Before the main event, We need a Headliner
The Electrod is slated to hit the roads this summer. I have found, however, that when driving a car on a highway it's really nice to have a windshield. I'm ready to install it, we have a beautiful one piece, bent unit waiting. There always seems to be something that I have to do first though. In this case I need to install the interior, in particular the headliner, before the glass.
Unlike modern vehicles which use formed acoustc foam covered with light cloth, antiquities such as te Electrod use sewn cloth (typicaly vinyl) suspended on bows. Rods of the non electric variety. As seen above. The instalation of these is far more complex. More of an art form performed typically by professional craftsman. As professionls seem to be absent from my basement, where the ol girl currently resides, we've taken it upon ourselves to perform the install.
The edges of the headliner present their own challenges. There are no formed plastic trim pieces here. The edging begins with wood. Small strips installed in the body metal to recieve staples which hold a windlace in place. As shown below.
The real fun come when we put all these elements together. The bows are inserted in sleeves sewn on the backside of the headliner, then installed into the body of the car. There are holes in the metal at the edges to receive the ends of the rods and clips that crimp over the middle to hold the bows up in place. Below
Once the bows are all installed all that's left is the super simple task of stetching the material tight to remove all the wrinkles and then gluing the edges into place at the window opennings using trim adhesive. Then mating the headliner vinyl to the windlace around the door opennings. Sooo easy!
Ok maybe not that easy. It is coming together slowly. We'll keep stretching and heating and smoothing over the next couple weeks. Then on to windows and door panels. All the whie we'll be prepping cells for our second battery module, we have about 500 of the second 1600 cells good to go. The first module seems to be working quite well. We'll know more when it actually logs som highway miles.
More to come. I promose I'll update sooner this time. No births planned for the next while. Not having 8 hours of consecutive sleep in the last 6 months has hindered progress on my many projects, but things are improving all the time. But how could I not wanna spend time with this little guy.
Talk Soon
Chris
