Nostalgia is in! For the last couple of years, Detroit's manufacturers have been looking to the past for certain new car designs, and the public has been spending more money to make their rides look "old school" classic. The PT Cruiser sparked interest in the aftermarket industry to create parts that backdate the little people-hauler to even greater vintage styling. PTCruisn.com has come up with a great woody kit to give a retro Town and Country look to the PT. Rick Bottom Custom Motorsports loaned us one of its cars called the "Beach Cruiser" (see Jan. 2002 Mopar Muscle, "Misplaced Youth") to tool around the country for a week. With Rick's help, we will show how simple this installation really is. Surf's up, dude.
Finally, whatever you do, don't rush. The quality of the job is only as good as the effort and time you put into it. Let the car sit overnight before removing the supporting tape. Then, load up the family and head to the beach (don't worry, the thing will still get great mileage!).
Like all projects, begin by...
Like all projects, begin by laying all the pieces around the car to ensure they are all there and not damaged. The packaging was quality and the wood kit was flawless.
The factory emblems and trim...
The factory emblems and trim need to be removed. This is easy; simply heat the emblems with a heat gun or hair dryer until the glue softens and peel them away.
You must also remove all wax...
You must also remove all wax from the car for the panels to stick. Use isopropyl rubbing alcohol or a cleaning agent like PPG's Multi Prep pre-painting cleaner.
Temporarily install the entire...
Temporarily install the entire kit on the car, securing it with masking tape to ensure alignment of the panels.
Remove the panel, then use...
Remove the panel, then use some 80-grit sandpaper and scuff several locations on the back of the panel. Clean the back with the cleaning agent you used on the body and apply several large dabs of adhesive (we used windshield adhesive), then remove the paper from the already-attached two-way tape. The tape simply holds the panel in place until the adhesive dries.
Once you have the panels aligned,...
Once you have the panels aligned, carefully cut the tape but leave it on the panel and the body. This gives you visual marks to put the panel in the exact location you removed it from.
It may look funny, but this...
It may look funny, but this tape helps in aligning the panels.
Some of the smaller edges...
Some of the smaller edges of the panels should be duct-taped overnight to make sure the panels stay against the body while the adhesive dries.