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What Do We Know About The Elio Interior Materials/colors?
- Thread starter Jeff Bowlsby
- Start date
NSTG8R
Elio Addict
Actually I probably could if I had a spare six grand and my IQ dropped 50 points. All kidding aside, if anyone wants to have custom wood trim done for their Elio you might want to get in touch with Wabbit's Woodworks in Cleveland, Texas. I've seen their work and it's unbelievable.
They had a booth down at our local car show this year, don't have their card handy, but some of their display pieces were VERY impressive. Link is not the company that was there, but the same process is used. Relatively cheap, extremely durable/flexible, and tons of different prints and patterns. Might be a cost effective way to personalize your Elio if you're not digging the stock interior bits.
http://www.h2ographx.com/patterns.php
The Tech Talk in post #4 by Goofyone is interesting. I thought all the color of the P4 on the inside was an option, but the Tech Talk only said the door/side panels were optional. These would be easy to install. However we could probably take a piece of cardboard, cover it in our favorite cloth and glue them in place. Here is the chance for that wood Burrell pattern in the car of post #11.
The P4 dash has orange color on it but apparently from the Tech Talk the dash color panels will not be available. That makes since because they would have to remove knobs and other things to put them on. So I guess the color panels are on the dash to simply look good, but they are misleading.. What else do we not get?
The P4 dash has orange color on it but apparently from the Tech Talk the dash color panels will not be available. That makes since because they would have to remove knobs and other things to put them on. So I guess the color panels are on the dash to simply look good, but they are misleading.. What else do we not get?
Trusting
Elio Addict
What I saw from Wabbit's was actual wood. It was about 15 years ago, but if I remember correctly in included a dash and some door trim pieces. Reminded me of the interior of a classic Jag. I looked at the link you posted and was impressed. This process, which I was not aware of, looks to be a great alternative to actual wood which does not handle the heat inside a closed car very well. I did a little more looking and came up with some prices. Whether it's worth it or not is up to the Elio owner....
http://www.adaptivegraphx.com/pricelist.php
Trusting
Elio Addict
No offense taken, it sounds like a complement...
NSTG8R
Elio Addict
Close; you do it in cardboard if you want to see it lose shape within a month. Door panels are made of a fiberboard or you can substitute a piece of Luan; the panels aren't glued (unless you want to have a mess later) you use clips or friction clips (metal or plastic).
That will give you a simple/basic filler panel. If you want to get fancy there are a ton of tricks you can use.
I grafted a Caddy Eldo door panel to fit a 82 Jeep Wagoneer before; very trick; I even got all of the power window switches and power mirror control to work plus the "puddle" light on the bottom of the armrest worked.
I really miss doing that kind of work; it used to let the creative side really show off.
Lil4X
Elio Addict
I'm probably more interested in the interior than the exterior - it's where I'm going to spend the most time with my Elio. Leather seats are terrific, but heat is a must. Ventilation would be nice for the summer months, but that heater is mandatory. It's not just for winter comfort, but I've found that the heated seats on my last two SUV's are wonderfully therapeutic on those long drives after a day of physical labor. My old muscles and bones relish the deep heat of a comfortable, supportive seat cranked all the way to "Broil" - even when the AC is running. I think my last Lexus could actually produce grill marks on my back after 3-4 hours behind the wheel. But then I get home with no residual soreness from my labor. Even a winter commute would be so much nicer with a warm backside too.
As far as the instrument panel is concerned, Dakota Digital has just what I want - conventional needles and numbers that are easily read and interpreted. As far as a custom interior goes, I'll think that one over. There are hundreds of dash kits available, and a few of these look really nice. You have your choice of wood, metal, carbon fiber, or leather kits custom-cut for your dash. I'm sure Elio owners will be one of their largest new customer bases, given the rather Spartan appearance of the OEM interior, so I'll look for most of the larger vendors to supply them. Prices of most kits (for full sized cars) aren't too bad, either.
Colorwise, I think lighter interior colors like tan, pearl grey, or even ivory would be my preferences. In a small cabin the lighter colors make the space look much larger, and certainly not so claustrophobic for your RIO. I haven't had a black interior since my '67 Mustang and the heat those vinyl seats could retain from a day in the August sun was epic. Summer driving in shorts is NOT a good idea, especially with black seats. I think still have the scars . . . .
As far as the instrument panel is concerned, Dakota Digital has just what I want - conventional needles and numbers that are easily read and interpreted. As far as a custom interior goes, I'll think that one over. There are hundreds of dash kits available, and a few of these look really nice. You have your choice of wood, metal, carbon fiber, or leather kits custom-cut for your dash. I'm sure Elio owners will be one of their largest new customer bases, given the rather Spartan appearance of the OEM interior, so I'll look for most of the larger vendors to supply them. Prices of most kits (for full sized cars) aren't too bad, either.
Colorwise, I think lighter interior colors like tan, pearl grey, or even ivory would be my preferences. In a small cabin the lighter colors make the space look much larger, and certainly not so claustrophobic for your RIO. I haven't had a black interior since my '67 Mustang and the heat those vinyl seats could retain from a day in the August sun was epic. Summer driving in shorts is NOT a good idea, especially with black seats. I think still have the scars . . . .
You said: "Colorwise, I think lighter interior colors like tan, pearl grey, or even ivory would be my preferences. In a small cabin the lighter colors make the space look much larger, and certainly not so claustrophobic for your RIO."
You have a good point. Elio Motors should consider what you have said.
Even if it doesn't come with heated seats, that is something that can be added later; I know, I was doing it 30 years ago, same goes for lumbar supports, I did those also.
As for the side panel colors and material choices I had planned on making and selling those from day one. I've already have some initial patterns and designs sitting and waiting for delivery. And I'm working on doing the side panels with mood lighting also like they do in the Camaros and Mercedes; they're LED strips. Chevy has the Camaro kits for $250 which is outrageous; I know I can do it for a lot less.
As for the dash covers in Wood, and the other materials, I'll leave those to the companies that already do it; there is no way I could ever compete with them, plus I don't have the equipment that I would need for doing them.
Elio plans on offering color matching panels as an option, that's why I'm going to go a step further and offer material covering in whatever you want. If you want snake skin, you can have it, same goes for any other exotic; I think they also plan on an LED rear hatch inner cover; I'll doing something like it but I can't offer the same without getting into trouble.
As for changing the color of probably what will be plastic throughout the rest of the interior, there is a way to change that also; you can dye it or cover it.