Hey All, So, we think we figured out our motor issues on our 49 Ford. The seat upholstery is almost done and now I am looking at the door panels... So, the kids I had made the door panels did an OK job of lining up holes, but not great. The big problem that we didn't see coming was that we used a board to thick for the door panel fasteners to fit. I've tried to get them in there, but they won't work. That said, I tried to open the hole some, but our fabric is already fastened to the boards and I damaged it a little on the back side. S the fabric is now thin, but not all the way through. No way I'd trust a kid to do it. So, aside from starting new door panels from scratch, what is another way that we could fasten these to the door? My best guess thus far was to use a nice looking sheet metal screws OR finding a way to fasten some nuts to the door and then use a black, hex, pan head bolt to hold it on. That wouldn't look too bad. Our custom upholstery is a medium grey with black at the bottom. Any other bright ideas?
The screws is your best idea. Chrome or stainless. You can buy these online or at ACE Hardware cheap. Online they are probably called European door panel screws.
Sounds like a good opportunity in the lesson of planning ahead and pre fit all hand made pieces. The Wizzard
Yup Wizzard, you should be familiar with my kids at this point from our older posts. Sadly I'm working with many kids who struggle with reading and basic math, but I do my best. The real problem is that the kids who made the door panels graduated 2 years ago. That's the pitfall of 45 minute class periods. Between setup and clean up we get very little time to work. Otherwise- anyone want to chime in on screws vs bolts? If we tack welded nuts in, bolts would go on and off easier. VELCRO? That'd be awesome if it held up. I do have some 3'4" wide velcro strips. Maybe I can find big ones? Like 2" wide? That'd probably work...
You used to be able to get some super sticky & strong double sided tape from glass shops think it was used for putting up mirrors ?
Hard to see but I use screws for all my panels. Did the door panels the same way but can find my pictures. I use a hand held leather punch to set the holes so the material won't wrap on the screw. Then i pre drill the hole for the screw and install. decent take many and i feel it give it a old school look
You could just make a new set of holes through both the panel and door and snap it on. These come in different colors or you could paint to match or just use a felt marker close to Gray to match.
I use plastic snap-caps. They come in a variety of sizes and colors, put your screw through, and snap the cap closed. Any hardware store sells them. This door panel has beige and brown caps.
I didn't even know these existed! Excellent. I just ordered some 3" wide velcro tape, but I may need these too.
I some times forget the context your Ford is being rebuilt in. My hat's off to ya buddy. What ended up being the Motor issue if you don't mind filling us in. The Wizzard
I should update that other thread. Just for peace of mind we pulled the motor and had out machinist do the valve seats. He said most were off some, 4 were off bad... The greatest temptation when working with the kids is just to do it myself. All that said, we've got kids getting the lash set now. We also got a new starter so hopefully we'll have compression and fast turning when we drop it back in. (It's been a week and they're halfway done grinding the valve tips for the lash. That'll give some perspective on the pace we move at.)
Try that heavy duty velcro, if it doesn't hold use the screws. Sent from my SM-J727T1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The Jalopy Journal
