Lightweight door panel project

[vette427sbc]

Im assuming this project will be a slow one, but I made a bit of progress on it tonight. Going with the rest of the minimal, lightweight, but still nice/modern "theme" of my interior, I am looking to keep these as simple as possible.
The door handles are going to be relocated to the bottom of the door, no arm rest, and a more simple manual lock mechanism.

The handles are illuminated BMW E39/E38 door handles. They are cable operated so I will have to figure out where to get some longer cables to get them to work. Along with changing the door latch from a push to a pull release.

The factory door pulls are gone for some simple 1" polyester webbing loops (seat belt material)

Im planning on making a hardboard/shaping foam mold and making these out of fiberglass then wrapping them in a nice black leatherette I found. Im hoping that by ditching the factory steel door handle/lock mechanism and factory door panels I can at least shave a lb or two per side



The door handle is surprisingly ergonomic still in this location. I feel like my elbow is always jammed up against my seat opening the door with the factory door handle

 

[84rzv500r]

I just used midyear handles and then plasma cut openings in the doors for the travel and bolt holes... they connect right up to the existing linkage and they push forward to open... I am gonna cover with some .030 aluminum and bead roll it....

will grab a pic later today.... I have a day off and am working on the vetted this afternoon...:beer:

 

[vette427sbc]

Got the lower piece rough shaped out of foam... I put a few layers of cloth and resin over it and it came out, well, less than ideal. Going to see how much I can get a chopper gun for and try that. My biggest issue is getting air pockets and the cloth not following the mold structure.

 

[vette427sbc]

Getting there... Im starting to think its going to look more plain than I wanted. I think Im going to *try* a french seam on the bump out to break things up a little bit. Any other ideas on how to keep it looking simple but to break up all of the real estate above the bump out? Another seam somewhere? maybe some small lettering or a logo towards the rear? Or just leave it?

 

[Garys 68]

I made some panels for my Olds a few years back. How about an inlay or chrome to break it up?
http://www.pro-touring.com/threads/76075-Door-panel-build-thread

 

[vette427sbc]

Your door panels came out nice, Gary!
I thought about doing an inlay like the factory panels, but 1) that is beyond my sewing expertise and I would like to try to do these all myself. and 2) I think an inlay may look odd with the door pull above it instead of in it. I may just wrap it plain and see how it looks. I may end up liking it plain.

Today I got some sewing lessons from my mother... not bad for my first attempt! The machine I have is certainly at its limits sewing 3 layers of polyester weave but it worked! Thankfully the stitching just has to hold, that part will be behind the panel.



I got the polyester webbing from here:
http://www.strapworks.com/default.asp

Lots of cool materials and parts with no minimum order!

 

[Garys 68]

You could do something like carbon fiber/pvc/chrome piece I glued on to mine. No sewing required. You could cut a slot in it for the door pull.

 

[vette427sbc]

Little more progress... Shaping/fiberglassing is done. Used some 1/8" Dynaliner to block some road noise and give the panel a bit of a softer feel without feeling like a pillow. It also covers up a few waves and bumps in the fiberglass.




Those are stretch marks, not bumps :amused:




Im going to try to upholster it myself... Ive been practicing my french seams with this material so hopefully it will come out somewhat decent. I held it up to a stock door panel and there is still a noticeable weight difference.

 

[Motivational]

I need to weigh a stock door panel and see how much weight can be lost there too.

 

[Motivational]

So my stock deluxe door panels weigh about 11 pounds each. There is weight to be saved if you also take out inner door release and lock handle mechanism and rods. I also found the power window motor cover weighs 1 pound so I will be taking those out as well.

 

[vette427sbc]

The BMW door handles are very light (less than 1lb each). Im sure theres something even simpler and lighter that would work even better for you. I also ditched the horizontal lock rod and attached a lever to just move the vertical rod up and down manually. The door panels have potential to be feather light but with the sound deadener and upholstery, I imagine they will come in at around 5lbs including the new door handles. Still a decent weight savings over the 11lb + whatever the stock metal handle/lock mechanism weighs

 

[Motivational]

Stock inner door handles, bolts, lock mechanism and rods weigh 2.5lbs per side.