Should I do my own interior?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,416
Likes: 8
From: Charlotte (Area) North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Should I do my own interior?
I want to do my interior (door panels, carpet and seats) Is this something I can do myself? What tools will I need? I know there will be people that say "Yes you can do it all by yourself" but are these the same people that say I can pull my engine out and rebuild it?(which I can't) How hard is it? I am not someone who would take on a HUGE project,but I think I can do an interior. Any thoughts? Any novice ever take this on? Thanks! 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 3,126
Likes: 15
Hi Ian. I would not try to recover the seats myself. From what I know about this they are not easy to get right. The rest is pretty straight forward. The carpet on the storage doors can be difficult also. Ck. with Willcox they had a special on interiors with seat recovering included. It may have expired by now. Good luck with it, mike...
Last edited by mds3013; Feb 13, 2011 at 09:33 PM.
TheCorvetteBen
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,987
Likes: 144
From: Van Alstyne, TX
Too bad your not in DFW. Id restore your interior for you. That is my favorite thing to do on these cars! but what Mike said is true. Get the seats done by a profesional, and you can tackle the rest. Willcox is the best vendor I think for interior pieces
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,192
Likes: 7
From: Wentzville MO
I am in the process of finishing my interior on my 78. It was not that difficult for me. That being said I installed car stereo's in the early 80's so got to be pretty good at taking interior pieces apart and replacing. I completely gutted my car and replaced or repaired everything.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,714
Likes: 42
From: Austin Texas
You can do it yourself but you probably will not enjoy it. The seats will be tedious. Look at the major suppliers catalogs for a kit with the tools needed for this job.
Carpet is easy enough to do yourself but be very careful. Its one of those deals where its easier to cut off then to add on.
I have never done it before and think I did a pretty good job for my first time.
Carpet is easy enough to do yourself but be very careful. Its one of those deals where its easier to cut off then to add on.
I have never done it before and think I did a pretty good job for my first time.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,003
Likes: 48
From: hickory NC
C4 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
2017 C4 of Year Finalist
Are you talking about doing a custom interior? Or a factory look?
Did mine last summer, took a whole day to strip the interior(minus dash) and install all new parts.
Seats with tracks
Carpet
Console
Door panels
Steering wheel
piece of cake.
No special tools really.
Did mine last summer, took a whole day to strip the interior(minus dash) and install all new parts.
Seats with tracks
Carpet
Console
Door panels
Steering wheel
piece of cake.
No special tools really.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 10,977
Likes: 19
From: Canboro Ontario
It can be a bit of work, but you can do it, if you have the patience and a little talent, I did my own, with mostly new parts and some parts I dyed. I also redid my own seats, frame refurb, new foam and new leather.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,114
From: Crossville TN
Refurbishing the interior is not a difficult task. You need to have a place to disassemble it and store the parts plus workspace for some repair/rebuild work. If you have above average DIY capabilities, you should have no trouble. The interior is put together with screws; the trick is to remove them [and reassemble them] in the right order. That is why you must have a copy of the AIM (factory Assembly Instruction Manual) for your year car.
You need to disassemble the interior...carefully so you don't damage/break any 40 year old parts. Then you need to clean and inspect all of the parts. ALL of them should be reused, or repaired and reused, unless they are unsalvageable. This is because of cost for new parts, but also because 'new' parts just don't fit right many times. Then, all of the vinyl/plastic parts need to be re-dyed using vinyl dye--NOT PAINT!!! SEM ColorCoat is great stuff, easy to use and will make your interior look just like 'factory new'.
Whichever way you choose to go, good luck.
You need to disassemble the interior...carefully so you don't damage/break any 40 year old parts. Then you need to clean and inspect all of the parts. ALL of them should be reused, or repaired and reused, unless they are unsalvageable. This is because of cost for new parts, but also because 'new' parts just don't fit right many times. Then, all of the vinyl/plastic parts need to be re-dyed using vinyl dye--NOT PAINT!!! SEM ColorCoat is great stuff, easy to use and will make your interior look just like 'factory new'.
Whichever way you choose to go, good luck.
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Drifting
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,560
Likes: 4
From: Arlington texas
Hi Ian. I would not try to recover the seats myself. From what I know about this they are not easy to get right. The rest is pretty straight forward. The carpet on the storage doors can be difficult also. Ck. with Willcox they had a special on interiors with seat recovering included. It may have expired by now. Good luck with it, mike...
