My Squire came with velours bench seats, front and back. Nice high back rests. The fabric was in good shape, but faded. I got a complete interior from an '82 Futura or Zephyr 4 door sedan (no badges or emblems when we got there, and the grille was gone), with front, reclining bucket seats, nicer, padded door panels that cover the top metal window sill (mine was painted metal). My front door panels were cut out for round aftermarket speakers. Bad place in a Fairmont, unless it's got vent windows - they get all wet and soggy. The newer door front door panels were warped. But I kept the door panels from the '78 2-door donor, nice and clean, flat and holes all in the same place, after I cut them to the four-door size. I've already dyed the bottom carpeted section, so I checked to see if it was separate. It is. So then I checked if the aluminum wood accent strips could come off. They're heat pressed on, so I had to knife them off. The bench seat backs are just tall enough to run the length of the door panels, and the sections at the passenger backrest are just wide enough to cover the mid section of the panels. Once they're dyed, they'll fit and look sharp. The 1983 that was on ebay a while ago had map pockets in the front, and I'm debating whether to do that. See how the top of the panel wraps to the window? The newer one is padded, mine (below) is the painted sheetmetal. I'm using my stock armrests (no power windows or locks). Here's my original velour seats (dirty but fine):
Sorta, but with the stock armrests (they angle up toward the top/front of the front doors and are flat in the rear doors.) Anyway, I'm gonna use permatex spray adhesive to bond them, after I stitch the top and carpet sections to the velours. Dyed first of course.
Just an update on the door panel project. The little metal clips or plastic prongs need a rounded keyslot. I was cutting up some new panels yesterday to replace the warped ones and had to drill in some new mounting and handle holes. It's not that hard, but you have to locate them within a 'hair' of the original ones (Plus or Minus 1/16".) The hole diameters need a 1/2" drill and a 1/4" drill, and a pass-thru slot of about 3/16". 1) I taped the hard-board down to an old piece of 3/4 plywood. 2) Laid the old panel on top and sprayed the hole shapes and locations with a can of black paint. Press down, if the panel is warped or the holes won't be accurate (shadows from the paint). You could tape to top side of the new panel (3/16" masonite) where the holes will go, to help avoid chipping with the drill. 3) Then drill the 1/2" holes first. I started with a 3/8" drill. but then I switched to the 1/2". They still won't go in properly, but you catch that after the smaller holes with a small round file. 4) The 1/4" holes are where the clip or prong finally sits, so it has to line up with the holes in the actual door. These are the ones to watch for. Don't let the drill drift. There's always some slack, but why count on it. The factory panel was die-cut within an acceptable error tolerance, right? 5) Clean up the edges with a sharp knife or sand-paper (80, 100, 120-grit), just so the clips don't catch and tear the hard-board. 6) The hardboard does absorb humidity and I noticed two things that might help them stay flat. The 1978 donor car's panels were factory flat, from a 2-door. The ones from mine were also fairly flat but a bit thicker and had a varnish/sealer on both sides. My car (1979) used plastic water shields, the 1978 donor used paper water shields (like bakers paper or heavy brown paper bags, but with a water-proofing coating on the door-shell side). The car I got the new panels (1982 4-door sedan) from had been warped by sitting in a scrapyard swamp for almost 5 years. The tops of these are padded vinyl, instead of hot sheetmetal like mine. But it also used plastic watershields, and the hardboard was NOT sealed. Cost-cutting at Ford, I guess. Even a quick coat of spray paint or clear coat has to help seal the hardboard. The watershields from the 2-door were in fine shape, but I need to make up two for the backdoors. I'm reusing the carpet base from the 1982 - dyed to match my floor carpet, and reusing the velour from my seats to replace the ratty vinyl from the 1982 panels. They'll be dyed as well. I soaked them in the tub with carpet cleaner detergent for 3 hours, then scrubbed them clean. 2 days to dry properly before dyeing. The center backs were in good shape, with a standard relief sewn in and just long enough to cover the center section of the panels (12-7/8" is the height in between and they're 16" wide. The ends need a vinyl strip to wrap around the side edges of the hardboard. I was lucky. I've done one panel completely and it came out nice. I'll get pictures next week, maybe. The one tricky part was the heat-welded metal trimmings. The only one worth rescuing is the aluminum woodgrain insert, but I may use a real-wood panel instead. The metal one was bonded to the old vinyl and looks a bit shabby. Plus it would be a mess to attach it without cutting the velour.
