Project Interior

[AT6svo]

...then I'm going to wash and prep the plastics so I can Paint them tomorrow night. Gonna use the Duplicolor HVP111, I did a test on a panel last week and can't tell the difference myself...

Ugh. I need to read a bit more thoroughly before posting...

[chalkys_explorer]

Actually I bought the car on Janruary 9th..........................this year Yeah, I've been keeping busy. Yeah, Duplicolor HVP111 I had NAPA order it in for me. So far I've used about 8 can.

Chris

[chalkys_explorer]

Scope Creep, AGAIN!!!!!!!!

hello All,
well our mutual friend Mike Fleming's theory of scope creep has struck again. Last night I was busy getting the rear trim panels back in the car. Got everything bolted in from the doors back. no major dramas and everything fitted nicely. Sorry for no pic but it was dark and I couldn't get a good shot. Well, I went to finish up at the end of thie night and the drivers window wouldn't go up, bugger. Ok, maybe it got wet or dusty.......whack a tarp on it and look tomorrow.

Well, after removing the door trim and armed with my handy can of contact cleaner, the window worked. maybe it just rattled loose?? I'm gonna cable tie the switched to the backing plate for future reference. I also lubed the running chanells for the windows.

Right the point of it all...........I was going into the spray shop tonight to paint some of the smaller pieces(shock covers, hatch cover attachements, seat bolt covers) so I though why not paint the door trim!!!!!! See below for pic. I'm quite happy with the results actually.

The next thing is going to be removing the dash cover so I can replace the A-pillar covers and yes, it'll get painted while it's out then it's just bolt that in then the console and it's back to big numbers on the boost!!!!!!!!

As always I will end with a question, 2 actually.

1. Whats the best way to clean the cloth at the top of the trim panel?? Mines a little dirty but I also realise this particular area is quite fragile.

2. My passenger door trim has a speaker hole in it, and the drivers door shell has a whole where a speaker once was. My conundrum is, do I replace the bad trim with a good one or cut a hole in the good one and have better speakers or can I fix the one with the hole????

Chris

[Eyelawdoc]

1. Whats the best way to clean the cloth at the top of the trim panel?? Mines a little dirty but I also realise this particular area is quite fragile.
Chris

You might try using Woolite as described in this thread about cleaning cloth seats:

http://www.svoca.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5376

[NavySVO]

Well, after removing the door trim and armed with my handy can of contact cleaner, the window worked. maybe it just rattled loose??

Chris, sometimes the window motors get "finicky". In reading past threads, some have suggested that you don't quite put the window all the way down to alleviate it getting stuck in the down position.

Some guys have also pulled a "Fonzie" and gave the door a nice whack near the area of the motor and fiola! it works again.

[roberto2000]

I guess it is your call on the speaker situation
you could look for a door panel with a cut out so you dont have to ruin a good one then get one good one so you have a set of each
running speakers in the door can really help the sound quality in these cars
if you dont like the turbo sound
When I had my first svo I was really into car stereos to help with the stealth look and so it looked original I cut away some of the fibreboard in the door panel so the speaker "shot" through the carpet at the lower part of the door
It looked unmolested and the stereo got that front sound it really needed

[chalkys_explorer]

How to paint an American Muscle Car

Hello All,
well I've been at it once again. I actually took the time to make some dinner and wash dishes tonight but we have some more progress.

As I said yesterday, I order to put my newly painted A-pillar covers in the car I had to remove the dash cover, easy peasy and it even had a matching date code on the back of it,yay. It's in very good condition actually, one tiny crack in the central grill. It'll get paimted tomorrow.

So, what do you do when you've got the dash cover and most all the rest of the front half of your interior out???? paint the dash!!!!! So with a large quantity of masking tape and a few old newspapers out of my '93, I went to work with some shop towels and U-pol, cleaned it all then masked it. See pic. Three of four(actually could be five or six) coats later it should look great. it's drying so no final pic tonight.

Anyways, gotta go remove some masking paper, so till next time.......

Chris

[SVOBart]

I actually found some cut up cardboard boxes would convienently jam underneath the dash and floor pan to minimize overspray. A trash bag covers up the steering wheel and column quite well!!

Now I've just got to get back to re-installing the interior in my car. I had some rather troublesome oil leaks plaguing me that interrupted my progress.

[XaeroSavvy]

I actually found some cut up cardboard boxes would convienently jam underneath the dash and floor pan to minimize overspray. A trash bag covers up the steering wheel and column quite well!!

Now I've just got to get back to re-installing the interior in my car. I had some rather troublesome oil leaks plaguing me that interrupted my progress.

That oil leak is still there??

[SVOBart]

Yup...and my efforts to fix it last night didn't do squat. It isn't as bad, but it still leaks. I'm just not going to fool with it until I swap transmissions in a couple of weeks. I just can't get the oil pan to seal around the #5 main.