Farm out the seats and do the rest yourself. Pull up some threads of people who have done the interiors. A ton of them out there and you'll be able to judge for yourself. You could probably do the seats too but they are probably the hardest part of the interior so pay someone to do them and get them done right.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
I say roll your own. I bought seat covers and an installation kit for my 77 and the only specialty tool I needed was a set of hog ring pliers. I did my seats in a day, cold start first timer. The carpet install is going to be much the worse of the two jobs... gutting the interior is a major pain; but requires only normal tools and some patience (and good photo documentation and a whole box of ziplock baggies).
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,416
Likes: 8
From: Charlotte (Area) North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Thanks for all the replies! I think I will give it a go. Whats the worse thing that could happen? 
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,160
Likes: 4,236
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi,
I think it's pretty rewarding work.
For the carpet.... you need to avoid the urge to cut until you're absolutely sure.
For the seats... leave one intact so you can use it as a reference for the first one you do.
For the door panels.... pray that they'll fit.
Regards,
Alan
I think it's pretty rewarding work.
For the carpet.... you need to avoid the urge to cut until you're absolutely sure.
For the seats... leave one intact so you can use it as a reference for the first one you do.
For the door panels.... pray that they'll fit.
Regards,
Alan
Last edited by Alan 71; Feb 14, 2011 at 05:33 PM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,416
Likes: 8
From: Charlotte (Area) North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
NCM Sinkhole Donor
As always Alan, I can't believe your car is 40 years old! It looks like it is on the showroom floor! If mine could look 1/2 as good as yours I would be ecstatic!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
A late thought... spring for new seat foam. I recycled my original, and beefed it up with some batting, but my covers still dont sit as smooth as Alan71s. If I were to do it again I would replace since the foam tends to shrink/compress as it ages.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,160
Likes: 4,236
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi,
I first put the seat covers on using the original foam because I'd read that new foam made the seats look too puffy' compared to the typical originals.
The covers were about as wrinkly as my 66 year old butt.
So I took them back off. Got new foam and put them back on. I used a hair dryer and LOT'S of time to get them smooth. They are a bit 'puffy'.
I tried the hair dryer on my butt but it didn't seem to help.
Regards,
Alan
I first put the seat covers on using the original foam because I'd read that new foam made the seats look too puffy' compared to the typical originals.
The covers were about as wrinkly as my 66 year old butt.
So I took them back off. Got new foam and put them back on. I used a hair dryer and LOT'S of time to get them smooth. They are a bit 'puffy'.
I tried the hair dryer on my butt but it didn't seem to help.
Regards,
Alan
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
From: St. Louis MO
I also am getting ready to redo my interior on my 80. I just got it last month and the interior is the only thing that needs redone.
I went back and forth on doing it myself or having it done. For one I don't want to pay to have it done and two I think I can do all the work myself.
And so I don't have to install the seat covers I am just going to get the new seat foam with the covers already installed. Just like previously said everything else is just taking it apart and putting it back together.
I have never done work like that before but I am good at DIY stuff so I am going to give it a shot. I will take before and after pics to post on here.
Thanks for everyones input and helping me decide to tackle it myself!
I went back and forth on doing it myself or having it done. For one I don't want to pay to have it done and two I think I can do all the work myself.
And so I don't have to install the seat covers I am just going to get the new seat foam with the covers already installed. Just like previously said everything else is just taking it apart and putting it back together.
I have never done work like that before but I am good at DIY stuff so I am going to give it a shot. I will take before and after pics to post on here.
Thanks for everyones input and helping me decide to tackle it myself!
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,160
Likes: 4,236
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi Bill,
I think the thing I learned most of all while working on my car is to not feel bad if you don't get it the way you'd like the first time.
I can probably count on one hand the things that didn't need to be redone at least once.
So give it a try!!!!
Nothing beats working on an old car. (Well, maybe one or two things do!)
Regards,
Alan
I think the thing I learned most of all while working on my car is to not feel bad if you don't get it the way you'd like the first time.
I can probably count on one hand the things that didn't need to be redone at least once.
So give it a try!!!!
Nothing beats working on an old car. (Well, maybe one or two things do!)
Regards,
Alan
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,900
Likes: 2
From: Nixa Missouri
DIY!! Take your time. If your not sure about something take pictures and post them here for help. Try not to set a finish date. It's finished when it's finished.
I rebuilt my seats and have never rebuilt seats prior to that and they came out perfect if I say so my self, and I was able to pat my self on the back for re-building them.
I rebuilt my seats and have never rebuilt seats prior to that and they came out perfect if I say so my self, and I was able to pat my self on the back for re-building them.