S4 DHC Rear cockpit panel.

[fatboyoz]

Hi All,
Have just finished carpeting the car and am about to fit the large, curved rear cockpit panel. The one I have has been messed about with and is in need of replacing. The original is made of 3mm bitumen panel board with carpet glued on the front. This is then bent to fit the profile. Panel board, either cardboard or bitumen is proving to be difficult to find. I have been told that 3mm MDF board (a glued composite of sawdust I think) would also do the job. I'm not sure whether it will take the bends at the ends without splitting.
Has anyone had any experience replacing this item? If so, what was used?
Thanks,
Colin.

[bill308]

Hi Colin.

I don't know if this will work with your material, but in the old days, Yacht builders would bend wood while subjecting it to steam and deformation, hence the term steam bent. This technique might be worth a try.

Bill

[Frank Howard]

Colin,

Fellow Elan.net lister Clive Baker makes an aluminum one.

http://www.cliveyboy.com/lotus.html

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

I replaced all of my panels, sides & back with high density plastic foam sheet.
It's a bit like polystyrene thats been compressed & is in comparison very strong.
It's easy to cut with a "Stanley" knife, is rigid but bends well & won't rot.
It's also pretty light & no more of a fire risk than the original Bitumen soaked cardboard, the manufacture of which has now been banned.

Cheers
John

[elanfan1]

Fatboy

If were in Oz I'd be able to help you out as i have 3 sheets of it in the garage.

It is manufactured near me and is actually called Millboard - it's the same material as the boot board behind the petrol tank and the deflector that some cars have fitted under the radiator.

Try googling Millboard you may be surprised to find availability nearer home.

Steve

[richardcox_lotus]

I was rummageing around on mine the other day & I noticed a very lightweight angle bracket on the top of the backbone which seemed to attach the cockpit panel with the floor of the boot. Interestingly there were 3 rivets in this bracket but no corresponding holes in the backboard panel.

Should they be attached ?

Richard

[elans4dhc]

Susan Miller used to (and probably still does) make and supply this panel in thin glassfibre.

Andrew

[oldelanman]

It is manufactured near me and is actually called Millboard - it's the same material as the boot board behind the petrol tank and the deflector that some cars have fitted under the radiator.

Sorry to disagree with you Steve but my (original) cockpit rear panel is definitely not Millboard - it is much more rigid, very difficult to cut and plain on both sides. Millboard, at least the one sold by Woolies, is described as compressed card with a light grained pattern on one side - is that what you have? If so it is what is used in the boot to finish the inside of the rear panel and cover the rear lamps. Also I thought that the blanking panel below the radiator was metal ? Mine does not have one so can't be sure on that.

Best regards,

[Elan45]

I replaced mine 20 some years ago, but in the USA, it was a black heavy cardboard panel that could be bent. I also remember the angle piece riveted to the tunnel of the body, but now don't remember if there were rivets into the panel. It certainly wouldn't hurt, but probably unnecessary, since it needs to be there to keep the bottom of the panel from curving right on into the boot.

FHC are completely different with a flat rigid panel fitted to the front edge of the horizontal panel under the back window.

Soft aluminum would work if nothing else, but much more pricey than the black cardboard.

Roger

[elanfan1]

Old elanman -

I think that over the years the Millboard description has been 'pinched' by other manufacturers of similar type products - but the original stuff is definately Millboard.

It is black in colour with a slightly shiny almost waxy smooth surface both sides - there is no pattern to it. Haven't been out to measure it but it must be 3/4 mm thick and quite heavy - it does bend but not easily. It probably could be cut with a Stanley knife but I reckon it would be a very hard job to do it and I reckon a jigsaw would be the best way of cutting it.

So definately not the same as the boot backboard covering the lights and even the small piece covering the rear of the petrol tank is a thinner grade of the same stuff.

I have surveyed the factory it was made in for my job and is probably less than 5 miles from here. I believe that actual production may have moved abroad now but the owner still sells the stuff.

[oldelanman]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for putting me straight on that - what you describe is exactly what I have and it's just the name which we disagree on. When you spoke about the panel behind the fuel tank I thought you were referring to the panel over the lights and that is definitely a different material from the cockpit rear panel - hence the confusion. I agree that the strip covering the gap in front of the tank is the same stuff if perhaps a little thinner.

I think that the name millboard is probably used for any board which is produced by passing the stuff through a rolling mill and is probably therefore used to describe many different materials as you say.

Having said all that my panel has been chopped about over the years and could do with being replaced - do you have details of this supplier near you? Alternatively do you want to sell one of your spares ? PM me if you do.

Thanks. Regards,

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

I'm quite surprised that nobody has taken up the suggestion I made earlier on.
That plastic sheet is light, cuts & bends & easily. To glue carpet to it is also childs play.
Also stiff enough to mount loudspeakers in.
Other than that it is flexible, stable & most importantly, rot & rustproof.
I can't understand why anyone would go to the trouble of trying to source that horrible tacky tarred cardboard original stuff that kinks, creases & frays at the edges.
Maybe it's one of those "Zetec" things

Cheers
John

[fatboyoz]

Thank You All,
For your suggestions. I have cut one out of Laminex (a bench top laminate), but am afraid it will not be durable enough to support the speakers. I will go in search of some high density plastic foam sheet today as per John's reply. Will keep you posted.
Cheers,
Colin.

[dlbarnes1]

I used high density polyethylene sheet, 3/32", black. One side had a "matte" finish that facilitated the application of carpet adhesive. The material was stiff, but pliable enough to form the bend.
I found it in a plastics supply shop. I believe it is intended for upholstered/carpeted panels in automotive-marine-aircraft applications.
I cut it with sheet metal shears.

Dave 72 Sprint DHC

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

The plastic sheet I used was white & had a sheen similar to those polystyrene insulated coffee cups that were so popular for take away drinks. Much tougher material though.
One big advantage is that it is easily cut to shape with a "Stanley" knife, large Scissors or as Dave mentioned, sheet metal shears.

Cheers
John