Ulster door cards

[Erich]

Hi All,

This may seem a rather esoteric question, but as I am sometimes prone to do, I'm a bit of a rivet counter. How are the door cards in an EA Sports attached? I know that the three aluminium dairy hose clamps( and the hose) hold the upper part. However, the body is curved and the plywood is flat, so how did they originally attach the cards to the sides of the cockpit? I'm guessing that either they were glued or used the rivets which attach the body to the pan. The latter doesn't seem reasonable, and I have not found any evidence of other fixings on genuine cars, so I'm guessing that glue was used. Why am I doing this on an Ulster Rep? Partly for authenticity, partly for my own education as I have a genuine Ulster(EA Sports) in the restoration stage. Glueing would seem to be the preferred method as it would help strengthen the body. Why they didn't do the same with the spare tyre opening...well, they probably didn't expect the cars to last ten years, let alone more than 90 years. I have viewed Graham Beckett's car with various strengthening plates added to keep the tail on.

Any help is much appreciated.

Erich in Mukilteo

[Chris KC]

I'm afraid I don't know Erich.

When I came to do mine, I used very thin "aircraft" ply which is impressively strong yet can be rolled into a tube and cut out with scissors. Then glued "Rexine" to it before fitting in the car. It looks a lot better trimmed.

At the top edge I used the cockpit trim "hoses" and their fixings to secure it. At the lower edge, I made simple metal (I think I used brass but painted black) "tabs" which I screwed to the wooden seat frame and to the interior body flange at the front. Each panel is simply pushed in place and restrained by the tabs, which are inconspicuous. This approach enables the running of wiring behind the trim panels, held in position with carpet tape. And no, I don't know the correct routing for the wiring either! But this worked out OK.

As for strengthening plates, if I were building any "Ulster" from new I would incorporate them from the outset. My car was already losing its tail when I acquired it, having apparently done battle with several sleeping policemen. I glued rectangular alloy plates at each end of the dash (internally) under the windscreen irons, and I used a large steel sheet either side to box in the spare wheel well and brace it to the floor. I used available fixings so the mods can't be seen from the exterior. I also fitted shelf brackets to the rear of the spare wheel well to support the rear floor. My back end is now truly load-bearing!

[Malcolm Parker]

I made my Ulster cockpit sides out of 4mm birch ply, covered with black leathercloth.  They were clamped at the top edge by the rubber cockpit edging and the three securing clips.   That was all.   Due to the curvature of the body sides and the springiness of the birch ply, the panels stayed in place and no additional fixings were required.   I am amazed how many Ulster reps do not have these panels, they take no more than a couple of hours to make and fit, and it is surprising how much strength they add to the cockpit sides, whilst weighing very little.  They make the side cutaways much more resistant to damage caused by your feet as you clamber aboard.   I will resist the temptation to mention getting ones legover!

[TonyHodson]

Well I'm afraid I don't know the answer either but I did the same as Malcolm, except I used ordinary hardboard covered with maroon leather cloth which over the years and with the aid of the upper clips has assumed the curvature of the body. As far as I can recall there was no trace of glue on the inside of the cockpit sides - but we are going back 30 odd years and my memory plays tricks with what I did yesterday!
I also ran the wiring behind the drivers side panel where it sits more or less out of sight and has not caused any problems so far
Tony

[Mike Costigan]

I'm pretty sure there was no evidence of glue being used on my car, nor do I recall any clips or fastenings other than those retaining the rubber to the top edge.

[Athanasius Santamaria]

Hi Erich,

I'm not actually sure either what was used originally.  From period photos it's very difficult to tell. Unless someone has an original ulster door card or photos they're willing to share, it's best guess. I originally thought there would be a very thin plywood door card covered in rexene.  However when poking my head down in a original 12/4 I noticed that the panel around the vents in the foot well area had no door card... just rexene slapped on to the metal side and glued. A very thin ply sheet covered in rexene would probably be the best guess. But maybe there was none? Just plain old rexene glued straight on.? As for fixing a door card on the bottom edge... it probably doesn't need fixing if you make the card a good close fit like others have mentioned. I'll probably do that on my car.
Cheers,
Athow

[Malcolm Parker]

I used a rubber car heater hose for the cockpit edges of my Ulster.  I cut it with a Stanley knife along its length, Not an easy job but I found that if I clamped it loosely in a workmate the task was safer and quite simple.  The split rubber hose sits over the aluminium body side and also the internal trim panel.  I found that this made the rubber trim tighter and better looking.  The rubber trim is held in place by three metal clips, (I used aluminium), held in place by screws and nuts (in my case 4mm stainless).  These also go through the plywood trim panel keeping them securely in place.    

[Ruairidh Dunford]

This works…

https://youtu.be/2Q2OzraoxRE?si=RfepiTBWzncFbOTX

[Bob Olive]

Pretty much how I did mine - about 40years ago…