Breathing Life Into a Neglected '75

jimmyx said:
Use some paper to make the rough patterns first for any tricky areas. Best way to cut the insulation is with a razor CARPET cutter (Lowe's or HD has them). Be extra careful with that cutter, it makes a razor blade look dull! Roll around openings, but not over the top of them. I start with the sides so I can cover the seams with the back sheet, but I don't think it makes much difference, just go with what looks right. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks. I took out the thin, particle board covering the side vent opening and remade it with fresh material - mine was a little sad. Good tip regarding rough patterns. And I believe I have a carpet cutter, and maybe even a cement board cutter as well. Glad I asked, as I didn’t think it would be difficult to cut.
 
tvmaster said:
Thanks. I took out the thin, particle board covering the side vent opening and remade it with fresh material - mine was a little sad. Good tip regarding rough patterns. And I believe I have a carpet cutter, and maybe even a cement board cutter as well. Glad I asked, as I didn’t think it would be difficult to cut.
Click to expand...
Not difficult, but tricky to cut a clean line through the aluminum skin without a very sharp blade. Need to use a fresh blade every few cuts too, and try to use a metal straight edge for cutting if possible.
 
Finally got a chance to roll this outside to get a decent view of the fender work. Had to work in a very tight space inside the garage so I couldn't step back to get a good view of the outcome. Don't know what I'd have done if it didn't come out right though:oops:
Keeping moving around the car, panel by panel to try and get this ready for paint. Battle scars are in no short supply it seems.

IMG_3722.jpg
IMG_3727.jpg

IMG_3725.jpg

IMG_3729.jpg

IMG_3730.jpg
 
On the spare tire back wall, is there a gap between it, and the engine firewall? There were those two stamp cut-outs we all soundproofed over, and it seemed like there was a small gap in there. Reason: I may need to mount a subwoofer right to the back tire well, but don‘t want to breach the engine firecwall. Any idea:

1C7E9F7D-BF34-49BE-8407-38D81FC8847C.jpeg
f
 
tvmaster said:
On the spare tire back wall, is there a gap between it, and the engine firewall? There were those two stamp cut-outs we all soundproofed over, and it seemed like there was a small gap in there. Reason: I may need to mount a subwoofer right to the back tire well, but don‘t want to breach the engine firecwall. Any idea:

View attachment 48503f
Click to expand...

What is the question? The firewall is a single skin between well & bay - you can see from the bay side that the heater hose grommet goes directly through, no dead space / 2nd wall.
 
lookforjoe said:
What is the question? The firewall is a single skin between well & bay - you can see from the bay side that the heater hose grommet goes directly through, no dead space / 2nd wall.
Click to expand...
The two cutouts closer to the bottom - when you look through there, it’s a cavity with another piece of steel on the other side. Just wondered how far UP the cavity goes, or is it curving up from below and terminates just above the cutouts…as I have no way yet to get underneath the car. And if it is, as you say, a single piece of steel, I’m thinking it’s not a great idea to drive screws into it from the spare side?
 
tvmaster said:
The two cutouts closer to the bottom - when you look through there, it’s a cavity with another piece of steel on the other side. Just wondered how far UP the cavity goes, or is it curving up from below and terminates just above the cutouts…as I have no way yet to get underneath the car. And if it is, as you say, a single piece of steel, I’m thinking it’s not a great idea to drive screws into it from the spare side?
Click to expand...
What you show outlined is the single skin. Between the bottom of the single skin and the bottom of the spare tire well is a structural crossmember. That is the area with the cutouts. That boxed member is hollow and the depth is visible through the cutouts. If you need to use a couple of screws to secure something, that is the area to use.
 
jimmyx said:
What you show outlined is the single skin. Between the bottom of the single skin and the bottom of the spare tire well is a structural crossmember. That is the area with the cutouts. That boxed member is hollow and the depth is visible through the cutouts. If you need to use a couple of screws to secure something, that is the area to use.
Click to expand...
Perfect, thanks.
 
Some of the parts we used to take for granted are getting pretty scarce. The thermostat housing on this one is in good shape, but the steel nipples had seen better days. Engine will include dual DCNFs, so I wanted to ditch the water choke line, as well as the manifold coolant feed. Replaced the steel nipples with brass barbs and installed a petcock at the high point to burp the system. Hopefully this has plenty of years of service life to go now.
IMG_3749.jpg

IMG_3750.jpg
 
jimmyx said:
I got the right side floor covered and am still waiting for the L/S pan to finish up the floors.

