The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Anyone bought any interior panels recently?

I`m looking for a full set of new panels, but have mixed opinions on the various suppliers with regard to fit and finish quality.

Anyone got any suggestions?

If you don't get a reply here Neil try the message board at http://www.transamcuda.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi

However I think you will find that they are not as good as the originals so finding a set of them is your best bet.

no responses

Has nobody had any experiences with interior parts??

Still no responses

I give up

Just bringing this one up one moretime.
I`ve located a full set of Legendary interior door panels.
Has anyone any experience of them, before I commit myself?

Neil wrote:Anyone bought any interior panels recently?

No, not me....

Neil wrote:I`m looking for a full set of new panels, but have mixed opinions on the various suppliers with regard to fit and finish quality.

It would be intresting to hear about your mixed opinions. Maybe we together can draw some conclusions after that....!?

Neil wrote:Anyone got any suggestions?

YES! But it is up to you to decide whether they are good or not.

I have been trying to find information on this but I haven´t succeded. Is it because all of the interior door panel buyers are satisfied with their buys???

My gut feeling is that fit, for instance, isn´t THAT crucial on a part like this. The gap between the door panel and the door opening is quite big anyway, so a little too big door panel isn´t a big issue. (Comments, anyone?) What´s more important is if a panel is wavy or not, or if the quality of the texture is acceptable.

There are a number of door panel suppliers. I have listed four of them (including Legendary):
http://www.legendaryautointeriors.com/
http://www.dashtop.com/
http://www.yearone.com/
http://www.justdashes.com/
I assume that you have searched for information on these sites!? The information on these sites aren´t very objective, as we all understand, but it may give a hint whether a supplier gives a serious impression or not.

Naturally, when you make your choise, you should consider the guarantee time that you get and the price. I personally often prefer to add a couple of dollars to minimize the hazard of getting bad products. How many dollars in price difference are we talking about? If the price difference is less than 10-15% between the highest priced and the lowest priced, I would gladly spend those dollars. A bigger price difference makes it more difficult....

As you surely know, Legendary is Number 1 when it comes to seat upholstery kits (do they have any competition at all?). I don´t think that they are willing to jeopardize their name on bad products.

I get the impression that you are buying these panels "second hand" and that you, due to that, doesn´t get any guarantee time at all(????). That will naturally affect the price on these panels.

I hope that some of this makes sence and that you will make the right decision.

I (and others) have heard in the past that the repro panels (probably all made by the same company) do not fit very well and the surface texture is not very well defined.

Having said that I have not heard anything either way on these for a long time. Maybe they have improved in quality or maybe they were not that bad to start with? Maybe it is just the Challenger versions that were disappointing and not the Barracuda?

I don't know.

I thought good used ones would come up on ebay now and again. I must have been wrong about that. The colour would not matter because Neil designs and tests paints and coatings for a living!

dave-r wrote:I thought good used ones would come up on ebay now and again. I must have been wrong about that.

Nowadays, I am using ebay quite frequently. I am not counting every door panel I see, but it feels like I have seen at least one or two every week. Since these items are quite big, many sellers seems to only ship them within the US. That is a problem for us who lives in Europe.

aha, some responses, thanks Christer
I am very aware of the suppliers in the US, and just wanted any opinions on the products. I did expect a much bigger response

I`m not interested in E-Bay, you never can guarantee the quality.

Without ever having seen a repro panel, I have no idea what the quality will be.

Seat covers I will get from Legendary - it`s their specialty.

Thanks for the comments anyway.

Yearone ones sets are crap, lots of work to get them to fit. I love Yearone but this product is not there best line.

Legandary would be your best bet. I will be restoring my old ones.

just for the record, this is how it ended up

I saw Neil's interior a few weeks ago. The panels look whiter than the seats in the flash photo but look exactly the same color when you see them in normal daylight.

Photos never do the work justice.

And thoughs still look super tight mate. Great job.

dave-r wrote:I saw Neil's interior a few weeks ago. The panels look whiter than the seats in the flash photo but look exactly the same color when you see them in normal daylight.

I found the following text in Mopar Muscle, June 1999. Maybe it can be of intrest to someone?

thats interesting, the panels I received have been painted over the original base plastic material to match the seat colour.

I looked several times and did not see who you finally ended up getting your panels from you mention Ledgendary for seat covers? and how do you rate their fit and finish, since you installed them?

Seat covers are Legendary. The material quality is good and the fit excellent. Considering this was my first attempt at upholstery, I think the result was OK. There were one or two minor stitching imperfections but not enough to complain about. Results very much depend on the seat foam condition.
Door panels came via Legendary but are made by Accuform. These needed work to get them to fit correctly. I had to relocate the lower door clips, enlarge the door handle hole and drill holes for the screws at the sides. Plastic is harder than original and texture is a little coarser, but they look OK.

NICE JOB! I am contemplating installing the seat covers myself also. I have a two tone black and white paint job planned for mine sort of a chip foose / factory TA look and it appears you have a two tone white and black interior. Can you post more photos ??? or email me directly.
thanks

Niel,
I purchased a set of door panels off of eBay lasy August. I got lucky and they were in pretty good shape when they arrived, but becareful as there are alot of liars on eBay. After reapint they were excellent.

Crikey, this seems like it was along time ago. Here`s how it ended up.
Next interior job is a new white headliner.