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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.
The door panels required a little more work as you have to remove the hardware with a screwdriver first.
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.
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 74059amy@designsofsteel.com
08/11/10 14:54
