Technical ABS interior panel construction

Harbor Freight at $29.99! Use one of those 20% off coupons and you can't beat it.

 

Thanky

 

Where do you get the ABS ?

 

Rocky, any harbor freight in Bellevue? I know of 90 and Maple and by the home depot in Lake Manawa.

 

I got mine from a local plastics supply house.

 

none in Bellevue...Manawa is closest to me

 

So tonite was grinding.... and more grinding.... and checking the fit.... and more grinding. Using a die grinder with a rotary rasp works great but makes a bit a mess. You have to go slow and be patient. Like GLACIAL slow and Ghandi patient 'cuz there's no 2nd chances. This is why you leave the ends long, because as the fit improves and you keep refining it you find out that that 90 degree angle isn't quite. Or that radius isn't the same at the top as the bottom and it now drops a bit on one end.
This panel is at the point where I need to put a well place mounting screw in so it can't shift anymore. Once that's in I'll start locking down the panel and do some finish trimming. If this seems like a lot of work, it is but it's only as difficult as you make it and what end result you want. I could do it a little differently and make it easier, but the look I want won't allow that. That's why I called the door panels and kick panels low hanging fruit. They were easier and helped me learn how to work with this.
I'll be doing the lower panel so you can see how much fun flat panels are. I'll also be gluing some mounting brackets to the back of them so it'll be fun with ABS glue (and seeing how well acetone works just for the heck of it).

 

OK, I gotta admit I suck at doing technical threads. I get in a zone and don't take pics, but hopefully the text helps.
So this panel looks REALLY easy being square and looking pretty flat with few details. Truth be known I dread this more than any other though. There are bends that have to be made on 4 different planes and to fit right there's NO room for error.
The lines below show each plane with the 2 segments on the right being on different planes AND rounded.

Here's a closeup. The best advice I can give is play with scrap pieces and learn how this works (and doesn't). I can't really show you a lot of what it takes to make these panels with pics, so hopefully this helps those that are on the fence.

 

I used it on the rear panel (behind the seat) in my 53 Ford COE, great way to cover the insulation. Used a box knife and a long straight edge to cut it.

 

Marty
Is that 1/16", 3/32" ABS?
Are the Clecos maintaining that corner radius or did you heat and form it.

 

Very helpful tips. Thanks.

 

Great thread! Thank you, I will have to do that on my 34 soon!

 

I wonder if a heat gun would work, maybe not quite as much heat and more easily controlled??

 

Crappy pic (didn't come out 'cuz it's all black and nighttime, go figure), but for a couple hundred bucks I have something presentable and good panels for the upholstery shop when it's time. There are a lot of clips and retainers, but it's nice having a Model A that doesn't rattle.

 

I tried that at first and didn't have much success, but I was trying to bend 20" of plastic with a consistent bend. It's tough to keep enough heat on a bend that big with a heat gun.

 

Looks great! However, with all the care needed to get consistent bends (using heat) one has to wonder what the panels will do in the potentially blistering heat of a mid-summer day. Anyone with experience to share?

 

My upholstery guru buddy say dont use ABS on a parcel shelf. The sun makes it take a mind of its own!!

 

Thought about that and that's why I used quite a few screws/fasteners. It's not likely this car will see any REALLY hot days, but there is an advantage to hot days. One thing I haven't shown yet is heating a panel after it's installed. The plastic is under tension when you bend it, so I played around and heated then with the heat gun to "relax" them. Doesn't take much heat (compared to bending them) and makes them lay down better and retain the shape.

 

I don't think there's any way this package tray can get direct sunlight, but I think I'm going to put carpet down over it to soften up the all plastic look a little.

 

Don’t know if it was mentioned but I found when forming a tight angle, it was easy for me to just score the back side of the panel, form it to fit and use duct tape to secure the cut on the back side. No heat.

 

Thanks Mr T Body - bubba just pulled da trigger and bought me an 30A - this post couldn't come at a better time

 

Good for you and welcome to the "A" club. Was doing the interior "hard"? Not really any harder than anything else we do on cars. It's just fabrication on a different material with slightly different tools. Get after it!

 

I really learned some good stuff here.
I know there’s many ways to do things and yours worked great,but I was wondering if the plastic could be formed while being held in car and heating and pushing it into position and shape? Has anyone tried doing it that way?
Again, yours looks awesome, but just wondered.

 

Doug, It's 1/16"

Doug, There is an offset lip at the door post that holds it in place. The material was 1/16", no heat was needed, I did shrink a piece of 18 ga steel to hold the lower corners, and keep any varmints from getting in that area.

 

Thanks Marty, did you source that from TAP Plastics?

 

I have ABS left over and an ugly trunk, so........

 

I tried that and if you're going for sharp bends that'll work. I just couldn't get enough heat evenly over a large area to keep from folding rather than bending.

 

Yep !

 

Tried this on the trunk panels I was making tonite and worked great, thanks! Kind of a leap of faith when you're bending it at the score and waiting for it to snap. Get's your attention when it does though.

 

I honestly think that ABS sheet is fairly undiscovered for interior panel work.