The Official 914Rubber Back Pad How-To Instructional., It's done! Feel free to comment! Options

[Series9]

Comments are now welcome. If you find any errors, let me know.


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

To start, I want to say that I'm a huge fan of Mark and 914Rubber. He has done a huge amount for our community and ANY criticism you see is strictly constructive. (There are only a few).

Next, this is a complicated task, but one that can be completed by a novice who is willing to pay attention to the details. However, any mistakes will be punished with a phone call to Oregon to order replacement vinyl.

As a Porsche professional, I've become something of a "jack of all trades". Upholstery is no exception, but it's still not something I do here every day. I am a licensed parachute rigger, so my knowledge of fabrics and sewing may have contributed to my build.

The reality: Having not done this before, it took me 17 hours. I built this for a customer who has paid me for a ground-up restore on a rust bucket (that is now beautiful), and it had to be right the first time.

I created this thread because there was an absence of instructions for something that differed significantly from the factory version. The primary problem: you can't use a staple gun. Think about that for a moment. Go to any upholstery shop and take all the staple guns. What do you think those professionals will say to you?

So, with those caveats in place, I present you with a very detailed guide to MY assembly of this back pad.

The overwhelming theme here will concentrated around the fact that, since we are dealing with fiberglass and staples can't be used, we have to find alternative methods of attachment in areas that have: High stress or any "pull force". Imagine "pull force" as a 90* pull against tape placed on a table. We all know that tape is strong if it's wrapped around a corner (becomes shear force), but it's very easy to remove if you pull it back perpendicular to the mated surface.

You can't use contact cement in a 90* "pull" arrangement. At least, you shouldn't if you want it to last.


Okay. Congratulations, you completed the introduction. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Series9]

And then (said in an Asian voice from "Dude, where's my car"):

We move on to gluing down the field.

Note the texture of the fiberglass that translates to the vinyl back pad behind the seats.

This was an unknown when I started the project. The smooth side of the fiberglass support pieces is on the back, not the front.

While this probably provides more adhesion for the vinyl, some may not like the aesthetic of the blown in fiberglass.

Of course, next time I could spend another few hours with a DA sander smoothing everything out....