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ABS
Interior Replacement Panels
with Bill Johnston
photos by Bryan Greaves
If
keeping the outside of a Samurai looking decent isn't hard enough, try
keeping the interior looking good. The interior panels warp quickly and the
vinyl covering tears even quicker. I have looked for a nice set of
replacement panels at an affordable price for some time now and I finally
found what I needed. A five panel replacement panel set from Designs of
Steel made the upgrade fast, easy and affordable. |
 My
88.5 Samurai looked pretty decent when I got it, but the interior really
showed its age. The rear panels were so warped and water damaged that they
were removed shortly after I got the vehicle. The door panels were only
torn, so they stayed for a bit longer. |
 We
had the interior sprayed with a bed liner compound the year before, but it
still lacked something. So we looked for something to cover up the empty
space. |
 The
complete set comes with two door panels, two rear/side panels and the
tailgate panel. It also comes with two sizes of push-in nylon fasteners.
This makes it easy to install without drilling or screwing the panels down. |
 The
fasteners use the stock mounting holes, so you don't need to pull out the
power tools. |
 We
had installed some aftermarket speaker pods made for the Samurai, so they
had to be removed before dropping in the side panels. The grab handles also
have to be removed, but the panels are already drilled to allow you to
replace them after the panel is installed. |
 One
of the stock fastener locations happens to be behind the roll bar. We found
it just about impossible to push in the fastener here, but once the grab
handles were installed the panel looked fine. |
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The door panels required a little more work as
you have to remove the hardware with a screwdriver first. |
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Pulling the torn panel and replacing it with
the new ABS panel is fast and easy. And as you can see, it certainly makes a
nice, clean look. |
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The manufacturer of this package normally
creates works of art in steel, as you can see on their web site. But check
out their
ABS Plastic Panels page to find out about their panel kits. When you
order, tell them iZook sent you. |
Source:
Designs of
Steel
P.O. Box 1001
Perkins, OK 74059
amy@designsofsteel.com |