Atom's 2 door Amazon wagon Project:Headquarters

[Atom]

Build note: BMW regulars probably already knew this, but only the gauge numbers are backlit. The needles use the front lighting that comes from about the row of idiot lights. I relocated my idiot lights to the center stack since I needed to shave back the cluster depth. I had turned the lights on to make sure I could see the illumination, but I hadn’t driven it in the dark before yesterday morning. I’m on the way to work and look at the gauges to realize I can see all the numbers, but not what speed I’m going or how much gas I’ve got or anything. Hahahahahaaaaa! I’m in the process of making a new bezel to clean up the cut edges, so I’ll try and integrate some lighting there. I just need it to not be SUPER bright. Maybe red LEDs shining through tinted acrylic or something.

[bobbyjones]

very impressive, can't wait for more.

[Atom]

So, one unfortunate part of building a car over time instead of all at once is that even when things look good, you might need to take a step backwards to take a step forwards. In this case, it’s the carpet. I had to pull out all the freshly wrapped/painted parts.



The factory carpet has thick foam to “level” the floor glued to the back. To get it off in one piece I took an old blade for my vibe saw and ground the teeth off so it was basically a putty knife.



A) I want to use loop carpet



and B) I want to make the carpet kit similar to how the stock Amazon’s is. In separate pieces. Since my machine can’t bind carpet, I’ll be cutting/layout a few pieces at a time and taking them to my buddy to get the needed edges bound. The rear piece needs no binding so it’s the first to go in. Next is the trans tunnel which only gets bound around the back of the trans tunnel then basically two long floor mats that are bound around three sides (the fourth tucks under the sill plates).

I started with the rear and tunnel pieces first. I’ll get the tunnel darted and bound then trim the floor pieces.



Before anything goes in for the final time, I’ll do a bleach water wipe down of the floor, wire brush any surface rust and put on some converter, then bleach, steam and extract the foams to kill any germs.

[kevvy_dawg]

That dashboard and cluster is phenomenal.. Having the dash vents removed makes sense to me..

May i ask, what are the advantages of looped carpets? Wouldn't it be harder to clean?

[Atom]

That dashboard and cluster is phenomenal.. Having the dash vents removed makes sense to me..

May i ask, what are the advantages of looped carpets? Wouldn't it be harder to clean?

Only harder with pine needles. Only advantage is to me because it is what vintage cars had in them.

More carpet stuff

[Atom]

I two toned the door caps to line up with the dash. Originally I was going to just have a small portion be black. To about where the wing window chrome is. I decided I liked the two tone, so I’m going to make a “halo” of black. Here’s the steps. First I marked the alignment with the chrome strip on the dash



Then I used masking tape to “sketch” the contour I wanted. Next I cut some strips of HDPE (solvent RESISTANT plastic) 3/8” wide. Which after vinyl wrap in both ends will leave about 1/4” opening. Vinyl is about .045”-.05” thick usually. It’s fastened with a combo of double back tape and some small screws from the back



Now, this process is really only for smaller trim panels. This is a heavy process. On a larger panel I’d probably make a mold and pull a fiberglass replacement part before final install. The first bulk (ugly) layer is out of Duraglas. It’s a fiber reinforced filler. This goes on thick and just gets knocked down.



The next steps are with the lightweight filler of your choice. I use this stuff from Wesco. Start with a bulk rough-in layer, then a lighter fill in the low spots coat. 40grit for the rough-in and finish with 80grit. I like to leave it pretty rough to add a “tooth”. Use a sanding block that is as long as is reasonable and use it as often as possible. The final product will turn out way better



Once it’s shaped nicely, pop out the HDPE strip and finish up the edges



Because I’m two toning these, I needed a cut that would allow the two colors to tuck through the panels



Then comes upholstery. Same as before. Mask off the areas you’re not currently covering to keep glue off (if you don’t, you wind up fighting it while wrapping). Spray both part and vinyl, let it dry completely and spray one or the other again



The next part I didn’t go over last time. When you’re looking at a panel to cover, you need to identify potential problem areas. Like this curved area that drops off pretty sharply



If you just laid the vinyl straight on there it would be stretched/stressed pretty good and could potentially lift later



What I do is trim where possible and pre-curve the vinyl that will allow the excess material to be ready to wrap the problem spots. You can see how there’s extra material bunched up now



Then it’s a matter of heat when necessary and tuck and glue and tuck and etc



For the chrome I’m using door edge guard (for the time being) that I grind some off the “back” and stuff in the channel



I still haven’t figured out 100% what I’m going to do where the dash/door meet. And at the end of the door caps at the rear edge of the door, but they’re on there

[Atom]

First you need to peel the old cloth



Then you need to strip the foam remnants. The easiest way is to use a cupped wire brush in a drill on slow. That way you run the least risk of damaging the fiberglass layer underneath



Next I used panelboard to extend the rear sides and fill the handle holes



A skim of filler



I usually lay the cloth on the headliner card and fold it back. Gluing half at a time (pro-tip, a good upholsterer will lay the suede in a “waterfall” with smooth going forward and down), stick it then glue the other half



The tape is for where you don’t want adhesive. It’s ok to float small areas where there’s defects



The trick is to be really light on the glue. Glue both halves, let it COMPLETELY dry and then spray a little bit on one half (usually the card). If you put too much adhesive on when you’re installing you can compress the foam and it’ll look “cottage cheesey”





Installing

[Atom]

Also, this happened when the site was down.

Anyone have some scotch, or beer, or both.



More on that later

[Atom]

Also, this happened when the site was down.

Anyone have some scotch, or beer, or both.



More on that later

[Fruttolo]

Oh noooo
What happened?

[ruittie]

Noooooooooo what happened?

[ilanpro]

that 2 door wagon looks sweet, you should have eliminated the pillar and made a huge side window for a cleaner look. great work.

[Atom]

Oh noooo
What happened?

Noooooooooo what happened?

Truck backed into me while I was pulling through a parking lot. Waiting on insurance and the sure to be long fight ahead.

that 2 door wagon looks sweet, you should have eliminated the pillar and made a huge side window for a cleaner look. great work.

I photoshopped it with one window (and have seen ones with a single window) and it doesn’t look right. It’s disproportionate. I made mine so the middle set of windows pop out to vent.

[Atom]

Promo photo shoot for PNW Wagonfest 2019. Made sure they only got the good side ��

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvH4mBCDqlN/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=n8x0u1zgm9hh

[Buick40]

Thanks for the mini upholstery lesson! It's looking damn fine.