Door cards and latches.

Time to start fitting the door locks/latches. In order to do this i need to make and fit the door cards as they act as a spacer between the door skin and the latch (about 5mm)

I have decided to do my own interior trimming as its something i enjoy doing, and can have superb results if done correctly. I will probably still go with the seat shells from AK simply because i like the fitting of the headrest (now mandatory for IVA) and trim them myself in a gorgeous deep red leather. 

So i started off making a template in card of the door card. This is just smaller than the door skin, as so the rubber door seal will mate up against the door as opposed to the leather of the door card. I'm not a massive fan of pockets in the door cards, i just find them useless in a car with no roof and is just a place to keep clutter... so no pocket = no clutter. In theory! As you can see its a very simple shape to trim with the only cutout for the striker and latch securing holes, so its just a very simple and enjoyable task of covering the hardboard in some nice cloth.

 I have gone with a nice black leatherette/plether and will compliment the black carpets (when i get them) and the dark carbon fibre dash. All the hardboard and cloth set me back a grand total of £10, so this is a very cheap part of the build, and necessary in order to progress with fitting then door latch.

The cloth is bonded to the board using impact adhesive, which is mega stuff to work with it smells superb and if used correctly sticks like sh*t to a blanket.

 The door card when fitted is held in place via the latch as that bolts through the door card into the door, nice and secure. Towards the front of the card and bottom edge, I'm simply holding it to the door using Velcro. this means no fixings to drill or uneven surface under the cloth and easily removed without damage.

I have decided against padding the cards with foam as i want a nice flat smooth surface, as the dash is also non padded so i want to keep the same style/theme throughout the interior.

So the door card finished in just a few hours work.
It looks very good and I'm very happy with the end result, very cheap to do also!

I have put a video below to show the door lock in action with the card fitted. I will do a separate post on how i have fitted the latch and how it works, but i simply wanted to fit one first (and be happy with it) before i start the other side with a photo write up. As you can see in the video i have not got the rubber door seal fitted and obviously no carpets, which will hide all the bits and pieces and the striker fixings.

Overall happy with the one side so far, a good solid clunk (sounds much better than a Golf) and the echo will go once the carpets are fitted.