The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Tired of Ugly Door Panels for AD Trucks

Last year I finished the cab off restoration of my 53 3100. When I got to the interior, I ordered a nice maroon seat cover from Jim Carter and a new headliner and door panels. I seemed pretty happy with it at the time but now was not happy with how the cardboard door panels wore in just a year. The quality of cardboard is not really good, if you get water on them when you open the door, you will see what I mean. Eventually the cardboard started to pull out of the frames and started to look bad. I ordered 2 pieces of 12" by 36" sheet aluminum that is .050 thick from McMaster Carr and a roll of maroon vinyl from Jim Carter. I then removed the old panel and traced it over the aluminum sheet with a sharpy. Cut out the aluminum with a nice new metal blade for thin metal with a jigsaw and then drilled the appropriate mounting holes on my drill press. Did a quick test fit. Removed and to the workbench to clean the aluminum with some paint surfacer cleaner. I then applied some contact cement to the aluminum and the back side of the vinyl and set aside to dry for 20 minutes. After the contact cement was dry, I carefully laid the vinyl over the aluminum panel and rolled it in with my linoleum roller to press it in and get out any bubbles. This part it is best to have a helper hold the vinyl off the sheet and just touch one corner of the vinyl to the sheet and slowly start rolling the vinyl on as your helper allows more of the vinyl to touch the sheet until it is completely attached. Once attached, you can trim the excess off with a new razor blade and cut out the holes with an exacto knife. Next assembled the metal frame around the door panel and secure the frame on the backside with some duct tape. Then install the panel to the truck, arm rest, window cranks and door handles. It took a couple hours and cost about $80 but looks far better than it did. The key is to get alluminum sheet that is no thicker than .050 so when you add the vinyl it still fits in the metal trim. Hope this helps somebody down the road, cheers.

Steve

More pictures

Looks very nice, thanks for the pictures and details.

Looks good!

Pretty Slick......I had thought about doing something like that but you have the "proof in the pudding". Great job and thanks for the details.

Thanks all for your comments.
I can't say enough good about McMaster Carr, they seem to have just about everything for any fabrication, quick shipping and reasonable prices too.
Steve

Big improvement over the cardboard.

I am curious to see how you tackle the cardboard on the roof!

you can go into production and sell them. looks great.

Ditto

Nice work, Steve
And, nice explanation.

Ditto on ndkid275's post: "I am curious to see how you tackle the cardboard on the roof!"

I like this. Bookmarking now...

3/8 inch beadboard with the back routed out

i made arm rests to match. i'll post when i find the picture

Hi Steve.
Nice work. Here's another idea: You can also use Formica counter top material. It is not expensive, comes in a standard thickness of .035", will not warp and it will flex without permanently bending nor developing the wavy bumps fiberboard gets. Cut it so the back side (the rough side) faces outward. If you want to paint it, sand the texture on the back until it is smooth, prime it and spray it after the pieces have been cut. Or coat it with contact cement and cover with vinyl as you've done. The headliner (as you know) has compound/complex curves. You can use a blow drier to help Formica bend to make those curves (the ones at the front) look right. I would not use aluminum on the headliner.

You can also still get upholstery grade fiberboard (here: https://www.perfectfit.com/15347/Chipboard-Car-Panelboard.html ) but the non-waterproof board must be sealed on both sides and at all edges well or it will shrink and warp.

Isn’t Formica extremely brittle?🛠

I will give the Formica a try.... where do I find it?

You can get Formica at almost any hardware store.

I used Formica to make washers to go between the vinyl upholstery and the window and door cranks. I drilled holes in the Formica with a 2.25" hole saw. I then smoothed the edges of the cut outs and drilled them to fit over the shafts. The washers protect the vinyl upholstery from chafing.

We used plywood "door skins" for the panels. Thin foam was glued to the plywood and the vinyl stretched over and glued on the back side. It worked OK, but I like the suggestions above more. If you do use door skins, note that the plywood bends easier in one direction than in the other. Make sure you orient the plywood the correct way. Of course, we did it wrong.

I may give it a try for roof and door skins. My skins and ceiling are falling apart after 1 year!

Formica is brittle but is more flexible than one might think. Please take a look at this scrap piece (which is 16" x 4") lying flat:
https://beta.photobucket.com/u/JonGoodman/p/67afae92-7408-4e27-8236-756b9c41d7cb
And here I have it sitting on a 2.5 inch tall piece of metal and I'm forcing it flat down on the table (making the bend around 30 ~ 35 degrees):
https://beta.photobucket.com/u/JonGoodman/p/de06daff-ddbd-4709-b4df-4bb67ff4979c
And here I am wrapping that same piece around the windshield trim molding (the one with the sharp bend):
https://beta.photobucket.com/u/JonGoodman/p/1fa19108-e620-48ef-bc04-e9696cff2e2b

As I said if you heat it with a blow dryer it becomes even more pliable. I'm certain there are instructions on the internet about this.

