Series 1 interior door cards

[Aussie_Beta_1800]

Hi all,

It has been quite a while since I was last on here and I have searched to the best of my abilities but cannot find what I'm looking for.
I'm in Australia (in case my name didn't give it away) and I have a 1975 Beta Coupe, I'm struggling to find anyone who wants to touch the interior (needs restoring)
The door cards are the biggest issue, as there are plenty of series 2 beta's in aus there aren't many series one so it's very hard to get a hold of the door cars/armrests. Mine are pretty much scrap, the cards are broken and falling apart.
Does anyone have a set of door cards for a series one? I notice the 1600 models you get in the UK have the same style door cards and also some Zagato Spiders do as well.
OR does anyone know how to re-create the door cards or has done something similar?
Any info or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[HFStuart]

If the vinyl on the door cards is more or less intact then they can be rebuilt but otherwise finding then in good condition will require patience I'm afraid.

[peteracs]

Hi

Yes they are hard to get hold of.

The fibre boards on mine were pretty good, but some areas were 'soft/crumbly' so needed some attention. Also the complication is that they are a moulded fibre type of board, so replacing with sheets of ply is not so simple. Once that was done, the guy who recovered the seats recovered the door cards which is pretty straight forward for anyone who does that for a living.

Depending on your existing cards, you may be able to rescue parts of them or just use some as a template for replacement. The flat parts are no big deal, just the moulded parts. To repair the crumbly parts on mine I used some fibre matting which we had for frost protection. It is a soft matting unlike glass fibre matting and moulds quite well and used thinned down PVA solution to bind it together. End result is a pretty tough finish which puts strength back into the fibre board. A bit like using Fibreglass, without all the hassle.

I do have some spare door handles (the large brown pull handle) if you need them.

Peter

[HFStuart]

NB not all the doors used moulded fibre board. Both of my spiders had flat hardboard with foam mouldings glued to them which made them much easier to repair.

[Aussie_Beta_1800]

Thanks for the responses everyone.
The vinyl is in good condition but yes the fibre board type backing is crumbling along the bottom section. I did actually think of seeing if a fibreglass mould could be made so I may just see if that's possible. The chrome strips have peeled though and are pretty ordinary.

[Aussie_Beta_1800]

Thanks for the offer of the door handles too Peter, I just had a look at mine and they are beginning to crack so I am definitely interested

[peteracs]

Hi

I will hunt out what I have and send some photos. Also my trimmer used new plastic 'chrome' strips and replaced the vinyl etc.

Peter

[Neil-yaj396]

I have these series 1 - pre-facelift door cards (it took me a couple of years to find them but then I parted with my pre-facelft car!). Just one hole, which would be covered by the handle I think.

No idea how much shipping to Australia would be. Perhaps if you want Peter's door handles we could double them up somehow?

[peteracs]

Hi Neil

Have to say they look pretty good condition. I can organise shipping no problem and at a guess will be £100-£200, but would have to measure up and then can get accurate number.

Peter

[Aussie_Beta_1800]

Hi Neil,

Thanks very much, they look really good (from the photos)

I would love to get them and the handles together.
If you could let me know how much you want for them?
And Peter how much you want for the handles? Feel free to send me a private message guys
I can then arrange to make payment, happy to pay you for the shipping costs if you can let me know how much it will be also?

Thanks again everyone who has responded.

[peteracs]

Hi

I will email you the photos of the two handles I have spare.

Peter