quote Originally posted by TXOPIE: Not painted...upholstered in material...same as my G1 dash above. Here is a close-up of the stitch line on the rear trim piece:

F-ING AWESOME!!
edit to add----X2 page ownage also

[This message has been edited by fireboss (edited 06-18-2015).]

Rob any status on the G1 door panels?

About ready for them on the ReMera:

Is it possible to get that G1 gauge bezel with two smaller round gauges in the middle instead of the square section? My canvas is blank for the interior. But I want THAT interior

Fantastic work on the interior..

Still troubleshooting the G1 door panel upholstery issue. Here, a trial upholstery run in vinyl to test the stretching limit of the material over the deep draws of this door design. An insert panel will be required for sure at this point. I can foresee that leather will be much more difficult to apply.

quote Originally posted by Amida: I Ran into a problem with the upholstery plan for the G1 door panels. Stitching is proving to be more troublesome & time consuming than expected. I may need to modify the door panel design to simplify the upholstery. Most likely an insert panel will be needed for the mid-section.

[This message has been edited by Amida (edited 07-05-2015).]

It's coming along nicely Rob! I look forward to installing these into our Enterra. Thanks in advance for all of your hard work and attention to detail.

Troy and Lisa

[This message has been edited by troyboy (edited 07-06-2015).]

I have to 2nd what Troy & Lisa said!

Possible, but the waterjet company will charge a fee for re-programming.

quote Originally posted by MikeinRI: Is it possible to get that G1 gauge bezel with two smaller round gauges in the middle instead of the square section? My canvas is blank for the interior. But I want THAT interior

Test fitting the G1 door panel onto the chassis with a makeshift insert panel. Checking for clearance & installation issues. Door pull brackets and bezels for the door lock sliders still need to be designed & fabricated. Hooking up the door release lever to the Fiero linkage rod is proving to be a tricky task as well.

I am so excited...they look awesome...very close now!

Way to go Rob...another slam dunk...can't wait to get me two sets.

Lets see if any new inspiration from the original inspiration:


Maybe something with the feel of this fast & dirty PhotoShop ?




Rob...while I have been playing with your pictures and PS....my mind finally wondered to what I believe would be the most important design question for the door pull brackets...is the following.

With the ones that are on the door panel currently and you sitting in the car...where does your left arm sit and would it be more comfortable to place your arm there if the door pull bracket wasn't really there at all.

If the answer is YES to the previous question...then scratch what I said above and utilize a dressed up pull strap ( maybe with some piping & nice stitch pattern) with metal grommets at each end where you could anchor to the door at the top and bottom...where you screw the existing door pull bracket in place now...leave extra material at the far ends of each grommet...little Velcro stitched in and the end piece folds over to cleanly hide the screw and grommet...just another idea.

[This message has been edited by TXOPIE (edited 07-12-2015).]

roll up windows?

quote Originally posted by MikeinRI: roll up windows?

G1 door panel available for both manual and power windows.

Rob's test unit just happens to be manual.

The G1 door panels are designed around the C3 Corvette door pull handles. They can be used for convenience, or you can custom fabricate your own handles to your personal preferences. I will not be designing custom handles.

These handles were selected because they are:

1) Affordable / CHEAP / inexpensive.
2) Available in good supply.
3) Available in several color choices.

Brackets will be provided to attach them to the Fiero door frame.

quote Originally posted by Amida: The G1 door panels are designed around the C3 Corvette door pull handles. They can be used for convenience, or you can custom fabricate your own handles to your personal preferences. I will not be designing custom handles. These handles were selected because they are: 1) Affordable / CHEAP / inexpensive. 2) Available in good supply. 3) Available in several color choices. Brackets will be provided to attach them to the Fiero door frame.

Understood Rob & Thanks!

G1 door pull handle bracket design work in progress,

just a thought, you could also do door cup pulls:

This one is billet but there are tons of plastic ones used on many makes. The mk2 MR2 used a cup pull.

But this might put too much stress on the panel without additional bracketing / support..

[This message has been edited by msweldon (edited 07-16-2015).]

Great to see the progress...!

G1 door release & lock rod modification template.

Remove old Fiero release lever. Position template over existing guide holes.
Trace & cut new access port. And bend door lock rod to new location.

[This message has been edited by Amida (edited 07-20-2015).]

C3 Corvette door pull handle installed.



Comparing location with stock Fiero release lever.



Remove and discard the old lower arm rest bracket.

[This message has been edited by Amida (edited 07-20-2015).]

Getting sooo Close!

These dashes look amazing! I'm new to this forum, and I'm sure this has been asked already, but how much are these dash kits out of the box ready to install?

Beautiful work

[This message has been edited by rcp builders (edited 07-30-2015).]

you do BEAUTIFUL work but my real question is hows your fiero?

Rob, as always, pure art...

Joe

quote Originally posted by msweldon: just a thought, you could also do door cup pulls: This one is billet but there are tons of plastic ones used on many makes. The mk2 MR2 used a cup pull. But this might put too much stress on the panel without additional bracketing / support..

I like this idea!

I think I am going to go with something like this, if not exactly this:
http://www.retromoderngroup...roduct&product_id=52

[This message has been edited by TXOPIE (edited 07-31-2015).]

Rob,

Any updates?

....want.....my....door....skins.....

Want ....my ....door ......skins...... Twooo

------------------

quote Originally posted by TXOPIE: Rob, Any updates?

Sorry guys I have no updates. I've been down with a viral infection this past couple of weeks that I'm trying to recover from. I'll need all the patience that you can give me.

quote Originally posted by Amida: Sorry guys I have no updates. I've been down with a viral infection this past couple of weeks that I'm trying to recover from. I'll need all the patience that you can give me.

Rob,

I hope you feel better soon!

Rob,

Hopefully you are feeling better and maybe have some updates to share.

UPDATE: The release levers will be outfitted with 5/8" welded steel extensions to increase lever travel similar to stock specs.


Guys I'm afraid that I have some bad news on the G1 door panels. This past week I discovered a major design flaw. The Pontiac G6 door release lever may not work properly in the Fiero. I discovered that it can cause the Fiero door lock mechanism to jam and you won't be able to open the door. This is a pretty serious problem that I don't know if there will be a simple solution for. I am very frustrated about this after all the time that I've put into this project so far. But, at this point I'm not confident that these door panels are going to work properly/safely. So, I'm sorry to say that I'll have to put the G1 door panels on hold until further notice. I will at least get the passenger side mold finished and get a part fitted onto my Fiero for testing/troubleshooting. Hopefully working on the passenger side might help me find a solution.

Rob

[This message has been edited by Amida (edited 03-05-2016).]

Rob,

If you want to share in detail with pictures.
I would be glad to chew on it for a bit to see if I can come up with an answer.

Rob,

Just brain storming without knowing the specifics, but have you thought of something like this maybe to assist?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/am...x?filterid=c2624u0j1

Update: After putting it through a 5000+ pull cycle test I decided to use the 5/8" welded steel lever extension. The lever performed very well with no bending or galling of the clevis pin. I only noticed slight polishing of the pin. Lengthening the lever by 5/8" will bring it closer to stock Fiero specs and eliminate the door lock jamming issue.

I did some troubleshooting on the door release issue and found that I was able to get them to work, at least on my own Fiero, but there is a very, very small margin of error between being able to open the door normally, and jamming the door lock. Here is what I've found:

The G6 release lever is designed to be cable operated so in order to connect with the Fiero linkage the lever is modified by adding a screw and a link ( similar to a bike chain link ). The G6 lever is also much shorter than the Fiero. It only moves 5/8" compared to the Fiero's 1.5". So, to compensate for the shorter lever travel when installing the G6 lever all of the slack in the Fiero linkage rod must be pulled forward as far as it will go. The ideal installed position is where all of the slack is pulled forward and the G6 lever is just slightly engaging the door release mechanism.







It's the slight engagement of the mechanism is where the problem exists. If there is too much engagement then the door lock can jam. On the other hand if there is too little engagement then the door may not open even though the lever is pulled all the way back. The two ways to make adjustments are by 1) shifting the entire door panel forward/back, and 2) changing the size of the fabricated steel link. I found that the lock is more at risk of jamming if the fabricated steel link is 11/16" ( hole center to hole center ). However, if the link is 13/16" then the lever may not have enough pull to open the door. So, the margin of error, at least on my own Fiero, is only 1/8" between a working door and a door that jams. I found that using a 3/4" link seems to provide the perfect adjustment where the door will open at 1/8" before the end of the finger lever pull. However, I have no idea how/if this will work on other Fieros since tolerances can vary between Fieros. It will likely take some/a lot of trial & error.

In summary, I was able to get it to work, at least on the driver side, of my own Fiero. Whether or not this wiill work in other Fieros is hard to say. The margin of error is so small that there is a possibility that it may not work in your Fiero. When I get the passenger side molded and and get a panel fitted to the door, I hope to get a better idea of how well the measurements transfer over from the driver side to the passenger side. I am concerned that the sweet spot is so small that over time the doors may get out of adjustment and get stuck which will require further attention.

I don't know if converting the Fiero over to a cable operated system can be done successfully, but I think one way to eliminate the problem, without replacing the g6 lever, is to somehow increase the length of the lever arm. The lever travel of 5/8" just isn't enough compared to the 1.5" travel in the stock Fiero lever.

I'll keep trying to troubleshoot this, with some luck I hope to figure something out.

[This message has been edited by Amida (edited 02-02-2016).]

I had the same issue with the BMW series5 door handle, couldn’t make it work right if fitted directly to the linkage rod. So I tried the cable that BMW has (yellow end) and make a bracket to connect with the rod (see pic). If you like I will take a better pic because it doesn’t saws how they connect in this one. It works flawless so far and I can move the panel if I like (forward, backward) since the cable absorbs small movements.

Hope to find a working solution soon, lots of great cars waits your door panels.

Regards,
Chris