Hot Rods T Bucket Interiors

My parents used to do a bit of upholstery and as I recall sewing the welting was one of the simplest parts of the project. You need essentially a "rope" or twine of the diameter you want for the welting and a strip of material you can fold over the twine which will give you roughly a 3/4" edge to sew, tack, or staple to your other vinyl/fabric and/or backing. Getting the vinyl/fabric taut without wrinkles is the difficult part but doable with a bit of patience.

 

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind, if I decide to go that route.

 

Yeah, he made it. It's a pretty thick welt cord. You could probably have a thick welt sewn locally pretty low-buck.

This is another reason I decided not to do my own...for the time & money in equip/materials, I can have a pro job done perfectly for less. I've installed complete Katzkin interiors, etc...but never sewn w/ proper welts, seams, etc.

Heck, or let me know & I can have him sew up a length of it & I'll mail it out to you!

 

I will certainly keep that in mind. Thanks for the reply.

 

I would try to do a more visually attractive material, but this is a simple process that would work.

A much more lengthy and detailed process 5 Parts for making the panel

Another thought I had was taking a new reproduction stock door panel and using it to do the sides.
You would have to find a door panel that was larger than your side panel, and a pattern that you like.
Probably a tough find, but it can be cut down to fit and they are cheap and exact mirrors on each side.
EXAMPLE Chevelle/El Camino panel

'65 Cutlass

 

Sorry Fred if I hurt your feelings and if you want to put a lot of time into learning a new trade more power to you. But don't do the job unless you are sure you can make it look great. I stand by what I said in my last post if the interior looks less than professional the rest of the car will look bad. I want you to finish with a "BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL" rod.

 

LMFAO! My feelings weren't hurt. Far from it. I almost like it when someone tosses negative crap my way. All it does is motivate me. I feed on it. It pushes me even harder. I learned that in the Navy and from a few Marine friends. Of course, first they'd punch the naysayer in the mouth, then get busy "DOING". I don't know about, "BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL", but it's going to be a nice fucking HOT ROD.

Hurt my feelings? Gees, man. Get over it.

 

That's some great suggestions, Rod. You're right about finding the right size panels, but it's an idea that would be worth the effort.

 

Fred this is a company that I have used. I have bought a machine and supplies from them. They have a lot of DIY videos and guides.....most stuff is marine or home stuff, but much will cross over to auto
http://www.sailrite.com/

 

Piping is a fairly thin, but somewhat hard plastic tubing, ~ 1/8" dia, that the upholstery material is sewn over, as in the pics above by RST. The thicker "welting" shown at the top edge(s) of the buckets in post #266 n #258 n #252 is actually called windlacing. It is also round, but is a sorta dense(solid) foam rod, ~ 1/2" dia, that again, upholstery is sewn around, just as piping is. Usually used alongside the edges of doors, w/the 'flap' stapled under the edge of the upholstery panel, to keep the wind from sneaking through the door gap. Molded contoured foam rubber now replaces that in cars door/trunk edges. The windlacing can also be used effectively as a trimming edge as shown in the previously mentioned posts. In past years, I got the piping, & windlacing at JoAnnns' Fabrics. Upholstery shops or supply houses should have it.
Marcus...

 

Wind lacing! That's what I was looking for, but couldn't think of the darn name. All the piping I found was small, like for chairs. Thanks! I'll start searching now.

 

I did a quick search for wind lacing and while it is very available, considering how little I would need, my best bet if I decide to use it may be to just get some from a local upholstery shop or warehouse.

 

You might check Home Depot for backer rod in 3/8, 1/2, or 5/8
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-Ki...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CO6I0bXv-tYCFcK_swod5CIKkg

 

Okay, I did some number crunching and it looks like I could do the entire interior for $450. A few items will have to be shipped, but most of it is available locally. That's the seat back, seat bottom and side panels. I have a source for scrap automotive carpet that I can get for free.

So, I'm going to give it a shot. I'll post my efforts here.

 

Here's a photo of the progress I've made through today on my T's aluminum interior. I've only been putting this off for about 12 years. The panels shown still need final trimming. I plan to have the top of the aluminum 1/2" below the "roll" of the top edge of the body. Attachment to the body and framework underneath will be done mostly with rivet nuts and truss head screws so the panels can be taken out for any reason, like if I'd ever get around to actually disassembling the car for paint. The aluminum is .032" and is just mill finish. It will be scuffed with a scotchbright pad to give it a "softer" look. I also plan to roll a couple beads in the panels to reduce oil-canning and just firm them up a bit. I plan on them being about 4" from the top and bottom, parallel with the floor and following the curve of the body on top.

I also have photos of what's underneath that I could post if anyone is interested. This whole project has been way to tedious for me. I'd rather be building a frame, or an engine, figuring out suspension, or.....

Lynn

 

WOW! That's some nice work!

 

Thanks! BTW...the two boxes on the back panel hold my two jet ski sized batteries. I have a 215 Olds aluminum V8 in the car, and the two small batteries seem to have worked out OK so far. There's just a Moon tank behind the body, lakes-roadster style I suppose, and there wasn't anywhere else to mount a big battery since the car is pretty low. The battery boxes are stainless steel, mostly because I had some stainless sheet, and that is easier to fabricate and weld for me than aluminum.

I have a pair of dune buggy fiberglass seats that go in the car. I need to get some covers, or perhaps just pads, that would be held in place by strips of Velcro. I had the seats mounted directly on the floor, but when I re-install them I think I'm going to build some short risers, perhaps 1 1/2" tall or so. I think that will help just a tiny bit with leg room.

Lynn

 

Here's my aluminum door panels. Not as nice as Lake-Harley's, but they get the job done.

 

As I look at all these interiors, it seems the common factor for difficulty are the rear inside corners of the body. I plan on attaching ABS to my Luan like Peach's upholsterer did and heating the ABS to shape. But I'm also trying to figure a way around them.



I suppose one solution would be for the back piece to cover or include the curves.

 

You've got to be kidding, right? I think the bead rolling really sets the panels off...and louvers too! Great looking work.

Lynn

 

Guys, I think I found a solution for covering that inner curve in T Bucket interiors. It's water based casting tape. It's what they used to cast my hand, when I broke it and it's plenty strong. It's like fiberglass, after it sets. When I went to get my cast removed, they had to cut it off! Read the product details. The plan, I hope, is to apply it to the corners, let it set (this stuff sets in minutes), remove and cover with foam and vinyl. It's cheap enough to give a shot. This could probably be used for all kinds of "car guy stuff". Take a look and give me your opinions.

https://www.firstoptionmedical.com/...MI5bjN4-v91gIVAkCGCh0nkQriEAYYASABEgL3KvD_BwE

 

tfeverfred or maybe use the casting tape to get the shape you want and then fiberglass it. That way you never need to worry about it getting water behind the panel.

 

That stuff is water proof. Ask me how I know.

 

LOL! I wonder how it holds glue?

 

I would imagine pretty well. It's a water based resin. Like fiberglass, but without the fumes and mess.

 

Right click.....save.

 

Sweeet! But you'd have to grease me up pretty good to get me into that!

 

Where's the grease ?
Getting me into it would be easy, getting me out of it would be a whole different story

The only way that would happen is if the tank was empty or the tires were flat

 

LOL! A come along and a low hanging tree branch should work!!