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81 Getting a new interior

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Old Nov 22, 2007 | 02:10 PM
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Default 81 Getting a new interior

I am going to redo the entire interior, so far just got it broken down and installed the new carpets. This project is a first for me. I also installed the new steering wheel.







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Old Nov 22, 2007 | 02:49 PM
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looking good, nice rust free car.
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Old Nov 22, 2007 | 05:23 PM
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Looking good so far. Keep us updated with more pictures
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Old Nov 23, 2007 | 11:38 PM
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I cleaned down my old seat rails with a wire brush, re-greased them then refinished them. I think they came out pretty good

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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 11:24 AM
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VERY nice car. That car is very original from what I can see. In pic 1 & 2 you see the black paint in the door by the door pin. Most guys that repaint a car miss that. Most body shops would tell you your crasy, the factory never did that. Keep pics of that.

Nice job
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 12:14 PM
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Wow! spedaleden, I never knew that.
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Ak. Mal
Wow! spedaleden, I never knew that.
Thats how you know if a car has been repainted or not. I know this is true for 80 thru 82. I don't know if this was done on earlier models
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 06:10 PM
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Originally Posted by spedaleden
Thats how you know if a car has been repainted or not. I know this is true for 80 thru 82. I don't know if this was done on earlier models
I'm amazed at what a person can learn!
Now, I've got a '81 Bowling Green two tone with "painted" door pin area. I cannot find any indication of repaint and the vin tag is spotless on and around it. Now I'm pretty sharp at spotting repaints. Are the two-tones on exception? Many be time for a new thread to keep the "hijack" down to a minimum.
JU
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 06:26 PM
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Lookin good.
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 07:21 PM
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While you've got the dash out, now would be a good time to change that 85mph speedo to a 140mph unit. Unless you are keeping it original
BTW your new ride looks as though it was taken care of fairly well, looks good. It sure did,nt take you long to start taking it apart. Good Luck, and more pics as you go along
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 08:04 PM
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I will keep the pics going as I go. Right now I am at a little stand still though. I basically ordered every single piece of the interior brand new and am waiting for it all to come in. I decided to go with a complete leather seats and door panels. I got the seats from MidAmerica and they look awesone(funny thing is that they are actuall Al Knoch seats).

I got all new screws, bulbs, bezels, etc. Basically the interior is going to be better than when it was new. I am lookng foward to see the leather door panels.

Now after seeing another post I guess I am going to wait to put the rest of the interior in until I get the outside done. A friend of mine owns a body shop and learned his trade in a corvette restoration shop. He is going to sand it down give her a few coats of silver, then new clearcoat.
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 08:21 PM
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Very nice job on the interior refresh. The seat brackets came out really well. Make sure to keep us posting with the progress and photos of the repaint.

I to did not know about the black paint on the door jam. Great site for new information!
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 09:15 PM
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Originally Posted by John Ulrich
I'm amazed at what a person can learn!
Now, I've got a '81 Bowling Green two tone with "painted" door pin area. I cannot find any indication of repaint and the vin tag is spotless on and around it. Now I'm pretty sharp at spotting repaints. Are the two-tones on exception? Many be time for a new thread to keep the "hijack" down to a minimum.
JU
I am not 100% positve, but my buddy had a two tone that came from bowling green with black around door pin area. It is possible that maybe lat in production they stoppped. But all the original cars that I've seen have the original black in door pin well
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 11:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Yankees031
I got the seats from MidAmerica and they look awesone(funny thing is that they are actuall Al Knoch seats).
For as many vendors as there are, there are only a couple of companies that actually manufacture parts. Everyone just sells a mixture of those parts. That's why it really pays to price shop everyone before purchasing.
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 11:47 PM
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If you do not mind me asking, how much was it to order all new interior parts?

Thanks
David
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 12:08 AM
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When all is said and done it will probably run me about 3500-4000. In the past I would have paid to get it done or just got something new but this is always something I wanted to to and so far I am really enjoying it.

I actually finished all of the exposed large bolts the same way

Last edited by Yankees031; Nov 25, 2007 at 01:17 AM.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 03:26 PM
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I dyed my old seat hinge covers and I will do the same with the buckets.



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Old Dec 10, 2007 | 07:28 PM
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Default Seats Done

I dyed the seat pans and got all Leather seats

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