View attachment 42245

I cut the left side sound deadening and had some left over so I pulled out the original rats nest insulation in the spare tire well and finished that off as well.

View attachment 42246View attachment 42247

Moved on to the rear of the car to find and mitigate any other rust issues. I was expecting the worse on the lower trunk floor, but was really surprised by what I found. Really rare to find an early in this condition.

View attachment 42248

Only have found a few rust issues on this one. A dime sized hole in the back corner of the battery box. I wanted to keep this repair undetectable, so I cut out the damage (approximately 1/2" x 1/2") and JB welded an 18ga. patch in from the bottom. Finished it off from the top with Devcon epoxy putty and sanded smooth. Both floors had a couple of relatively minor problems and one 1/4" spot above the tailpipe on the valence that will need a small patch welded in. All in all it's really amazing for a 46 year old that has a reputation of turning to iron oxide.
Click to expand...
So, after doing the spare tire well with the Noico, I have some leftover - four sheets maybe, from the 10sq ft box.
Where, besides the floor under the carpet, would be the most useful place for it, inside the outer door skins?
 
I found this Eastwood stuff on the shelf that I must have bought for some long ago forgotten project. I never tried it, so I figured let's see if it can revive an oil filler cap that had seen better days cosmetically. Looks like light gold pearl. Zinc cromate plating? Not so much.
IMG_3800.jpg


IMG_3802.jpg
 
Got a call from my buddy that said my seats were back from upholstery yesterday and he would drop them off. Was excited until I got to see them in person. Upholstery by Stevie Wonder strikes again! Forgetting the little wrinkles (which is amateur hour in itself), how hard is it to color match the rest of the interior when given seats with large sections of the original vinyl intact? First rule of auto upholstery; if the match is not exact err on the side of a shade darker, never lighter. I think this car is jinxed. PO was colorblind and now the upholsterer is too. Disappointing to put all the effort into the rest of the interior and have these seats come out the way they did. Luckily the cost was minor so I'll beat them up for awhile and eventually get them redone. On the upside, I finally got to test the 3-point belts and they came out absolutely perfect, and with the Luisi wheel the leg clearance is stellar. If the seats would have been done correctly all would have been good. I guess they are better than the torn up upholstery that was there before, but not by much.

IMG_3815.jpg
 
Securon 500/14 mounted on the shelf, right? There’s a place down here in O.C. who get very high ratings for upholstery. Not sure they’re cheap though.

www.yelp.com

Auto Interiors of Mission Viejo - Mission Viejo, CA

34 reviews of Auto Interiors of Mission Viejo "My wife's Lexus has nearly 250,000 miles on it, but it has been cared for. The interior was showing its age, and she was not ready for a new one yet. We took it to Luis at Auto Interiors of Mission Viejo and are so happy that we did!! He and his...
www.yelp.com www.yelp.com
 
Had the same issue in my '77 although less severe of a contrast. Must just be a very weird factory color?

DSC01140.JPG
 
I see what you are talking about. The color is 2 or 3 shades lighter. Has for the wrinkles. They are less than my seats, with Factory covers and foam. I think your 1977 interior looks really good.
 
jimmyx said:
Got a call from my buddy that said my seats were back from upholstery yesterday and he would drop them off. Was excited until I got to see them in person. Upholstery by Stevie Wonder strikes again! Forgetting the little wrinkles (which is amateur hour in itself), how hard is it to color match the rest of the interior when given seats with large sections of the original vinyl intact? First rule of auto upholstery; if the match is not exact err on the side of a shade darker, never lighter. I think this car is jinxed. PO was colorblind and now the upholsterer is too. Disappointing to put all the effort into the rest of the interior and have these seats come out the way they did. Luckily the cost was minor so I'll beat them up for awhile and eventually get them redone. On the upside, I finally got to test the 3-point belts and they came out absolutely perfect, and with the Luisi wheel the leg clearance is stellar. If the seats would have been done correctly all would have been good. I guess they are better than the torn up upholstery that was there before, but not by much.

View attachment 49899
Click to expand...
The padded center console seems to be matching, but the door panel seems different than the rear and shelf. I would probably try dying the door cards and the rear in a darker shade. It is better to have a complete contrast than just a slightly different shade...
 
DanielForest said:
The padded center console seems to be matching, but the door panel seems different than the rear and shelf. I would probably try dying the door cards and the rear in a darker shade. It is better to have a complete contrast than just a slightly different shade...
Click to expand...
It's just the lighting in the photo. Everything original matches each other just the way the factory built it, it's only the seats that are odd man out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top