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.


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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]

If you don't know how to do it I did, it turned this into a PDF. I'll email it to you if you want it. little easier to use. Series9 great work
contact me at
wesleyallangreen@gmail.com

Thanks for doing that.

Please forward the PDF to 914Rubber. I would think Mark would like to include it with future kits.

[whitetwinturbo]

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[Kansas 914]

Well done Joe - thanks for doing this - we all benefit - cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[bigkensteele]

I had purchased Mark's kit a while back and have been waiting for someone to post a thread like this, so thanks Joe! Great detail and very informative.

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if I tried to shoot a staple into fiberglass? I was planning on using staples. Will they shatter the FG or just not hold well? I have also purchased the FG door panel kit, and I was thinking about staples for that too.