As Greg brown is close to finishing up the Zyclamrot car I decided to have the existing funky interior rear quarter panels recovered. They had been repaired previously but in a non stock manner (pic 1).

So the only solution was to have them replaced with Paul Champagne revitalized leather covered quarter panels.

We did do something a little different than normal. As a person who has owned ocean boats for some time (power and sail) there are times when you encounter wood rot that needs to be attended to. In those cases savvy boat owners will use CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer). You brush it on, it saturates the wood and then hardens to a very strong but still mildly flexible structure. I had thought it would be a great thing to apply to the interior panels made of that strange pressed fiber board stuff. Paul used a 2 part epoxy, brushed on two coats and let it dry thoroughly. It turned out fantastic.

The second thing we did was plug up the rear most speaker opening. It is not needed and I think not appealing at all.

The last thing done was to cover the quarters with new foam and then leather. As is often the case the seatbelt rosette was cracked and unusable so rather than wait for another to be ordered, Paul worked his magic yet again fabricating a leather rosette. Enjoy the pics and I recommend CPES (can be found at any boating store).

Thanks again Paul for working more of your magic.

 

Wow, nice job!

'89 S4 GP White/Black
'76 912E Silver/Black

 

 

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to see the car again.

 

Me too.

 

I think this would be a good place to mention that many early cars have no warping on the rear panels. The reason is that the panels were a hard plastic. Yes - heavier - but they seem much more robust, and also seem like they would be better for holding speakers. The other option is to make carbon fiber piece from the molds.

 

you can fix warped broken inner door panels the same way using glass resin. Use saran wrap with a couple boards and clamps to reshape the warped part. Once it sets remove the clamps wood and plastic wrap. Much stronger than new

 

Hi Jim - I've found fiberglass resin to end up being a bit brittle. Unless vacuum bagged with lots of negative pressure (suction) the resin just does not penetrate much. What you end up with is a hard shell over the original piece.

CPES actually is a bit flexible after it is cured but its most valuable characteristic is that it penetrates the substrate of wood or natural fiber materials and hardens throughout. That is what makes it a superior option when dealing with rotted wood or fibrous materials like the interior panels on a 928.

There are numerous CPES products. They are available in different curing grades dependent upon temp at time of application and curing. It is expensive but you don't need much for a 928.

EDIT: I would consider the plywood CE panel cover to be an excellent candidate for CPES as well. Once cured the wood is water proof and less prone to warp.

 

These panels were very good to begin with. They both only had a slight wave on the leading edge of the deck.

These particular panels were steamed, reshaped, clamped and allowed to set.
Then, once I was satisfied with the shape, I applied 2 coats of epoxy, baking the panels in the sun, between coats and after the second coat.

Once fully cured, both panels ended up remarkably stiffer than original.

The penetrating epoxy does a fantastic job of strengthening those panels.

Paul

 

Good point. -has- anyone made a mold from a GOOD panel yet?

I form up hoods for race cars..its a big dirty job, but its not a visible piece, just a good SOLID core were looking for, right?


CF would be hella costly, compared to glass.

 

Dan, I am really starting to hate you! LOL!

Just kidding of course...and Paul are a couple my FAV 928 people, but I am GREEN WITH ENVY!! I can't wait to see BOTH cars...they were both EXCEPTIONAL to start with and you are just amping them both up to a level NO 928 HAS ACHIEVED BEFORE! (ok, maybe that LAST US GTS...but that is probably the only that would come close interior-wise and it would not touch your mechanically, and frankly Paul's craftsmanship is a BIG step above the factory anyway...so really that one wouldn't be good enough)

 

Thanks James. High praise coming from you.

 

Great Tip on curing the fiber board....would probably work great on the door cards too.... and great work by Paul too....can't wait to see the finished car...

 

Fiber board?

Irwin Quick Grip clamps (140lbs pressure) & 1/8'' x 2'' x 12'' aluminum flat bar

Anyone know what the interior panels are made of? Fiber Board? Soaking with water and using the above set up seems to be working.
If fiber board, it looks like a PVA sealant is best to weather proof?

I'm also thinking about pulling off the old foam under the leather and replacing it with a thin sound proofing tar mat on top of a PVA sealeant.

But any thoughts/advice on how to stiffen up the longer panels particularly around the edges? Maybe PVA gluing on some carbon fiber sheets?

 

@928Collector : I've been using car fiberglass resin, along with some fiberglass cloth where necessary, to reinforce these panels. I've also used oil based polyurethane on panels where I'm not as worried about strengthening the pieces.

What's nice is that the Bondo branded stuff is available everywhere and is cheap, but may not penetrate as deeply as the boat focused products. I'm using it for door cards, primarily, based on recommendations from other, more experienced folks, and it seems good so far.

Good luck