thanks tony! for not being an expert, your work definitely says different. thanks for all the advice, its much appreciated.

[CreepinDeth]

Originally Posted by ProTouring442

I'm making my own for a '72 Olds. I'm using he blue foam you can buy at Lowe's with epoxy resin and glass mat.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

EDIT: I guess someone already posted it.....but I'm reposting it.

Bill check out Gary's custom 1972 442 door panels he's making out of 1/8" PVC.
I'm going to follow his lead and go all black in my metallic green 70 442 tribute.
To the OP this is something you should also check out.

The costs for this design are VERY VERY minimal.
Materials are under $100. Totally demystifies the whole daunting task.
His inserts are covered with vinyl carbon fiber and chrome tape found in most parts stores.
Very simple to accomplish and the end result is pretty damn nice IMO.

http://www.pro-touring.com/showthrea...l-build-thread



Check out his dash too, he dumped the faux wood vinyl overpriced junk and put the vinyl carbon fiber over it as well.
I totally dig it.