Forgot one detail. I'm using Permatex Spray adhesive on the new upholstery/carpet and a few staples to hold it in place like the factory did along the edge trim that wraps to the backside of the panel. Not too many. They had 3 on the bottom edge, 3 on each side (front and rear door edges), and 2 in each of the curved corners, one on the square corners. The reason you want to keep it low, is that it weakens the hardboard. If it was thin plywood you could, but masonite is mulched up paper and it will break down faster with more pin holes. I didn't go the Plywood route this time, because I had the masonite already. But I would have preferred it. It just means a better sealer job (shellac after all the holes are cut.)
Now that I think about it, maybe a 3/16" PVC panelboard would be better as a door panel. I'll check the local plastics shops around here in the Industrial zone.
The same plastic as the fender liners, but in sheets and a bit thicker. You want the thickness in case you have to staple the vinyl on the back edges or you want to make some bolt on speaker covers (rigid but still pliable). The hole cuts would be cleaner, and the darn things wouldn't need water shields to prevent warping. Everything else (glue, clips, etc.) would be the same.
Map Pockets made simple! I was looking for an image about the beltline on the 1982 door panels. Mine are right in the door like most unpadded window sills (bare painted hot steel), but these ones have the padding up on top and the beltline weatherstrip is on the doortrim panel. I forgot to check the 1982 door when I removed them. Well, I went through every Ford I could find on the AutoZone site, and found the Bronco's offered a plain and a luxury option. I have to remove mine. Done! But then I looked at the 1978-1979 Bronco panel and there it was, a clean simple way to get a map pocket on the door!
SEM Dye On Velour My Fairmont Squire had an Upholstery job done. I can tell by the vinyl borders at the bottom. They've got the 'Naugahyde' stencil on the back, and it's thicker and soft (like new). The shop used an Automotive Rayon velour, not Nylon like the Factory, but it doesn't make any difference, that I can tell. The Rayon fibers are a bit longer and softer, even after the dye. Here's SEM's own instructions (the link is below): SEM Color Coat Vinyl Dye on Velour Carpet and Velour: Clean with appropriate carpet or upholstery shampoo to remove excess soil. Allow to dry, then vacuum. Clean with 3835( ) PLASTIC/LEATHER PREP. Scrub lightly with a nylon bristle brush to separate the fibers and to remove oil, grease and contaminants. Allow to dry, then vacuum. NOTE: COLOR COAT is recommended only to enhance the color of carpet and velour, not to drastically change its color. Trying to do so may adversely affect the texture of the carpet or velour. MIXING: DO NOT THIN. COLOR COAT is ready to spray. Shake or stir well, per label instructions, to ensure color uniformity. For best results, use only when can temperature is approximately 70°F (21°C). For additional versatility when matching low gloss OEM colors, 13038 COLOR COAT FLATTENER is available. 13038 may be used with all COLOR COAT intermix formulas. Aerosol: Hold can approximately 6-8” from the surface to be coated. Apply light “mist” coats allowing 5-10 minutes between coats. Several thin coats give a better finish than one heavy coat. NOTE: When applying to carpet or velour, spray one light mist coat and immediately brush in all directions using a nylon bristle brush. Apply a second light mist coat and brush again. Use COLOR COAT sparingly on carpet and velour so as not to change the texture or feel of the surface being sprayed. This is the product I used - 15173 Camel color. It looks more like the Palomino (15323) color, in terms of darkness, on the Velour and Plastic. On Nylon Factory Carpet, it does come out darker, if you're hiding stains that thorough cleaning didn't get. Bottom line, it's a good product for the job. Download the TECH DATA SHEET. You really need a good stiff nylon fingernail brush, but all you want is to move the fibres to free up the dye before it dries (before 5 minutes): http://www.sem.ws/product.php?product_id=190
I hit a snag and solved it. The 1982 panels have a padded metal cap with the inner flocked beltline weatherstrip. The metal piece has about 15 round sawtooth crimps that have to be straightened (4 'teeth' per hole-crimp) to get pressed back into the panel. Tedious, repetitive PITA, but worth it. Finished panels sell for $145 each, plus shipping, in stock vinyl. What I did was align the two parts, after I 'opened' the crimps, and used a 3/4" X 3" X 3 foot board under the parts and screwed them aligned to the board, then I used a 3 lb mallet and tapped the new hardboard into the crimps. Then, I took them apart (very gently) and used contact cement to bond them together. Let the two parts 'tack up' for 10 minutes and then screwed them back down just to align them, and then used the mallet again, with a sharper tapping (verging on really hammering) and then I used large C-clamps to press them down flat. It has to be a solid assembly, so they have to make good contact. The rest is 'standard door panel' upholstery techniques: Everything: http://www.upholster.com/howto/ Door panels: http://www.upholster.com/auto/doorpan.html Sunvisors: http://www.upholster.com/auto/auto-trim.htm Home furniture: http://www.winterssewing.com/drupal/
