So this weekend I started on the rear side panels. First I took them out and dismantled them so I'd have patterns for the new material
Most of it was quite simple, but where the top part joined the bottom part it got a bit fiddly
Here it is from the back
OK so Now I can start with the new material. The colour doesn't show very well in the pics - it looks massively different from one pic to the next. but it's a dark red that matches the stripe down the middle of the car.
When you start to fold it over, the material ruck les up in the middle
But when you pull out the two ends the ruckles disappear
Then it's about joining the top bit on. The card underneath the top bit was pretty knackered so I replaced it with something similar - in the end I went for 3mm MDF.
The two parts join together secretly - basically you fix the material to the bottom of the top piece, then put the two together and staple top to bottom, before finishing the material of the top piece. Even though I bought a new stapler, I found it wouldn't pierce the plastic base. In the end I used my air power nail gun
This leaves a load of spikes sticking out the other side - you just knock them over
Once I'd got it all together I glued and stapled the covering of the top half. Then I noticed that the gap between the two halves wasn't consistent
After thinking about it for a while I thought I couldn't live with it. I reckoned I could sort it out by taking half the nails out, pushing it closer and re-nailing it.
However I didn't think through the process - I started getting the nails out and it suddenly occurred to me to look at the other side
Oh shite.
I stripped the material off the top half and cut a new piece. This time I took a bit more care and finished up with a better gap
Here's the other side fitted
Overall I'm really happy with it. The only thing that didn't work for me is this gap at the bottom
I'm thinking of possibly putting a self-tapping screw into it to hold it in.
At the time of writing I've got the other side finished - I'll be fitting that this week. Then onto the rear parcel shelf, and the rear seat squabs. Then it's down to the front.