[under pressure]

Did you use the black or gold loctite RTV?

[chalkys_explorer]

Nearly There

Hello all,
well i'm finally getting close!!!! I had today of so with much readiness I set to the task.

A few words of advice. 1. Always check the BATCH number on the bottom of your spray cans to ensure the batch numbers are the same. 2. When cleaning OEM dash covers in perfect condition, be VERY, VERY careful around the speaker openings. Unforunately both of these come under the "ask me how I know this category"!!!!!!!

So, with a few small parts re-painted and my now repaired dash cover, no-one will ever know, it was time to go to work. got all the small parts(coat hook, seal belt top,cargo cover) bolted on and then progessed to the front half. kick panels, a-pillar covers, the covers at the front and side of the headliner etc. With all that done it was time to move onto the next part.

Centre Console!!!! This actually went back together easier than I thought, once I remembered where all the bolts went. Trial and error works wonders. For those of you who notice I have actually rearranged where the switches go. The closest to me now is the fuel switch, followed by the fog lamps and then the amp as this will never get used. See pic. I also have the dash cover back in place.

it still amazes me how much crap can accumulate in a car over the years. As an experiment I thought I would try cleaning the cloth tops of my door trims. I did this with a little liquid laundry detergent, some hot water and and the brush attachment off my back washer. nice an soft. I could NOT BELIEVE the amount of black crap that came pouring out after several minutes of scrubbing. I can actually see the little black dots on the cloth now!!! See before and after pics below.

Right, well all that is left to fit is the door trims and arm rests, the switch plates need replacing so that can wait and I'm going to choose the best of my back seats and recondition them before re-installation. I think it's looking good.

Chris

[Mr. Pink]

Chris - looking good!! It will be amazing when you drive the car again and how glad you'll be with everything in the interior cleaned up.

[StefRobrts]

Hi Chris, I was offline for a few days, so I was delighted to catch up on the project. You're making fantastic progress. Don't you ever sleep?

You're running into a lot of the little things that just made me tired to think about - like the doorpanel dillema (cut a speaker hole into the good panel, or replace the damaged one?). Also I'm sure you noticed the little hole where the front left driver's seat bolt should have bolted to the floor. Probably no problem with your welding skills. I think I forget to tell you that one.

Anyway, I'm so glad to see all the fun you're having with it, and to see it really turning out nice. Good luck getting all that goop off the hatch window when the time comes! I added some of that. I know I'm going to spend some time in pergatory for that one, but there was already goop there, and the window leaked. I figured the goop was a small price to pay to keep the interior dry. There, I've confessed my sins.

The dash pad came from the same guy I bought the rest of the interior bits from. The original was in BAD shape, and that was the first thing I replaced when I bought the car. I figured at least it would improve the view from the driver's seat.

Be sure to check that homemade bushing in the shifter handle and make sure it's still holding it. It's just some bits I scrounged from the hardware store, so I figured next time I had the thing apart I'd see how it was holding up. That's the original hurst handle bolted to a newer hurst short shifter, so I had to make a bushing for it.

If you ever go home for a visit and need an SVO babysitter, it's welcome back at our house! I'd even take it for walks while you were gone - vroooom

[chalkys_explorer]

hey Stef,
glad you like what you see, hows Johnny coming along?? I don't sleep much and as you know Ashland is pretty quite this time of year so I'm keeping busy. I haven't fixed the seat bolt yet, gettin to that, the shifter feels fine but I'll probably knock soemthing up when I go into the machine shop to make my oil seperator like Lon's.

As for the window goop, no worries. I went to the window store the other day and met a nice guy who works there who has a 79 Ghia and and 82 GL. He needed some interior pieces, which I had spares of, so he is gonna remove the trims (which will get painted while they're off) and re-seal the rear window properly for me. It's good for both of us and he's a real nice guy. he asked me to remove the Bi-wing so it looks like that is next.

Still not sure about the door panel. I might cut the good one and then add the speaker covers like my 93 has. At least it would look factory then. The panels themselves have a bit of warpage in the masonite and although they came up really well with the cleaning the section near the windows have faded quite a bit. I think if I wanted perfect one I would find some good Lx ones and re-trim them. Jury's still out though. It's strange though because both doors have holes for speakers. Any answer to that mystery Stef?? But I am pleased with how it's going and it a real blast to drive. I can't wait to do a proper tune up on the engine and feel the difference.

Pink,
whadya mean when I drive it again???? i've been driving it the whole time I took it for a blast tonight around the outer roads of Ashland, it's semi rural so I had a blast. Never had a rear end drift at 65mph in 4th gear before...........too much boost perhaps:P:P

Chris