Breathing Life Into a Neglected '75

Looking good. Who did you get your carpet kit from?

This is the 2nd set I've ordered from them. There are different grades of carpet, but I wouldn't recommend anything but their "best quality" listing (whatever that is exactly). They will make a set out of Wilton Wool or anything else if one were so inclined. Not cheap (shipping is a killer), and long production time, but super easy to install and looks as good or better than what the car came with originally. I've got the passenger side basically done, and hope to have it all wrapped up by this weekend.

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So, that seam down the middle doesn’t bug you at all? I’m thinking when you’re in the driver’s seat it wouldn’t be as noticeable. I like the idea of easy installation. And your comments about after-market carpet: you don’t think a good, interior refresh shop could do a job close to factory?
 
So, that seam down the middle doesn’t bug you at all? I’m thinking when you’re in the driver’s seat it wouldn’t be as noticeable. I like the idea of easy installation. And your comments about after-market carpet: you don’t think a good, interior refresh shop could do a job close to factory?
Once the console goes back in the only seam really visible is behind the seats. A good trim shop can run circles around the factory, or a dyi job, but the cost for that is not cheap. A run of the mill shop can do it for less, but with trim work, as with most things, you get what you pay for. When I say the install is easy, it comes from the perspective of someone that has installed numerous carpets in various vehicles, and I find the multi-piece kits the easiest. Carpet is not hard theoretically, but it is very unforgiving. Once you make those cuts, there is no going back. Trying to accurately cut the parking brake, shifter, seat tracks, and throttle pedal locations in a 1 piece kit is a nightmare and rarely if ever comes out exactly right - ask anyone who has done it.
 
Another thing off the check sheet.......... Pretty happy how what was bought as a parts car is coming out, but I need to finish up the body and get it into paint and leave the rest of the mechanicals for a later date - this is sucking the oxygen away from the K20 right now which is not a good thing.

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Are the carpet pieces in the forward wells stuck down with something so they don’t move?
Not yet, still waiting for the snaps to be delivered. Two get installed at the rear edge on each side. Similar to the way most mats are installed in modern cars. The mats will not be retained at all. They have spike grip bottoms and are too heavy and tightly fitted to the footwell contours to move.

 
Definitely post pics of that when they arrive. Sounds good. My Bertone top-rugs move around like nuts on top of the factory carpet.
 
Some final thoughts on the carpet installation that might be helpful. The only product to use as an adhesive is Weldwood Contact Adhesive - Landau Top. It's not sold to consumers but you can find an ebay seller that won't ask any questions with no problem. It only comes in gallons or larger so you need to transfer a working quantity to a glass container. Scoop it out of the can with a plastic cup so the lid edge of the can remains clean. You can hammer the top back on and seal it in a 2 gal. freezer bag to make sure it is air tight - it pretty much will last forever. It is a VERY potent solvent and will eat your vinyl, carpet backing, etc. if not applied correctly. For carpet, just a thin coat with a chip brush on the backing is needed. Thin means thin. If you have globs of adhesive anywhere it's too much. Don't worry about coating every square inch as it's not necessary. If you are using this stuff on vinyl (door cards, etc.) it must be sprayed outdoors as the vapors are a flash fire/explosion hazard. On thin vinyl a brush application, even a light application will normally either eat the material or soften it so badly that it is unusable. Once the adhesive on both surfaces are dry and the two pieces are pressed together, never try to peel them apart to reposition them. The carpet backing will separate and you'll be left with some interesting holes. For those thinking the 3M Heavy Duty spray is a better alternative, it might work for some things, but it doesn't have the holding power on heavy material like carpeting. The job will be ok for a period of time but will start to come loose in a few months to a year.

The multi-piece kits do not come with any attached underlayment. Many times floors have had a Dynamat type deadener applied prior to installing the carpet, but that is not a substitute for underlayment. I only use underlayment in one place in the X and that is in the foot wells. Unless your pans are smooth as silk (and trust me they are not), any welding slag, uneven seam sealer, or whatever will wear a hole in the carpeting from the pressure of your feet, and a thick floor mat is not a solution. The carpet backing needs cushioning protection from the bottom, not the top. Any cheap stuff will do. NAPA sells a 3/8" foil backed felt composite roll that easily does two foot wells for under $30. I think the brand name is Thermo Guard. Hope this helps!
 
