Before I get st art ed on this No Sew interior here are some of the tools I’ll be using. They include two different staple guns, one is a pneumatic gun that fires staples up to 1.5 inches in length, the other is a manual version that handles staples up to 5/8-inches in length. I use the pneumatic gun for that you’ll see later and the manual gun for securing the vinyl covering to the backings I’ll be using. The last tool is a wide jaw pair of pliers. You’ll never tear whatever you are stretching using this tool. It beats the heck out of tugging and pulling using your fingers.

The first piece of interior trim will be the right door panel. I st art by cutting the base from a 4 X 8 sheet of Lauan plywood using the template made previously as a pattern. After the base is cut to size I attach it to the door using a couple of sheet metal screws. The screws allow me to correctly position the base on the door no matter how many times I remove it to refine the fit.

How do I refine the fit? I use a belt sander or hand sanding blocks to remove any p art of the trim panel base that doesn’t fit right. What’s a good fit? In this case a good fit means locating the trim panel a half inch inboard of the door frame all around the door.

Once the fit is correct I add plastic push in retainers, visible in the first pic, around the perimeter of the base as a means of final attachment. These are the same style retainers GM has used to attach door trim panels on their vehicles for more than twenty years, These are Crest Industries # 15866 and measure 5/16-inch diameter by 1-1/16-inch long.

Also notice in the first pic I’ve added the frame work for the arm rest. The base for the arm rest is cut from Lauan plywood and the top is cut from one half inch thick plywood. The top is glued and screwed to the base plate. How did I determine the size and shape of the base place? Go back and look at the template on the previous installment. The base of the arm rest is drawn out and marked “arm rest”.

The han d h old in the arm rest is an oval slot cut both into the base plate and the top. The edges of the slot are rounded off to improve comfort when gripping the arm rest. What’s a good length for the han d h old? Anything large enough to accommodate all four fingers comfortably. In my case that’s about four inches.

The location of the arm rest on the door isn’t random. Measure any vehicle door out there and you will find the arm rest is normally located eight to nine inches below the door glass belt line and st art s roughly at the half way point across the door where it extends back towards the rear edge of the door. This arm rest will be placed about eight inches below the belt molding, but I’m going to move it closer to the front of the door so I can add the han d h old. This forward positioning of the arm rest plus the addition of the han d h old will provide a good place to grab the door and pull it shut.

One thing I didn’t show you was that I installed the right front seat just to be sure the position of the arm rest was comfortable. It was, so next time I’ll forge ahead and finish the construction of the arm rest.

Project car provided by:

Larry Lyles, owner

LPL Body Works

Amarillo , TX 79109

www.lplbodyworks.com