I want to do that but find torch red fabric to match the exterior.

 

Do you think that the plastic electric welders would be able to re-weld the two pieces back together instead of making the studs as you did.
I saw one advertised at the same store that people are buying the cheap aluminum jack from...............

 

You do good work!

 

Dude that was one of the better write ups great job keep them coming

 

Thanks man. Diff fluid was never changed because it doesn't leak in the summer/ warm weather. The whole "out of sight, out of mind" thing. This fall/winter I will have to take care of that.

When I made this thread I was hoping others would post up with different methods so that other readers could see some options, thanks for doing so. Velcro is a great idea that I didn't think of. I was going for the more permanent attachment for mine, like the factory. Good to hear yours worked out, any pics?

As an auto body technician I have grown to hate plastic welders over the years and do everything in my power to avoid using them. I don't think they work very well and also the whole process of plastic welding is very dependant on the type of plastic and it's properties. The term "plastic welding" is also very misleading because you really aren't making two pieces into one like when you weld metal. Rather you are more or less "brazing" two plastic pieces together with a filler material.
The welders really aren't that complicated either and are basically a heating element with a flute to feed in a filler material rod. For this project you could replicate the tool by heating anything made of metal and once hot enough, using that metal object to work/melt the plastic back together. There's a pic of the end of a typical plastic welder so you can see what I am talking about, pretty basic.

To better answer your question, yes you could reweld it back together. Depending on the separation process there should be enough of the plastic nubs left to simply re melt and get a decent hold. No, I would not buy a special tool to do this. Any object hot enough to melt plastic will do the job. I went with the method I chose because I have a way of "over engineering" things and wanted to make sure they never came apart

 

Mark you rascal! First I get the door fix bug from you, and now this! Time to turn this computer off!...After I bookmark this thread. - Thanks, Cool Arrow

 

Great write-up and thanks for the info

Chuck

 

That's wicked !
Thanks for the info !
I bet some people try this for this coming winter mods !

Toque

 

Nice work

 

Relatively new to this forum and like what I've seen and read so far. I have the pull away that you did the repair to in the other thread I just finished reading and bookmarking. Now this, great job. I belong to another IB site for Ford Trucks that some of the members on here have affiliation with also and hopefully the guys I get to meet here are as great a bunch as they are there. I did happen to meet one member of this site who just happened to live around the corner from me, we had a brief face to face and he seemed to be a fairly nice guy. The truck guys get together off line for mini meets and do our larger meet of the Mid-Atlantic Region Aug.6-8 at the All Truck Nationals in Carlisle, Pa.. If any of you are in the area pop into our tent (Mid-Atlantic Ford Trucks-FTE) and introduce yourselves. IBAdrian has been there and I'm sure he can tell you it's a great bunch and a great time, with plenty of food and beverages for all.

P.S. Bookmarking this thread also

 

 

Very nice write-up. The end result looks great.

 

I can't remember if I took any pics or not! It was a cold winter project that kept my mind off the weather...anyway, here's some more detail. After separation I dremeled down the remaining plastic posts and smoothed all surfaces that would touch each other, then applied industrial strength Velcro in long strips test fitting as I went along. I had to make sure the lower panel did not protrude away from the upper panel because of the added material at the interface...it worked fine. The ends were a bit more difficult, but it just takes a little more fine tuning to get them tight.

Also, I went right over the existing vinyl with my Alcantara and got excellent results using a glue gun (don't even try to staple it like the OEMs...staples will fall out later and you will be pissed and end up with the glue gun afterall). I spent at least 30-40 hours off and on doing this mod...part of the time off was waiting for my fingers to heal up from burns, cuts, etc. I used just 1 yard of material and did the center console cover and the lower door panels...with lots left over for next winter. Also, I picked up a beat up (Katrina soaked) door panel on the bay of E to practice on first...this really helped and I got my $$$ back reselling the red reflector and speaker screen.

Here's the end result...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-makeover.html

 

im posting just so im subscribed! It's super awesome you posted this. Im actually eating lunch then heading out to my local fabric warehouse to buy some micro suede. For a while I was looking at gulf fabrics but decided for a true DIYer i'm going to spend as little money as possible. I'm looking at $14 a yd opposed to $100. we'll see how it holds up. I'm going to do the same but with a mix of caronfiber in there.

 

Tag

 

just picked up some automotive grade suede. I only paid like $50 for 2 yards and some spray adhesive. Not alcantera but it will do the job. Gotta bust out the sewing machine now.

 

Thanks for the reply, I am thinking of doing the same mod.........

 

[QUOTE=

Hahaha ya I know. That part is easy...
Step 1. Send trim panel to Apsis
Step 2. Open wallet
That is a crazy hard area to do because of all the contours and such and it would require multiple pieces sewn together. Apsis does amazing work and that part should be left to the pro's.[/QUOTE]


You are right in that they do great work but its hard to justify almost 2k for door panels!!

 

Great job. I plan to recover mine gray. Any secrets on recovering the glove box or knee bolster?

You can buy bolts like that, I think they are called elevator bolts.

 

those parts should be very easy to do...the corners will require some tugging and pulling to avoid wrinkles, otherwise a piece of cake...