Anyhow, here's the "after":
Shiny New Paint!
Step 1: Dat Dash
I'm not gonna lie. This is a damn expensive project car for a cheapskate like me. I splurged on the seats and suspension elements. I'm gonna cheap out on the dash. Thankfully, JC Whitney carries more than just LED washer nozzles. They stock the Palco ABS dash covers (based right over the hill there in Stead, NV!) which almost fit perfectly and almost look wonderful for almost a bargain! Hey, they had me at "free shipping." Installation wasn't too tricky with the front window out. Aside from a minor kerfuffle on the drivers side of the complex lower dash, the new covers fit excellently and feel quite nice for cheap ABS plastic. I removed the vent trim pieces and reinstalled them over the new cover, so from the top, from a distance, if you squint just right, it looks like a pristine factory dashboard! At least as long as you only look at the passenger side. We'll see how well they hold up in the long run. Fingers crossed!
Shiny New Dash!
I'll be using the same type of covers for the arm rests and door caps, expect more when I get around to building the interior panels (you are gonna read all of my posts, right?). Also, as you can tell, this is not a frame-up restoration. There isn't enough body rust to justify that sort of effort. Plus I'm lazy. And I'm cheap.
Step 2: Dat Glass
Before the paint I had thought to myself "Self, this rubber is crap. Rip it all out, paint the naked body, then put it all back in." After hours of prying, cutting, ripping, sweating, cursing, and cracking, I wrung pre-paint me's scrawny little neck for that suggestion. First off, old rubber is hard. It's like cutting into the plastic on that crappy laptop your kids gave you cause they didn't want it taking up space in their house anymore (hi mom!). Second, old sealants are hard. Like chipping away at, I dunno, a puddle of nail polish your kids spilled in your drawer and hid until forty five years later (hi mom!).
The side windows and rear window came out without much drama. The front windscreen loosened slightly and promptly cracked. Oh well, at least they're still available, and I did save all that money on the dash covers...
Anyhow, the re-install steps are pretty straight forward. Attach gasket to glass, run a line of cord along the gasket lip, set glass/gasket into openening, pull cord. Making these steps work is a bit of a challege starting with "install the window in the right gasket" and ending with "how the hell do you put on the trim strip anyway?!" Thanks to the 1800 Yahoo group, I found out the the reason I couldn't install my quarter panel windows was that they are indeed not flat and can't be swapped side to side (something the lady had hinted at, and I had promptly ignored). Putting everything back together will take far longer than pulling it apart. At this point, I at least have gaskets on all the glass and the side windows are installed. I did manage to pry the old stainless trim back on to the rear window. With any luck the brand new trim I picked up for the windshield will go on easier.
Oh yes, the door seals are also in and so far are about the only thing to go in smooth! Window channel felts are coming up, perhaps I'll do those the next evening I can talk the missus into crawling back in and chipping away at tar.
Shiny New Seals!
Oh yes, the door seals are also in and so far are about the only thing to go in smooth! Window channel felts are coming up, perhaps I'll do those the next evening I can talk the missus into crawling back in and chipping away at tar.
Step 3: Steering and Shifting
Maybe you remember the old pictures of the steering wheel (You have read all of my posts, RIGHT?!!). From the factory it's a lovely two-spoke stainless wheel with a thin plastic grip. Time and the dry air has taken it's toll on that grip. Gaps appear at random throughout, and no amount of scrubbing seems to get rid of that rough grimy texture on the backside. Time to sweep it all under the rug. In the spirit of my cheap dash repair, we'll simply cover up the problem with a luxurious leather wrap! The wrap is a Wheelskin purchased through IPD, and graciously (and expertly, I might add) laced on by my lovely, brilliant, kind (did I say lovely?) girlfriend. All done while killing it watching Jeapordy (Trebek, if you're reading this, we're still waiting to hear back on her online test!). Meanwhile I was banished to the garage to polish up the horn button and center trim because: 1) I'm terrible at trivia, and 2) My metal polish stinks something awful.
Shiny New Wheel Cover!
Sort of happening in the background of everything else, we've been sanding, polishing, and dipping the shift knob in a puddle of clear stain. It's really held up quite well to its abuse, but good gods does it soak up a lot of stain. The wooden shift knob is one of my favorite parts of the car. It goes something like this: Round headlights, shiny gauges, stainless grille, shift knob. I'm easy to please.
Shiny Old Shift Knob!
Coming up!
Also in various stages of work are building new door panels and cleaning out the old roofing-underlayment type sound damping from the floors and walls. I'll be laying in some new high-tech stuff before buttoning everything up. Stay tuned! You are going to stay tuned... Aren't you?
