[thepuma]

If I wanted to re-do the fabric on the door inserts, on my 2-door 1987 900s, what type of fabric would I use? Is it something you can get at your local fabric store, or do you need to find something especially for automotive use?

Is the replacement procedure the same as for the headliner?

Steve

 

[woywitka]

yeah nearly same procedure and same reason for failure. the foam breaks down and seperates the glued potion and fabric potion. now you have lots of options, yeah you can use nearly any thin fabric and use the old as a template. my friend is giving my leahter from an old couch which would look nice, so go ahead be creative. you don't have to redo the foam portion but i guess if you want a bit of apdding go ahead, i will try to find some foam but i'm not overly concerned about it.

 

[Marcos]

When I reatached mine it seemed like a regular synthetic fabric... nothing special really, except its finish is, well, fluffy... like velour or short velvet.

Next time I'm in Brooklyn I intend to stop by a fabric store and see If I can find either something like it or some leather to re-do them properly.

It seems to me any fabric that will wear well (read: some sort of rayon or the like) will do nicely.

 

[thepuma]

How do you remove them?

How do you remove the panels?

 

[eggsngrits]

Reworked mine with vinyl.

Just make sure that you use short staples in the fiber board or they will stick through the surface.

 

[jefspg]

I have some black leatherette material available. It looks like leather but it's not!

Easier to do as the glue doesn't have to hold against gravity as much.

I'm going to do a DIY section soon on this. I think I did both sides in 1/2 hour.

 

[Marcos]

How do you remove the panels?

There's a torx screw inside the cup for the door handle. Undo it, remove the insert carefully around the handle and gently pull the insert away. You can remove the panel without much trouble now.

Note: be careful when you take it out because it's likely to be filled with foam dust. Foam dust's principal characteristic is that it will embed itself in carpet and any crevice and will be nearly impossible to remove.

It's really a five minute job to remove the first one and a two minute for the second.

 

[Marcos]

Reworked mine with vinyl.
<snip>

Verrrry nice!

 

[eggsngrits]

I think I did both sides in 1/2 hour.

Verrrry nice!

Yes, quite easy and quick to do. The hardest part is finding the right material in the first place.

I've posted this before, but these people have some good stuff -- quick ship, too:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-store/index.html

And, thanks Marcos!

 

[Orca]

Leatherette ... no other choice, IMO
Take care to tack up the bottom part of the door card, or the leatherette does drop. I used staples and duck tape.

I have seen neatly cut proper wood inserts and I considered a white formica kind of finish with black rubber surrounds for my "Orca".

 

[eggsngrits]

Great pics, Orca! That's how I did mine, too. I forgot to mention that I replaced the tired padding on mine with new fiberfill sheets from the fabric store - I think the whole roll was less than $1. It came in black, so I bought black but you can't see it anyway...

Oh, and one more thing, to me vinyl=leatherette.

 

[Orca]

Hey thanks ... I love those leather capped door tops on yours.

My fabric covering was pretty good. It was all still stuck .. just a little dirty and light blue which didn't fit with the dark grey interior plastic door/side panels and dark grey leather seats. I just covered over, which gave a more padded feeling. Perhaps that helped to mask the staples sticking through, which I did get a few, but not at all a problem once tamped down with pin hammer from the other side.

I covered my rear parcel shelf, too, but still have to get around to covering the rear speaker shelves.

 

[eggsngrits]

I love those leather capped door tops on yours.

It's also vinyl, I guess that the convertible door panels are different than the 3-door? Or is that a UK vs. US thing?

I can't remember how my two 3-doors looked now.:roll:

 

[thepuma]

Great

Wow, you guys are loaded with information. I think this is going to be one of the first things I do. It looks really easy.

Any suggestions on what type of fabric is good to use on the parcel panel?

Steve

 

[Skip]

Another improvement if the fiberboard is cupped is to swap them left-for-right. You'll need to take the metal clips off and reinstall those on the other other side. It's easy, looks much better and the cards now hold to the door snugly.

 

[900t]

How do I staple them on? Don't the staples go through the other side? Or am I supposed to use a stapler unlike the one on my desk here :lol:

 

[Raub]

The previous owner of my car used staples...I still get poked in the elbow about once a day

On my last 900 I used a cut up foam camping mat for padding and that stopped the staples from poking through the fabric.

 

[eggsngrits]

How do I staple them on? Don't the staples go through the other side? Or am I supposed to use a stapler unlike the one on my desk here :lol:

Use a staple gun and 1/4" depth staples. You'll have to look around a little.

We have a little electric staple gun that cost $15 or something like that. Could easily have used a manual (spring loaded) staple gun. The fiber board is soft.

 

[thepuma]

Manual Windows

I have manual windows. How do you get the handle off?

 

[eggsngrits]

I think that you just pry the round cover off the center of the crank and you'll see what to do next.


If you don't laready have a copy, buy the Bentley manual from the SaabCentral SaabShop above. Well worth the $$.