Ridge Runner

I only went one layer of 3 ounce material but that is about the same thickness as the seat quarter trim panels and they seem to be very stiff ,they may need a strip of foam on the back side bottom like the ones on the card board panels posted earlier just to keep vibration down and keep them tight to the hockey stick trim panels .There is nothing at the bottoms to attach to as they sit on top of the brackets for the quarter trim panels and just kind of float there just like the card board panels do .

I kind of like not having the light there and was thinking about moving it to the quarter trim panels like a 65-68

They will be marked on the back side ,a dremmel tool will cut them easily .If the new lights are smaller i don't want to cut them to big

The first set is finished .The passenger side is perfect ,the driver side has a very light flaw, that turns out to be in the vinyl it self. It is so light you have to look up close to see .I don't think it will show in a pic.or in the car . Both panels look good and have the correct grain ,and it shows well Now the good part ...they fit ,they have the correct contour and they fit with the fiberglass seat panels in place with no screws at all holding them in place . I found a Fast back back glass gasket piece and the panel slides under it about a 1/4 inch .The windlace goes on just like it should in the front, the little cap will cover the front bottom corner just like it is supposed to . They will be made in black but will probably need to be painted just to match the rest of your interior . I have someone to test fit the first set ,just to see if i need to make them thicker ,thinner or if they need any thing to make them an easier fit .

This one is from a 70 with a 428 and automatic

I have one but it is out of the car .probably wouldnt do you any good .

I have done a few .The best way to remove one is with a sharp thick blade scraper .You want a thick blade so it doesn't bend or brake ,be care full not to gouge the metal ...or slice your wrist .Slice it off in ribbons about 3 inches wide is the easiest .You can paint strip the glue if you are going to repaint ,or you can DA and sand it off .either way it isn't a lot of fun to remove.Use paint brush on glue made for vinyl tops to replace the new top ,two people makes it a lot easier to replace .Measure the joints in the top and mark a center line on the roof and measure out the joint lines ,start on one side with the vinyl top line lining up with the marks you made on the roof glue about half way out into the roof ,make sure to keep the lines straight ,apply glue smoothly to the vinyl and the roof and roll the vinyl out only as far as your glue .go to the other side and glue to the opposite line on the vinyl top and finish rolling out the vinyl .Once the middle is down you can now do each side .The vinyl will probable need to be stretched in places to remove wrinkles and it can be lifted and stretched if you are quick about it .

It worked !! I left it setting near heat lamps last night and it is well cooked . The grain is perfect although being the mold it is a reverse pattern . Today ...side two . The metal panel didn't even ruin ,it stayed perfect so i can do it again if i need to . I will need to prepare both molds when finished ,may take a few days, and i will make the first set and send them off to our official tester for a fit check .

Well ,i got brave today and figured the glue has dried long enough .My test panel worked yesterday so i did the exact same thing with one panel ...i wasn't that brave .It looks like it may have worked this time ,i will not know until i remove the mold from the panel . Cross your fingers ,cross your toes ..hell cross your eyes HAHA .I will know around 12 tomorrow .

They leave marks in the material . I did a test panel yesterday with this other glue and it held long enough to gel coat and one layer of fiberglass mat ,the glue did melt but it lasted long enough to make the test piece .I will wait until this week end and try to do the panels one more time

They came out beautiful this time ,no wrinkles nothing .I used some wind lace to hold the top lip and clamped a spot that kept lifting with a bondo squegee .I just hope letting them set a few days will make a difference with the glue

3M makes a camera case finish that looks really nice ,and if i cant make the vinyl stay i will use that .BUT I WANT THE ORIGINAL GRAIN HAHAHA!

That is what i am afraid of , the glues are crap now days .I really want the correct grain in these panels and they turned out so nice this time i will SCREAM if they let go this time .

They say the third time is the charm ...well ,all the charm has just about worn off ! I can not find a glue that will keep the vinyl to the metal panel .The first attempt the glue turned to snot first time i set it in the sun ..The second time the glue just would not hold. One more attempt and if that doesnt work i will have to use a spray texture .I am going to try 3Ms super adhesive this time but i would bet it will not hold either . The second attempt ,i actually sprayed the gel coat and it looked like it would work but the glue just let go .The gel coat doesn't react with the vinyl ,in fact the grain from the gel coat i peeled off the vinyl ...after it let go ,was perfect .I glued the crap out of it this time and i am going to let it set for a few days before i try it again

Do you have a an old head to bolt the flange to when you start your welding ?

I have burns on all my fingers from trying to rub out air bubbles ,but they came out smooth . I took a heat gun to them on a low setting and they really flattened out .There was quite a bit of heat still and they didn't lift so i may try to make the molds tomorrow .

The headliners came in today ,good thing i ordered two because i screwed up the first one just like i was afraid i would do . I added a short lip at the top of the panels so it would slip under the window gasket a bit more ,about 3/8th of an inch .they just barley went under before. I primered the panels so i could block them out before the vinyl was applied . The first panel went with out a problem ,the vinyl laid out perfect and smooth ,the second panel ...i tried to glue the whole panel and attach the vinyl and that was a big mistake ,it got lumps under the vinyl .This is where the second head liner came in handy LOL. I used some wind lace to hold the vinyl at the small lip because it kept lifting ,i will let the glue set for a couple of days and then attempt to make the molds just to make sure the glue is good and dry and the vinyl will not lift ..Here is the newly covered metal panels .

originally They are a flat mat black it is almost a glass beaded look .

I may make two sets of molds ,one with the lights and on set with out

Fiber glass will not need the metal ring, 65-67 Fast backs have the light in the rear fiberglass panel with out the need of a metal ring so it should be the same for a fiberglass sail panel .

The front of the headliner is wider than all the bow areas and it is just wide enough to work ,i bought 67 headliners and they are a bit wider to the first bow .

I already cut the hole in the metal panel for the light but i will see if i can fill it in

Ok ,i ordered a couple of headliners today just incase i screw up one . Soon as they get here i will glue the material to the metal panels and i will be ready to make the molds .

I was thinking about the light last night ,when i wrap the vinyl over the metal piece and tuck the material inside the hole it will make it quite a bit smaller so it should be good .The hole will need to be opened slightly for the light to fit ,depending on the size of the new lights .

This is the Harbor Freight English wheel like the one i have .It really works great on 18 or 22 gauge sheet metal and aluminum is even easier .You can't beat it for the price and it has like 7 different crowns and you can easily make custom crowns for it .I have used it to remove dents from rear valances and other small sheet metal panels .