The new vinyl for the Westfield's transmission tunnel and dashboard redo has arrived and looks great - a lot more like leather than the current vinyl. Now that the nutcerts are on the way from Pegasus, and I’ve nearly finished the new aluminum tunnel caps (just need some minor trimming), I hope to make headway this weekend on the transmission tunnel project. I’ll post photos then, but for now here is some background on what I'm attempting. I never cared for the aesthetics of the stock transmission tunnel trimming, which uses the (cheap looking) floor carpet on the tunnel top and sides. Since I am running sans carpet, I needed another option for the tunnel top, so I initially opted for a simple vinyl cap. It looked okay, but not great. Next I molded side trim out of L-section plastic that handle the transition between the tunnel top and sides. A French seam ran down the foot of the L (see photos) and Velcro held the trim in place. Although the Velcro enabled me to install the trim pieces without drilling holes in the chassis tubes that form the top of the tunnel’s sides, it wasn't a very secure method and was frequenlty knocked off by passengers. Had I been able to locate wider L-extrusion, then I would have had the flexibility to use nutcerts beneath the chassis tubes and secured the trim to the tunnel skin with button head screws. But since I couldn't, I am now on attempt #3.
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My plan is to create a new tunnel cap substructure with radius sides out of
aluminum sheet and then cover the entire tunnel down to the floor with vinyl. I mad simple bucks out of scrap wood edged with ¾” radius ¼ round molding and then bent the sheet aluminum to shape. The caps extend down the sides of the tunnel far enough that holes for the nutcerts can be drilled below the top chassis tube and avoid the use of velcro in that area. In an attempt to keep interior heat down, I plan to also cover the sides of the tunnel with bubble insulation, and then add some visual interest to the vinyl covering by placing a seam on either side of the tunnel top at the point where the cap begins to turn downward. Not sure yet if I will go through the trouble of doing French seams again, or just do a simple single stitch. I’m hoping that I can use the carpet snaps already on the bottom of the tunnel to secure the vinyl covering, but I may have to add a little Velcro as well.
aluminum sheet and then cover the entire tunnel down to the floor with vinyl. I mad simple bucks out of scrap wood edged with ¾” radius ¼ round molding and then bent the sheet aluminum to shape. The caps extend down the sides of the tunnel far enough that holes for the nutcerts can be drilled below the top chassis tube and avoid the use of velcro in that area. In an attempt to keep interior heat down, I plan to also cover the sides of the tunnel with bubble insulation, and then add some visual interest to the vinyl covering by placing a seam on either side of the tunnel top at the point where the cap begins to turn downward. Not sure yet if I will go through the trouble of doing French seams again, or just do a simple single stitch. I’m hoping that I can use the carpet snaps already on the bottom of the tunnel to secure the vinyl covering, but I may have to add a little Velcro as well.
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