Pictures included. Pretty self explanatory.
Not really a restoration ... more like a good old fashioned scrubbin' with some stuff added. Started on this yesterday by ripping out the interior. Two major issues were on the top of my list: 1. Get the heater core plenum sealed against the firewall. Shop did the core years ago and snow was blowing out the bottom of the plenum last winter. Was the first winter she sat outside in years. 2. Make sure there's no rust on the floor below the plenum.
The Plenum: I have never had a plenum fight me so hard before. Five hours to get it seated on the studs. Why wasn't it flush with the firewall and leaking in snow and rain? The plenum-to-firewall gasket was folded up, leaving a large gap. Not only was rain/snow an issue, but when running heat or a/c, neither would heat/cool the interior because of the gap. At this point, it seems to be fixed.
The Rust: I got off lucky. The front grommet on the floor had a small amount of surface rust around it. Ground it clean and coated it with Rust Encapsulator. Also, I found that the factory under carpet padding was soaked. Since I was adding new padding, I just cut and removed the soggy crap.
The Carpet: I was hoping to replace this one with either a nicer used one or a new one, but cost and time didn't match up. Original carpet is in decent shape. Only two small wear spots at the driver's position. Broke out the Bissel carpet cleaner and went to work. Odd thing I found was that the locations of the rear factory floor mats were somewhat discolored. The carpet cleaned up better than expected. New padding was laid down under the carpet. Same material 87gtVIC used in his car. And, yes, it was a bitch to cut.
The Seats: I was tired of my ass sitting on worn out padding, so I decided to re-pad both front seats. Driver's seat took two 1-inch thick sheets of foam padding. Lower sheet was glued to a sheet of burlap for protection from the springs, and was cut large enough to cover the whole seat section. Second sheet of padding was cut smaller and only covered the ass portion of the seat. Passenger seat took one sheet of padding with burlap. Also, the lumbar portion of both seats were pretty well shot. Cut a smaller section of padding and installed between factory foam and seat frame. Used two small strips of double-sided trim tape to secure them. The end result was alright. Lumbar worked out good. The driver's seat is as low as it goes and I still sit mighty high, but it should settle after use. Passenger seat came out perfect. Seats were also shampooed.
Dash is next on the list. Found out I messed up my gauge wiring when fighting the plenum, so that needs to be fixed. Need to dig out my nicer gauge/speedometer cluster and install. Got my Wheelskins leather wheel wrap last week, so that will go in last.
Not really a restoration ... more like a good old fashioned scrubbin' with some stuff added. Started on this yesterday by ripping out the interior. Two major issues were on the top of my list: 1. Get the heater core plenum sealed against the firewall. Shop did the core years ago and snow was blowing out the bottom of the plenum last winter. Was the first winter she sat outside in years. 2. Make sure there's no rust on the floor below the plenum.
The Plenum: I have never had a plenum fight me so hard before. Five hours to get it seated on the studs. Why wasn't it flush with the firewall and leaking in snow and rain? The plenum-to-firewall gasket was folded up, leaving a large gap. Not only was rain/snow an issue, but when running heat or a/c, neither would heat/cool the interior because of the gap. At this point, it seems to be fixed.
The Rust: I got off lucky. The front grommet on the floor had a small amount of surface rust around it. Ground it clean and coated it with Rust Encapsulator. Also, I found that the factory under carpet padding was soaked. Since I was adding new padding, I just cut and removed the soggy crap.
The Carpet: I was hoping to replace this one with either a nicer used one or a new one, but cost and time didn't match up. Original carpet is in decent shape. Only two small wear spots at the driver's position. Broke out the Bissel carpet cleaner and went to work. Odd thing I found was that the locations of the rear factory floor mats were somewhat discolored. The carpet cleaned up better than expected. New padding was laid down under the carpet. Same material 87gtVIC used in his car. And, yes, it was a bitch to cut.
The Seats: I was tired of my ass sitting on worn out padding, so I decided to re-pad both front seats. Driver's seat took two 1-inch thick sheets of foam padding. Lower sheet was glued to a sheet of burlap for protection from the springs, and was cut large enough to cover the whole seat section. Second sheet of padding was cut smaller and only covered the ass portion of the seat. Passenger seat took one sheet of padding with burlap. Also, the lumbar portion of both seats were pretty well shot. Cut a smaller section of padding and installed between factory foam and seat frame. Used two small strips of double-sided trim tape to secure them. The end result was alright. Lumbar worked out good. The driver's seat is as low as it goes and I still sit mighty high, but it should settle after use. Passenger seat came out perfect. Seats were also shampooed.
Dash is next on the list. Found out I messed up my gauge wiring when fighting the plenum, so that needs to be fixed. Need to dig out my nicer gauge/speedometer cluster and install. Got my Wheelskins leather wheel wrap last week, so that will go in last.
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