I plan on trying to cover it with something, probably black vinyl like my seats. We shall see how this goes, I am debating on making the roof one piece or 2 pieces. if I glue 2 pieces up there, I can still cover it easily, thoughts?

Never though of formica, maybe that will even be better/cheaper than sheet aluminum, certainly cheaper for sure. Thinking of trying that on the roof panels because of the curves, thanks for that idea.
Building the roof panel in two pieces seems easier and will appear correct too. Plus you only handle and fit a smaller piece. Yeah, I'm really liking that idea. Thanks guys (Jon G.).

Super idea for crank washers, liking this much better than the cardboard ones.

I may try to find aluminum sheet which is thin enough to fold the maroon vinyl over the edge, but still fit inside of the metal retainer. This will keep the vinyl from letting go of the glue and coming out of the edge of the retainer like mine always seem to do. The maroon vinyl which Jim Carter sells has extra material around the edge so that you could do this.
Carl

I found black Formica that I may try for roof so that I don’t have to put vinyl over it.

If you have the center bow and rear retaining cover for the headliner, everything will work as it should. That center bow has a front and rear slot and the rear retainer is held in place with screws. Cover the Formica or paint it before you install it. If you use vinyl, I'd try to use a thinner vinyl than what is on your seat. Then install the rear section first and secure it with the rear retainer. The bow will slip in place next. This requires a bit of coordination and a helper might be good also. Then slip the front piece into the front bow slot and secure it with the windshield trim after you get it in place. If you have a shade flap, measure and carefully cut the holes for it before you mount the panel (this can be difficult so do take your time). One way is to attach double sided tape (on which the holes have been cut out already) to the place on the body where the flap will mount, press the headliner panel in and then remove it to cut the holes. Hint: on the side of the double sided tape that sticks to the body...stick this somewhere on your face first. The oil will cause it to just "sort of" stick and then it will stick more firmly to the headliner panel when you remove it. Oh, and also...big important note...this job goes better if you remove the windlace and replace it once you're finished. It really is not fun trying to get the headliner panel on the other side of that windlace rubber.

Just purchased some Formica to see how well it works. Fingers crossed!

Chris

I'm sure you'll do fine. Here's a tip: get a jig saw (we used to call them saber saws also) and a fine metal cutting blade. Work carefully cutting the stuff and go slowly. If it is important to you to keep the front side from chipping when it is cut, get 1/4 inch plywood and clamp your Formica between two sheets of it. We used to do that for small or thin pieces. Did I mention go slowly?

Good info Jon, for tight curves and the door and window crank holes use a dremmel.

I used black Formica/Aborite. I made a template of the panel with plywood, clamped the laminate to the plywood and used a router with a laminate bit with an edge guide. Because I needed black, I used the Formica as is.

Nice job on the door panels. I did basically the same thing on my 1952 3100. I did bend the aluminum to conform to the curve present in both my doors and door panel frames. It seems to be a much more pronounced crease in my truck then your 1953. I thought they were the same. I used the same covering as the seat and did take the vinyl over the edge. Tight fit in the frame but it worked. I have tried to attach a picture but not sure it will work.

I'm even rethinking my panels................Steve, see what you got started.

That's right! If you have a router and a ball bearing laminate bit, it makes the work slick and quick. Just be certain to use the straight bit and not the edge bit...

ABS here.

nice door panels!
i was also concerned with the cardboard door panels i ordered online, so i did an intermediate fix, i just glued some old vinyl school bus seat material to the cardboard before installing the metal trim, time will tell if that's sufficient
but if i do it again i'm gonna go this aluminum sheet method, many more seats in the school bus to cut vinyl from, and two colors to choose from, grey or traditional brown

about the roof... yeah... i did such a bad job on the roof, but in my defense, it was my first one, i did it alone, it's a work truck so it didn't need to be show quality
i'm sure the second time will be much better
-s

I just cut and made the two roof panels in Formica. I might attemp to install the tomorrow night. I hope to get door seals in place so I can pick my wife up from the airport on the 20th. I will post pictures

Hey Chris,

Let's see those pics! I've been struggling with the door panels too. This past summer I replaced the door panels (purchased from a preferred vendor). They looked okay for a while, but the top corners kind of puckered when I tightened them. I just noticed the the driver's side panel is creeping out of the SS frame.

Are you guys over-sizing these custom made panels?

I appreciate all the dialog this thread has created. There are some great ideas out there on door panels.

Thanks,

I am trying to get it put in ASAP. I am considering putting aluminum panels behind the Formica for the door panels to stiffen it up.

Hint...if you're using fiberboard panels, consider putting a rubber faucet washer (3/4" diameter) behind each trim screw so the force of the screws doesn't pull them inward too much and deform them.

Jon G, thanks for the tip! In my case, I actually thought about something like that. At least my hindsight is 20/20!!

Front panel is in! Looks great!


Edited: added pictures of back panel. I like it, not too bad, had one minor issue with mid measurement. The other was accidentally dropping the heat gun on my ankle. Had to yell without moving and dropping the panel. FYI, I yelled like a [censored]!