I have in my posession something entirely unique... the one, the only, often
speculated about, never obtained... Domestic Performance 2 pod A-pillar.
That'* right, you read me, from Domestic Performance. A while back, I
received the only specimen ever released, it was a little rough, and not quite
right. So, off it went to Bill Wren for a little "fixing". This piece was made even
more special by the hands of our illustrious Admin with some more fiberglass
and 92 tan matching SEM brand paint on a texturizing coat to make it look
completely stock. I've got just one job to do in it, and that is cut holes that Bill
had to fill because they were initially too big to snugly fit my gauges.

And now... pics of the sasquatch of Bonnevilles, the DP pillar pod...

Oh, never ever order anything from domestic performance. You will likely never recieve it. I ordered it before that place went sour.

Is it possible to make some copys ?

During the repairs, I figured out how they were made. It was done with two
seperate molds. One mold for the large piece with a depression in it around a
rectangular opening where the pillare piece dropped in. Then it was assembled
with resin. Two seperate molds. In this series of repair pics, you can see where
one 'corner' of the pod section actually lifted out of the pocket. In addition, you can
see in the early pics where the mold was injected, as DP never had those holes
filled. I did that too as well. The biggest problem though was that the holes for
the gauges were drilled too large, and the gauges simply fell right through. John
sent it to me orignally for me to make seperate flanges to adapt the gauges to
the over-drilled pod.

That wasn't practical after all, despite it sounding like the best option. So the fiberglass work began:




Taped a 'dam' over the front face of the overly large holes, and cut
two pieces of glass matting (two different types at opposing angles)
and laid them in, pressing them down into the original holes, then resined
them in from the back.:






And a comparison to the Zilla'* original pod (this is the pod that used to
have a custom-shaped 2-pod universal attached to it). jr's3800 now owns
the pod that used to be on this pillar trim:



This is after using resin on the front after tape removal to fill in any gaps
left from the steps above:



In these pics, you can see the two 'spots' at the top and bottom they used
to inject the resin into the mold when they made the main body. Here you
can see the resin filling the holes, and final sanding beginning:
http://www.williamwren.com/bonnevillepics/POD/pod12.jpg
http://www.williamwren.com/bonnevillepics/POD/pod13.jpg

First coat of primer/sealer to show the blemishes. After this coat, a coat
of textured 'chip coat' was used simply to give the piece a textured look similar
to the original trim:
http://www.williamwren.com/bonnevillepics/POD/pod14.jpg

Here you can see the corner of the 'pod insert' and get an idea of how they
made it. This started lifting during final painting, as it wasn't properly attached.
http://www.williamwren.com/bonnevillepics/POD/pod15.jpg
http://www.williamwren.com/bonnevillepics/POD/pod16.jpg

Another minor flaw I found before the final coat of SEM 'Saddle Tan' paint.
This paint is specifically made to be flexible for use on vinly and plastics for
automotive trim:
http://www.williamwren.com/bonnevillepics/POD/pod17.jpg

Now this is the finished product from my work:


From this point, it gets tricky. John is going to cut a hole smaller than he needs, then sand
it out to the proper diameter so he doesn't destroy the bond between my patching and the
original hole. It should leave a beautiful pillar pod when done.

Keep in mind this is the only prototype remaining that DP made before they were 'run out of town' for ripping off a few members here. There was alot of frustration revolving
around these pods. The other (20 or so) were destroyed by DP in a fit of anger, leaving only this one.

It'll be good to see it get a life finally.

The only currrent methods for doing this are to make your own universal (like I did some time ago) or contact tripscarcare95, as he is now making them. He uses the universal pods that you can buy (identical to the one I first used) and glasses them into a standard pillar. They come out quite nice. I currently have one in my 93.

any pictures of it installed?

There are numerous pics of pillar pods installed on this Forum. But this one can't be installed until he drills the holes again for the gauges.

Best interior color match for the tan (camel) interiors:

This is what I used on mine (both my custom pod and the one I bought from trips) and John'* DP pod.

My original pod (made from a universal kit from Autozone or siimilar). Pay no attention to the apparent color mismatch. That'* only due to the flash of the camera. It actually matches nearly perfectly in natural light:





Pat'* pod in his SLE:


I currently have one of these:
http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=52645

i plan on molding it in to the pillar so it dosnet look "added on"

i will use fiberglass to make it all nice and smooth

Cut it in from the BACK side so the pod comes through the Pillar trim. Then glass it in.

thanks for the tip Bill