Think a pedal box is a PITA? Not sure if it's this particular car, or the harness engineer's bonus was based on how many mm were saved, but this one is a bear, and that's with some harness sections lengthened a little. Dental pics, flexible claws, and tell-tales are definitely your friend trying to get this back right.

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Yeah, I get nervous anytime the console is coming out. Short spaghetti
I will seriously consider selling it if the console ever has to come out again! If the heater core goes out, oh well, it's So-Cal so it will stay out before I remove the console, lol.
 
I have been avoiding the front fender repair, but it has to get done, so today was the day to start. Most of this prior repair was originally covered in 1/4-3/8" of plastic filler. If I were a pro at lead it would have none, but I'm far from it so the final repair will have a very thin skim coat to cover the imperfections in the lead and whatever else I've missed. Once everything looks passable, I'll spray a coat of rust encapsulator over the area, followed by 2K primer. Any filler will go over the primer. The reason is, the tinning solution gives off acidic gasses that flash rust any bare steel around including the panel you are working on. Sanding gets most of it, but it's far safer to treat it now than have it ruin the new paint later.

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I have to get all the hydraulics bled. Cap is drilled 0.43 for a high pressure valve stem (not that there is any high pressure, but the name of that type of stem). A cheap 0-160 lb. regulator that's easily controlled down to about 2 lbs. of pressure. I didn't want to go the inner tube route because I need to flush a lot of old fluid out of the lines and calipers and the reservoirs are small requiring taking the tube off constantly to refill. Also, not sure about using a band clamp around plastic threads? Made 3 caps so I can move from clutch to rear to front before reloading. Seems logical, but the proof is if it works - which is TBD.........

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That will work, but the pressure bleeders that they sell, will feed fluid under pressure.

To make yours easier to use, add a shut off valve, between the regulator and the cap, that way it will be easy to shut off to remove the cap and add fluid. Also a hand pump is really all that is needed, will be easier to control the low air pressure wanted. Should only need about 5 psi, if more is needed to get fluid to move, something is wrong.
 
That will work, but the pressure bleeders that they sell, will feed fluid under pressure.

To make yours easier to use, add a shut off valve, between the regulator and the cap, that way it will be easy to shut off to remove the cap and add fluid. Also a hand pump is really all that is needed, will be easier to control the low air pressure wanted. Should only need about 5 psi, if more is needed to get fluid to move, something is wrong.
I have the regulator set to 3 lbs. I fill the reservoir crack the bleeder and apply the pressure to flush the lines. The reservoir is not fed constant pressure - it's pressurized when required just like filling a tire (long end of regulator is a tire chuck so no shut-off needed). All that is needed is just a little over atmospheric pressure to get the fluid moving. I thought about a hand pump but most have a clamp type outlet to attach to the stem that requires pressure to seat it properly. Not a good thing on plastic components. Real pressure bleeders are the best, but quality units are expensive for what they are and the limited times I'll ever use it.
 
Another choice is to remove the hose from the reservoir completely and use a hand pumped garden sprayer attached directly to the hose to the master cylinder. The large tank versions have a hand valve that you can regulate when any fluid is introduced. Put a quart of brake fluid in the tank and then pump it up as needed. One can add a pressure gauge if one wishes but in general only a few pumps on the tank are needed at anytime. This way you don’t have the possibility of blowing up a reservoir which would not be a good thing.

Work one caliper at a time to flush all the fluid from the specific circuit.

Once complete release the pressure in the sprayer tank, break the connection and place the clean reservoir on the line, secure it and fill it with fluid.
 
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I have been avoiding the front fender repair, but it has to get done, so today was the day to start. Most of this prior repair was originally covered in 1/4-3/8" of plastic filler. If I were a pro at lead it would have none, but I'm far from it so the final repair will have a very thin skim coat to cover the imperfections in the lead and whatever else I've missed. Once everything looks passable, I'll spray a coat of rust encapsulator over the area, followed by 2K primer. Any filler will go over the primer. The reason is, the tinning solution gives off acidic gasses that flash rust any bare steel around including the panel you are working on. Sanding gets most of it, but it's far safer to treat it now than have it ruin the new paint later.

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I've just learned about lead body repair before seeing your post here. Where did you learn how to do it? Are there any references or manuals you've used?

To me it's a no brainer that it would be a more permanent option.
 
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