« Home | Glovebox refurb (busywork) » | Shiny new toys » | Helpers » | Glass and Metal » | Center console wrapped up » | Long overdue » | Brakes... Why did it have to be Brakes... » | Console Magik » | Engine back in, other small things too... » | Engine and Transmission work »

Eight months in the making!

Emily did the stitchwork, though I did help in cutting out the patterns a bit. The pieces were cut from the fabric, then stitched to headliner material to give the raised edges some dimension. There was a special kind of knot stitch used, but I couldn't tell you what it was... I do know it came close to burning out Emily's sewing machine a couple of times though.

There is the chrome oh the upper edge, but the light makes it hard to see in the shots above. I don't think I'll be adding a lower chrome strip, I think once all the hardware gets mounted that they'll look more complete. We'll see though. If the pattern looks familiar, I pretty much straight copied Keith's doorpanels (my2002tii.com) in Stella. Good Artists create, Great Artists steal.

I bought new backing boards from 2002AD ages ago. They're... okay. The upper edges are trimmed very close to the holes, which didn't make me comfortable about the bent-tab mounting method BMW uses. I ended up using gorilla glue to bond the metal bits to the boards:



Retrospectively, I'd go with the wooden ones from Aardvark, but I think mine will work just fine regardless.


I had a nice set of tan rear panels I got from an FAQ-er a while ago. The backing was all I really cared about. Its a pain to find good used ones without any severe water damage from leaking c-pillar seals:




I started off by doing the front panel. The lower seam was 18.5cm from the bottom of the panel. Initially, I was going to glue the sides, then stretch the top and bottom. After testing this (horray for clips) I found that it distorted the lines in the panel when the fabric was stretched top and bottom.

Instead, I clipped the panel at the sides using my measurement as a starting point. From there, I used gorilla glue to adhere the upper vinyl to the metal lip and clipped in place to dry. The rest of the fabric was stretched after these clips were in place to make sure it would dry as close to the final result as possible:






After the upper edge dried, it was simply a method of stretching to the bottom, letting that dry, then moving onto the sides. I did this all in stages, finally gluing the corners last. So far I haven't added any staples to this at all, though I will probably do so sparingly just to ensure nothing shifts around.





The shape in the rear panel was done by stretching the fabric over, then using the armrest to push the fabric in after the glue set. Looking back, I probably stretched it a little tight which is why the lines aren't as well defined in that piece. I'll make it a bit looser on the other one before setting the armrest in.


"Finished" shots:




What did I say after doing my headliner? I would be happy to never see another binder clip for as long as I lived? Ah well... I keep finding uses for these things...


Before & After: