348 Interior panel R&R. | FerrariChat

348 Interior panel R&R.

Discussion in '348/355' started by steved033, Oct 8, 2017.

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  1. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Apr 12, 2017
    7,676
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Steve D.
    So the center panel under the rear window had seen better days. The leather was pulling up from almost every edge, and the stitching was sagging in the middle. Removal is two of the plastic press in pins (christmas tree fasteners), and there are two 8mm nuts in the engine bay, kinda of hidden between the coolant crossing pipes.

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    I removed the panel, and brought it in to the kitchen table.
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    30 year old foam doesn't seem to be the way to adhere anything. The leather was carefully peeled away. on the visible side, the foam was adhered down. There was not factory glue on the outer surfaces. note at this point that the factory glue is the darker orange glue on the inner surfaces where the leather folds around the aluminum.

    First thing was to clean the old residue off. the foam was scraped off with a gasket scraper and through a little trial and error, the best way to get the glue of was a soaking of lacquer thinner followed by a good wire brushing. The leather was rubbed against itself to get all the foam dust out then wiped with a lightly damped cloth.

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    Now. where to start, and how to start. I'll admit at this point, i made an error, and glued at the main 90 degree bend just under the stitching. DON'T DO THIS! In fact, DON'T have ANY glue under ANY exposed leather. i went back and undid this, an the results are much better.

    To glue the leather back down, start with the stitching seam just below the bend, and glue the bottom edge first. Remember you're going to stretch it up into place. on well conditioned leather, there's a surprising amount of stretch. I used binder clips on the bottom (turned in edge) to hold the leather firmly while the glue set and I worked with the rest. There's a tandy leather near where I work, and they recommended a workable glue called tanner's bond.

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    See the row of binder clips here. this is out of order, but the only picture i had with the clips in place.

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    Next, start in the center of the curved edge and work your way outward. stretch the leather up enough so the seam straddles the 90 degree edge. (Note the wave in the stitching in the below picture, you may have to pull the glue up once or twice to correct inconsistency.

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    As you work your way out from the center, stretch toward the corners, and pull any wrinkles out. You might find that you have to pull up glue and repeat. The glue is very workable, and often bonded a second time without the addition of more adhesive.

    When the top and bottom seams are complete, then lightly stretch and adhere the left and right edges in the same manner as the other edges.

    From start to finish, it took about three hours.

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    Just a fun little rainy day project.

    sjd
     
    Wade, goose22b, krazykarguy and 5 others like this.
  2. goose22b

    goose22b Rookie

    Aug 11, 2017
    40
    Prosper, TX
    Full Name:
    Brett
    I haven't had the heart to take any pieces off yet, but I'm getting close. Fun to see these little projects pop up, and to see the before and after.
     
  3. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Apr 12, 2017
    7,676
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Steve D.
    My next one is the TB overhead and interior light surround. it's currently being held with hairpins on the drivers side.

    sjd
     
  4. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
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    Apr 12, 2017
    7,676
    Atlanta, GA
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    Steve D.
    it took me a minute to figure out there was a through bolt into the engine compartment on that panel. I'd also bought a bunch of the christmas tree fasteners for my doors, and used a couple here.

    sjd
     
  5. Reddesire348

    Reddesire348 Formula Junior

    Oct 10, 2017
    477
    Melbourne, Australia
    Full Name:
    Andrew Gaal
    A great little post as I had to do exactly the same thing. Was scratching my head a bit (even with the blow out diagrams in the part manual I have) in figuring out just how to get it out until I read about the illusive bolts through the firewall which , as you describe, are nicely hidden between the coolant cross pipes. You really need to get your head in there to see them...!!

    One suggestion........The threaded shafts going through the firewall with the 8mm nuts on them are very long, too long, and you cant get a normal socket on the nut so I had to us an 8mm ring spanner initially to get the nut half way up the shaft before I could then use my 8 mm socket on it. It was a painful exercise as you have bugger all room between the coolant pipes to get your hand/s in there with the 8mm ring spanner and even less room to move it.

    Now that its off I intend to cut down the shafts by half so that I can use a standard socket with an extension to more easily tighten them back up.
     
  6. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
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    Apr 12, 2017
    7,676
    Atlanta, GA
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    Steve D.
    Thanks!

    Don't cut too short, or just invest in a set of deep sockets. 1/4 drive is all you need.

    sjd
     
    Pangea likes this.
  7. Reddesire348

    Reddesire348 Formula Junior

    Oct 10, 2017
    477
    Melbourne, Australia
    Full Name:
    Andrew Gaal
    Yes ended up buying a deep socket set. They do come in handy occasionally. Also found that the 'orange oil' based sticky spot/stain remover and/or adhesive sticker remover did a great job of the old glue and was allot easier to handle, basically anything with orange oil in it would be fine I think (and smelt better :rolleyes:). The one I used here in Oz was called 'De-Solv-it' which I picked up at the local Bunnings Hardware store. Just to be safe I also wiped the whole thing down with some methanol just to remove any residual grease or grim from my dirty hands etc that might have been there before the gluing stage.
     
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  8. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
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    Apr 12, 2017
    7,676
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Steve D.
    Ours is called "goo-gone". I think i might actually have some. didn't try it though. maybe when i do the headliner.

    As a note, i tried WD-40, and two different types of wax and grease remover before moving on to the lacquer thinner.

    sjd
     
  9. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
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    The Bad Guy
    Nice work Steve.
     
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