My 04 Grande Build-up!

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

Well tomorrow's the day, got all the carpet needed so its go time! I'll endeavor to take photos of the progress.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

The drawers are done!

So happy with how theyve turned out, just have a couple of minor things to do like replace the screw i lost and trim the panels that sit on top of the seats but other then that its done.

First thing to do was make the panel at the back of the drawers/behind the rear seats to close it all off and to give the seat panels somewhere to mount onto.


Then the fun began, carpeting it all. Although i have most things to do my trade i didn't have an air compressor so i picked up an Abac 2.5hp 50L belt driven Air comp RRp of $599 for $100. The thing has been used for 5 minutes and the idiot that had it plugged it into a dodgy switch making the override switch cut it out so he thought it was stuffed. Long story short, i got a bargain!!

It all begins with the marking out, i used two different types of carpet, one backed and one unbacked. The backed one stands up to harsher treatment which is what the main part of the top is done in aswell as the face panel and the bottoms of the drawers. The rest is done in unbacked, this is very stretchy meaning it does neatly around areas without being cut making it a neater job. The carpet is also a marine grade carpet that won't rot or go smelly, ever.


Then one coat of glue on both the material and board.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

Because the main piece is backed it is hard to fold around corners and edges so thats where a good coat of glue AND 12mm staples come in handy


The drawers were done in 5 seperate pieces


And the finished result, i apologise for not taking more pictures of the 'process' but once i start i don't stop for photos.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

I am thinking about carpeting the bottom part of the sides of the drawers but there needs to be a strip above/below the runner so that it doesn't rub on the rest of the runner as it pulls the carpet apart and will wreck the ball bearings.




And the recovery gear, i need to buy some more now but it's ok. The big sectioned off part is where the TRED recovery boards will sit and the gear will just sit on top of them. Just out of interest, for those of you that use tie down straps how do you store them? I've cable tied them temporarily to keep them tidy but was thinking i will just put elastic bands around them?

[1coolbanana Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 1coolbanana]

Great job :-)Better than bought ones!!!

[Smithy - 120 D4D Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Smithy - 120 D4D]

Beautifully finished. Well done.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

Thanks Banana, they have come up a treat and so far the height is perfect, i lowered them 30mm from the original plan and i am glad i did as the 3 large items i put in the back last week had about 5 - 13mm clearance between them.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

Thanks Smithy

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Really a top job, good work.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Looks really good, I'm impressed.

Re: the tie down straps, why don't you just use the re-usable cable ties? They can be taken off and put back on without cutting them. Elastic bands will just dry out and split in the heat.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

Thankyou MJ and Fido, really appreciate it.

Fido, that was like a slap in the face. I can't believe i didn't even think of them! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

jhiace that is an awesome job, better then half the so called professional ones we see round, bloody brilliant if I may say so. You should be proud of your workmanship......Cheers Steve

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

Thankyou Steve. I certainly put in the hard work to learn as much as I could when I started as an apprentice and was lucky my boss was very good and well known/respected in the industry.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

Last night I ordered some new Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades from the UK, both front and rear shipped here for AUD $58. Gotta be happy with that compared to buying them from Bosch in Australia direct plus you spend more then that buying a front pair of those rubbish neoform ones from car shops here. Now I just need to fit the Hilux washer jets.