Tony Arme at Hot Rods By Dean demonstrates the installation of custom door panels and armrests from Hagan Street Rods.
The delay is typically about two seconds. That's the length of the pause between the proud assertion, "I built it all myself ..." and the inevitable follow-up, "except the interior, of course."
We've met a lot of rodders who can build engines, assemble chassis, chop tops, and spray paint, but when it comes to any interior modifications, they turn the job over to someone else. It's true that a lot of interior work requires a whole different set of skills and some specialized equipment, but some does not-and in the last 20 years the aftermarket has produced some great DIY interior kits. For example, Hagan Street Rod Necessities in New Bremen, Ohio, offers a couple of easy-to-install armrest kits, in addition to a brand-new custom door panel system that allows you to create and install your own distinct design using materials that are included in the kit. The package also comes with an instructional DVD outlining the steps to building your custom door panels. The cool thing about the Hagan system is that it is not a generic "one-style-fits-all" package. Every customer can build door panels that will be unique to his vehicle-without a lot of tools or extraordinary fabrication skills.
During our most recent visit to Hot Rods By Dean in Phoenix, we watched Tony Arme demonstrate installing a Hagan door panel package in a '32 Ford five-window coupe.
