Technical ABS interior panel construction

I think you're right. My main reason for using ABS was the ability to bend it. I've use masonite, luan and pressed board for interior panels before but they don't lend themselves well to bending. These panels can be upholstered later and have a far more finished appearance. While the appearance now is OK, I'm looking for something better in the future and this is a great foundation.

 

Great thread, thanks for sharing the experience. You also saved yourself some money 'cause you won't have to pay the upholstery guy to create all those panels. Very cool.

 

I did this in my '39 Ford- but in that car headliner was perf vinyl- I thought it turned out OK- liked the look so much I never changed it-

 

Opened the trunk and was really bummed. I have some time and leftover ABS, so I made up something quick and dirty.
The side panels were just copies of the luan panels I had already made, but the front panel took some on-the-fly design. A lip was bent on the top to go under the top channel, but needed a way to hold the sides in place without anything too obvious and still have easy access to fill the tank.
I was really tempted to glue the side stops in place, but these panels will probably be used for the upholstery and didn't want to hassle breaking them off later. I bent up a couple stops, countersunk 2 SHCS's in each and mounted them to the side panels. Wiped down the mating surfaces with acetone and put velcro down to hold the front panel in place.
Not fancy, but not too ghetto.

 

Was curious what you had planned back there.
If you don't mind I'll try and get some shots of my ABS trunk job posted tomorrow.

 

I'm working on this the next 4 days to get it done for next weekend so will take a better pic of what it is tomorrow.

 

Made a pattern for the trunk riser, will probably use the rubber tool box drawer liner.Please excuse the dust and poor photo quality.

 

Nice work there Doug ! When do I get a ride ?

 

Hopefully this is a bit clearer. The stops I made go on the side panels with velcro on them and the back of the front panel. I have some fine tuning to do tomorrow, but it's "functional".

 

Well, I'll just say; don't head this way quite yet!

 

Alright, so I had 1 piece of ABS left, a day to kill and an ugly trunk lid. I swear to God NOTHING takes less than a day to make on this car. Sometimes I'm surprised I can tighten down 2 screws in one day.
Anyhow, after staring at this for a while it dawned on me that removing the 2 pivot bolts to take the lid off was WAY easier than trying to make this panel with the lid in place. Sounds like a no-brainer, but I've done stupid-er things (I know it's not a real word, but I'm tired).
You know the routine by now.... grind, fit, grind, fit, repeat. The push-in clips used on the door panels work great for this as well. One thing I did (but didn't manage to get in a pic of course) is putting down cloth tape at each mounting point to cut down squeaks. Making this is pretty straight forward but takes time. How long depends on how anal-retentive you are. Another little trick is once all the fitting and trimming is done, take a pencil torch and heat the edge of the plastic to give it a finished look. I'll probably need to add a few more clips, but that's no big deal.
More as I think of it, but I think this car's pretty much done for now.

 

Great thread! Good, economical way of cleaning up your interior! I ran with it and grabbed four 24" x 24" sheets of 1/16" ABS from Tap Plastics. Total outlay - $30. Very easy to pattern up, cut and layout. I did both doors and bun panels on my 'T' roadster. The bun panels have about a 30* curve to them. The 1/16" ABS conformed perfectly with no heat at all. I used black waferhead screws to attach them (went a little overboard on the drivers bun panel). Now I have a finished looking interior! Thanks for the idea!

 

I purchase this in 4x8 sheets from US Plastics. It's available in black and white. I use two heat guns at the same time for heating. I use the electric drill shear very often. As has been stated, you can use a razor knife to cut out shapes and radius's to tight for other methods. I use 1/8" for parts that need strength. The cup holder on the floor of my 32 is made from 1/8" and attached with velcro to the trans tunnel. Let your creativity run with this stuff.

 

As I mentioned earlier I did the interior panels for my 26 RPU in 1/8” ABS.
I heated and bent the rear side panels to give me the curve I wanted.

 

What's the going rate for 1/8" ABS in your area?
4x8 sheet, textured one side, is $85 plus a 75 mile one way ride to get it!! (Knoxville). YIKES!

 

good thread. I used the abs panels on my car, it has held up well.
for durability and to trim out the edges, I made trim strips out of metal. I did this by running sheet metal through my bead roller with double bead rollers, then cut the strips out.

 

The info in this thread was very useful to me. Thanks to all who posted.

Like tb33 above I wanted a more finished looking edge on the panels I made for my '59 Dodge pickup. I don't have a bead roller or a sewing machine (or the skills to use them) so I got some marine grade welting, some super glue gel, and went to town.

 

Back side in process- just like you'd think, but no sewing:

 

I’m on the ABS bandwagon too. liking the ease to use it I got some also and started knocking out my 28 Tudor interior.

Between the door panels and door gaskets it really tightens up the doors and I can’t wait to go down the road and see how many more rattles are gone.

Thanks @Mr T body for this.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

Man,,,this is a great thread,,,,,it really helps to clean up an interior.
I would guess that a person could also use material,,,,cloth, or vinyl, or even leather and use something like spray headliner glue and attach to the panels ?
I will bet these panels do cut down the rattles and road noise quite a bit,,,also probably keep it warmer inside during the cold months of driving .

Tommy

 

I picked mine up local, $29.95 a sheet for a 4x8 sheet of 1/16” ABS textured one side.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

Just ran into this thread. Great stuff, thanks everybody for the lesson and tips.

 

Smokin' deal. 41 bucks for a 2x4 at Lowes

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PRIMECO-ABS-0-06-in-T-x-24-in-W-x-48-in-L-Black-Plastic-Sheet/1001469464

 

I looked everywhere, Lowe’s, Home Depot and nothing. Found a local company and they were on my way to work. Stopped and asked, said they don’t service walk ins. Ordered it on line and stopped to pick it up, good to go and the VP that ran the local shop was super cool and very helpful. He said most people come in for just small pieces and not a full sheet or they want it cut down and he said they were not set up for that.

Here is the stuff I bought, https://www.curbellplastics.com/Sho...-in)-Haircell-1-Side-General-Purpose-Extruded


Cliff Ramsdell