Happily, I can report that the interior upgrades are moving right along this summer in spite of working half days at the theater and having to deal with my reluctant seamstress. The inside was gutted. Cleaned and prepped for paint, painted. Annoying headrests were removed from my very comfortable but anonymous seats and seats are ready for upholstery.

Rebuilt kick panels and removed the passenger side door, its glass and runners, division bars, and handles. Built panels to go under the dash covering the mess there that carpet never did a very good job covering. Kick and underdash panels are covered in the upholstery vinyl. Door panels to be tuck and rolled in the same material, bringing us to the question.

The masonite is 1/8th inch thick... rolls and vinyl thickness will add that lush look of the deluxe model hotrod truck as well as more thickness. So what happens to the rubber cups that go under the handle escutcheons? Do you eliminate them? Removing the window regulator and door handle required compressing that rubber to reveal the clips holding the handles. I think my material thickness will take up the slack the cups allow.

Do aftermarket door panels allow for this or are they thin? Is this the price we pay for hotrodding our trucks? Has George been right all along... trucks must be returned to their original condition or pay a penalty? These and other questions are hopefully answered.

tucked and rolled, himmelberg

 

Dunno about the stock vs. darkside......ain't a-goin' thar. George is a moderator now. I live in fear & awe of him. However, longer shafts are available for the door handles, for this very purpose. Longer ones are also available for the window regs...BUT, I believe only for the '56-'60.

Nervously, (with a nod of the syntax hat to you), Mike

 

I have to admire Himmelberg because no matter what, he's happy. As for the door panels, I used the 1/8" particle board they sell at Home Depot and covered it with black vinyl. To give the panels an additional padded appearance, I use the material they sell for headliners, (one side has material and the other foam). It is approx. 1/4" thick and gives a slight padding to the vinyl on top. On the door handles, I cut a round section out of the headliner material approx 1" in diameter. I did not use the extension shafts as mentioned by homespun, although I know they are available. I did not use the escutcheons on the door handle, rather I used a very thin stainless washer and merely pushed the handle up against the washer, tightening the set screw to the shaft. The washer is the same size as the base of the handle making it invisible yet protecting the vinyl material. As for the window cranks, I have power windows and no handles. Hope some of this helps
respectfully, imlowr2.

 

"George is a moderator now. I live in fear & awe of him."

Same here Mike. With every knock on the door, I wonder if maybe "The Earl", has come to impound my keyboard cause I said Chebby. Even Himmel is a bit unnerved with his "Anonymous" seat

Peter

The longer shaft is the "correct" answer, but they are a little spendy. Your other idea should work with some creativity. The fit is going to be tight though. It's very likely you won't be able to remove the handles easily, but you should be able to get them installed with just a little aggravation.

 

I have a set of the extensions I removed when I eliminated the stock handles and window cranks along with the handles themselves and the escusion plates. The POs had installed panels made of 1/4" old wall paneling and thin foam under fabric. the combo was a little thin for the extensions so the plates rattled around. One or two had the centers cut out larger, probably to clear the extension or handle attachment bolts. I'd replace all the bolts with allen head set screws if I was going to use them.

 

Peter,
Sounds like you're getting lots of good suggestions. I will throw out one that I used many years ago on my first F-100. I also used thin masonite to replace the cardboard panels of the "custom cab." I had installed carpeting over the panels and the escusion plates and handles would not fit, probably similar to what you are experiencing. My dad suggested we cut the holes in the masonite larger, about an inch larger than the outer diameter of the escusion plates. This allowed the escusion plate to press against the carpet only and the shafts were long enough to attach the handles.
Hope this helps and Good Luck,
Kent

 

2 suggestions, extend the shafts or mill off the back side of the thingie

 

Himmel,
There is always the option of traveling even further into the depths of the dark side, by this I mean shave the doors and pwr the windows. This is my plan only due the above mentioned ramifications.
Traveling this deep into the dark side is not something to be taken lightly, but we shall tread softly..
Mike

 

Travel? YES, tread softly? No way stomp on it all the way, then you can have your own ''tales from the dark side''

 

However, we do have some leverage to use on George now...see the tachometer thread.

 

Your absolutely right !!! Don’t know what I was thinking

Guess that’s my diversity training
Mike

 

To clarify matters, I have not been given the moderator's magic wand, or any of the powers therewith granted. I have been asked to try to ride herd on you cowboys and remind you of the rules - as though you'd listen to me about anything anyway.

If Ken feels you're getting too far out of line, or IF Tim Lamkin can't handle the extra load, they MIGHT go through the process of outfitting me with the moderator magic wand - not that I particularly desire it. IF that happens, THEN you better really watch out with your darkside whinin'.

 

Nevertheless, I still live in fear and awe of you anyway.

Awaitin' the beatings, Mike



The shafts are kinda pricey. I intend to use them because mine are goobered up anyway, but I don't know as if I would if they were okay.

 

ready to play "let's make a deal"?

PS: The Miata inside handle conversion has been working out very well and gives upholstery room. Wait until you see the inverted RX7 armrest/doorpulls I just added as well.

 

PS: The Miata inside handle conversion has been working out very well and gives upholstery room. Wait until you see the inverted RX7 armrest/doorpulls I just added as well.[/QUOTE]

how's about some gallery?