Time for Upholstery

 

Well, now I'm getting even closer to finishing up this project. With the new carpet installed, it's time to get the seats recovered and have custom door panels made with matching material.

These are the seats that are in the car now. They are a blue velour. But I want something different. I thought about Vinal, because it would be easy to clean. However, I think that looks a bit cheap. So, I decided to go with a two-tone material of white and gray. 

Here is a picture of the color scheme that I will try to replicate in my 73. My seats will be a bit different, but the colors will be as close as I can match them.

When I get them done, I'll post a new set of pictures.

Installed Stock Muffler

Now that I've been able to drive the car around for a bit, I realize that the sport exhaust pipes are a bit too loud for me, so I needed to replace them. I was able to find a nice fella that was willing to swap my exhaust for a new stock muffler.

After a few hours of work struggling to install the muffler, I finally got it done. Praise the Lord!

New Back Seat Kick Panels

While I'm waiting on more parts to finish the interior, I made new kick panels. I saved a lot of money by making my own out of wood and covered them using shelving contact paper. It turned better than I expected.

New Carpet

I finally got the new carpet installed. I was a little nervous about doing this, because I've never worked with carpet. So, I took it slow and got it done. It turned out pretty good.

Carpet Prep - Rusty Floor Panels

OK, it's now time to tackle the interior, starting with prep work. I used a wire wheel to knock off the accessible rust under the passenger side floor pan, then I painted on a rust converter (see below).

After the rust is fixed on all the floor pans, I'll lay down some nice sound barrier rubber to make the car a little less noisy. Then comes the carpet. Yippee!

I'll include a before and after rust shots, then later, I'll add more posts to show the progress. These two photos show a before and after for the rust treatment. The dirty yellow is old carpet glue that will be covered up with the new carpet coming.

Next Stop - Heater System and Interior Make-over!

Now that the car is drivable, I'm coming down to the finish line by fixing the heat system and then installing new carpet. After that, I'll redo the upholstery.  

My first challenge was getting hot air from the engine, into the heating channels that force air to the heating vents and defroster. There was a complete disconnect under the rear seat. I'll show some before and after pictures.

Over the past few days, I have removed the carpet, fixed the heat connections, and installed sound deadening on the back wall, and on the floor pans. It's all part of getting ready for new carpet.

Licensed and ready to drive

OK, now that my brakes work, I want to get it out on the road and drive around. Well, this takes plates and insurance. So, I got that and I'm now puttering around town (close to home). Once I know if the car is trustworthy, I'll travel farther out. 

I love the plate number that a nice lady from DMV gave me. "007" I'm starting to feel like a secret agent now.

Restart!

Wow, how long has it been?  Well, about 4 years. Yep, As I was working on the car, I had a couple of electrical problems and one major problem with the brakes. Years ago, I reworked all the drum brakes, but the car would hardly stop. I replaced nearly everything, but nothing helped, so I kind of gave up for a while, and the car sat in the garage for a few years.

Well, I'm finally back. I found the rubber brake line hoses were clogged, and I replaced them and fixed a leaking rear wheel cylinder. I was so happy thinking that would resolve the stopping problem. While it was better, the car was still difficult to stop, so I finally broke down and bought a set of front wheel disc brakes.