ghetto fab interior facelift

[richiegrich]

so when i bought this runner the interior was a mess. the previous owner had about five cars and didn't take care of the runner at all. after some craigslist searching and some elbow grease its starting to look somewhat decent. went from dirt blue to red and black. still need to paint a few things here and there and grab some new carpet but its coming along.also had a new front windshield put in with a molding as the old owner decided to try and set the old window in himself and did a horrible job ( looked like shit and leaked water) anybody have any suggestions of what i should do with my door panels? they look like shit and i'd like to try and replace them instead painting them like i did the moldings and dash.

 

[MacGyver1979]

looks pretty good to me, the back panels take paint pretty good. iv not seen that dash before, all iv seen had the spot for the inclinometer and the rest of it flat, yours looks to have a recess all the way across.

 

[SunnyMcBlock]

I bet with a little work you would build some pretty sweet door panels out of Kydex. If you are unfamiliar with it, it comes in sheets in all kinds of colors and thicknesses and can be molded to just about any shape with some patients and a heat gun. Or you could just cut it to size and leave it flat. I know they use it for the interior panels of passenger airliners and trains and such. Very tough stuff as well.

 

[MT Tatman]

Warning: Kydex melts and deforms in heat....even the heat in a car in the summer. I have seen kydex holsters melt into a blob in the rig in the summer sun. Good old Wood panels are what I use.

 

[KidVermicious]

Warning: Kydex melts and deforms in heat....even the heat in a car in the summer. I have seen kydex holsters melt into a blob in the rig in the summer sun. Good old Wood panels are what I use.

Are you sure those were Kydex? It's been a while since I've played with it, but I don't think it starts getting pliable until about 250 deg F?

 

[MT Tatman]

They were labeled as such........you could use many types of plastic used in sign work......if you like the luxurious look and feel of plastic.

 

[flagbasher]

looks pretty good to me, the back panels take paint pretty good. iv not seen that dash before, all iv seen had the spot for the inclinometer and the rest of it flat, yours looks to have a recess all the way across.

I've recently noticed that there are two dash types. The long groove and short groove type.

As far as I can tell, 84-86 are long groove and 87-89 are short.

The passenger air vent is also different. Long groove dashes have long air vents that wrap around the corner a bit. Short groove dashes have shorter air vents that look more like the center ones.

I think the center vents might have a slightly different bevel, too.

Also notice that the dash cluster bezel is a different shape here as well. Squared. My 87 is more domed and has the fake stitching.

 

[SunnyMcBlock]

Are you sure those were Kydex? It's been a while since I've played with it, but I don't think it starts getting pliable until about 250 deg F?

The stuff I have been using in .08in think and starts to get pliable around 300-350 degrees. Haven't had any problems with it deforming inside the car on a hot day.


That's not to say thinner Kydex or perhaps different grades would hold up it the heat.

I was thinking I may use Kydex as door panels if I ever do the half door thing.

Wood looks good though.

 

[RAD4Runner]

looks pretty good to me, the back panels take paint pretty good. iv not seen that dash before, all iv seen had the spot for the inclinometer and the rest of it flat, yours looks to have a recess all the way across.

I've got similar dash (long recess) on my 86 dlx. It has one crack running from forward to dash front and down. Had a carpet-like dash cover that just collects dash and sand so I removed that.

 

[MT Tatman]

Here is one kydex sheath I had left on my seat. It melted to aprox. a 30 degree bend. This is how it looks after an attempt to warm it up, to soften it, then set with the blade in it. I just think that as a panel, in direst sun they would warp between fasteners.
I did some research, and in more extreme climates, surface temps in a car, due to a greenhouse effect CAN reach 120 degrees Celsius, or just about 250 F. Just put your arm on the window edge in the summer.....or fry an egg on it...
I also have kydex holsters mounted, but I just don't trust it in a panel form.

 

[SunnyMcBlock]

Here is one kydex sheath I had left on my seat. It melted to aprox. a 30 degree bend. This is how it looks after an attempt to warm it up, to soften it, then set with the blade in it. I just think that as a panel, in direst sun they would warp between fasteners.
I did some research, and in more extreme climates, surface temps in a car, due to a greenhouse effect CAN reach 120 degrees Celsius, or just about 250 F. Just put your arm on the window edge in the summer.....or fry an egg on it...
I also have kydex holsters mounted, but I just don't trust it in a panel form.
View attachment 129642

Yeah fair point. You may be right. I think with some searching you can find kydex the is designed for higher temps, possibly real expensive though.

Also... is that a sword? haha

 

[MT Tatman]

It's a nice sword from Zombie Tools. I also have a Machete from them mounted in my drivers door panel.

 

[SunnyMcBlock]

It's a nice sword from Zombie Tools. I also have a Machete from them mounted in my drivers door panel.

Yeah Buddy! I thought I recognized it from somewhere. They have some awesome looking stuff.

 

[MT Tatman]

Very durable tools from ZT. I highly recommend it (Zombie Tools Backwoods machete) for any outdoors folks to keep in their camping set up. You can cut down small trees with it, easily.

 

[RAD4Runner]

...Good old Wood panels are what I use.

My inner rear quarter panels have been butchered for mounting after market speakers, so I'd also like to replace them with wood panels. However, because I want them to look like stock, and low-maintenance (spray-and-wipe), I'm considering wrapping the wood with UV resistant marine vinyl like this
When I do it, I'll post on my build thread.