Topic: Conv. Interior Quarter Upholstery

[bryancobb]

Has anyone put the upholstery on their quarter trim panels and gotten real good, smooth results.

I need technique guidance.
I'm usually very good at this type thing but my 1st attempt looks awful.  They fit perfect but the way I used the spray adhesive, caused the padded areas to compress unevenly and it looks lumpy.
Do y'all just use the adhesive around the perimeter and not let it stick to the padding at all?  When I attempt the second one I plan to go light on the spray to attach the padding and not put any spray at all on the top surface of the padding for the vinyl to stick to.  That is...unless y'all tell me a different technique.

Then...At the top edge, where the vinyl folds over the panel and makes a rasdiused "L" that goes around the conv. top frame when it's down...this edge shows all the time.  I can't think of a way to make it look good.  I have never seen a picture of how it looked on an original.  Both convertibles I have owned had been recovered and had the vinyl that folded over, cut in 1/2" wide strips around the curve.  This looked pretty bad.

Any help much appreciated.

[CharlesTurner]

Only the edges should be glued.  I get the seam set right and then pull the rest of the material around.  A good neoprene glue helps the vinyl stick down tight.

[Bill]

I did mine and, yes, it is a PITA but what I did was follow the cuttings of the old one figuring that they knew at the factory how to "notch" the back side of the covering so it'll fit well. I didn't "stretch" the vinyl tight - it just made more creases. The darned thing doesn't fit perfect - there always seems to be a place (usually at the arm rest) where it doesn't fit all the way down. I think that if you want a perfect fit, you may try to glue it to the armrest but they didn't do that at the factory so why bother.

As far as the glue, I used 3M Hi-Strength 90 spray adhesive.

One thing I noticed they did at the factory is use duct tape to hold the glued ends to the fiberglass frame. Probably to hold it so it wouldn't peel away. I duplicated that just to give the vinyl a better chance to stick.

BTW: I bought the padding but didn't even use it. My old stuff is just as good as the new ones.

My local Mustang guy is going to press in the snaps for me. I think they need a tool to press in or maybe someone has made a screw-in but I haven't found it.

Good luck,

Bill Krieger

[Oz390]

Agree with Charles.  Work the horizontal seam first, then do the rest.  I used a ton of small clamps and pre-set it before gluing.  Stretched it tight and let it sit overnight, then readjusted.  There is a small notch at the rear edge of the panel that, to me, appeared to align the seam.

On the upper lip, I had the same question.  No answer.  I rolled the edges, clamped it in place, glued and made one slit at the inner curve.  Not sure if its "factory" but it came out looking pretty good IMHO.

(note, I glassed over the ash tray openings so none shown, as I put a retractable belt behind the panel and cut a slot for it where the ash tray used to be.  Australian requirement for registration...)

[C5ZZKGT]

oz390: I am curious about what you had to do for registration? some sort of additional seat belt? any pictures of that? Thanks!

[Oz390]

Queensland has "unique" rules.  The apply Australian Design Rules (ADR) retroactively to require seat belts.  it is, in reality, a joke as you need an "engineer" (e.g. someone who has worked on cars a long time) to approve.  I spoke to at least a dozen, all had unique requirements.

For the coupes/fastbacks it pretty straightforward, apply a 3 point system.  Some allow use of the factory mount when available, other require welding in plates, as its hidden not a big deal.

For the convertible the fix is to mount the belt to the rear of the door jamb.  A bad "solution", but in reality the only realistic option short of adding a structural roll bar. 

For the rear the shoulder mount was tacked to a bracket bolted to the seat back  support.

As my '68 S/C6 is kinda unique I did not want to cut/weld and shopped around until I found a guy who approved a "bolt-in" option (did require drilling a few hidden holes, which I loathed doing but had no choice).

End result, the reel is behind the rear 1/4 inner panels and it will get registered.  Most just mount then in the footwell and IMO it looks like crap.  Once it is registered, they come out and go back to stock (as if the car was here 10 years ago and registered none of this would have been required as it would be gradfathered in...). IMO there is no real safe way to add 3 points to a early convertible if you are over 6' tall (I'm 6'2").  The fix would be rejected in a heartbeat if any new car proposed such a dodgy "fix"...

[C5ZZKGT]

Thanks for the info & pics!! You do nice work!

[NEFaurora]

"My local Mustang guy is going to press in the snaps for me. I think they need a tool to press in or maybe someone has made a screw-in but I haven't found it."

Good luck,

Bill Krieger


I think that Charles can answer this one...Charles...Do you remember the proper tool and vendor where you got your snap tool from?? I think that I have the vendor saved somewhere, but I still cannot remember the proper tool# from the vendor.. They sell quite a few different models I think..

Thanks,

Tony K.

[CharlesTurner]

If you're talking about my rivet squeezer, it's a Tatco brand tool:

http://www.browntool.com/Default.aspx?tabid=255&CategoryID=55&List=1&SortField=ProductName%2cProductNumber&Level=a&ProductID=184

I don't use it for quarter upholstery though, since drilling out the old ones makes the hole bigger.

[NEFaurora]

Ok, So then what do you use your rivet squeezer for?? And most important, What tool do you recommend for the quarter upholstery???

Tony K.

[CharlesTurner]

I use the rivet squeezer for several other items, such as grilles, vent windows, license plate lights, ash trays, etc...

For the quarter snaps (the ones that go through the vinyl), I have some small washers that I put down first and then use a small phillips screw that I tap down into the snap.  If the repro snaps were a little longer, I could probably use the washer and the rivet squeezer to secure them.

[NEFaurora]

Yeah, I remeber you mentioned this a few years ago.. Would you have a pic or two of this washer/screw procedure?  I'll be doing this real soon on my rear interior pieces..and those darn rear snaps on the fiberglass panels are a pain in the butt for everyone.  You would have figured by now 45+ years later that someone would have come up with a better solution for these darn snaps...but no...lol...

Tony K.