Thanks for the kind words, Peter. Please allow me to offer whatever encouragement I can to help you complete your restoration...there have been a number of days over the past couple years that I would just as soon stayed inside, and it was a real battle forcing myself to get out in the garage to continue. Now that visible strides are being made it's a lot easier to maintain my motivation but it really was a struggle for awhile there...

As with so many things, success at these things depends a lot more on perspiration than inspiration. Here's hoping for success on your project-these cars need to be preserved!

 

Finally wrapped up the carpet installation over the last weekend...the pictures aren't the best; for some reason I was shaking I guess, but anyway here they are...

Initially I fitted and installed the driver's side floor carpeting. Not all that big a deal EXCEPT that the carpeting piece supplied by ACC was barely big enough on the outer edge to tuck under the sill plate. Unlike the passenger side, which was absolutely huge, a lot less had to be cut off of this side to make it fit.

Additionally, I bought some extra insulation when I purchased the carpet set, and much of it turned out to be redundant...all I wound up using was the two pieces that fit directly under the seats. The kitted carpeting already had jute insulation in the places where the other insulation would have gone, so much of it went unused. I'd have better spent the $$$ on something else.

Then I dragged out the rusty [original] jack, cleaned it up, repainted it with Rustoleum, greased it, and stowed it-




While that was baking in the first warm sunshine of the season I fitted the rear bulkhead carpeting...



After which I could install the center console, park brake cover, interior side trim pieces, and the beauty strips on the door jambs. Next thing to go in was the passenger side dash...



Then finally I cleaned up the seats and reinstalled those-



Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way the carpet went in. This part of the job is a huge PITA because none of this stuff fits nearly as well as you'd really like it to, so you have to be very careful not to get carried away when trimming it to size. I did make a couple very minor errors when trimming but they're not visible- only me and God know about them, and basically I've now got a nice new interior to go with my nice new exterior...Birdsmith very happy!

Next? THE DOORS!!!

 

You are the man! That looks awesome, my wife started cplaiming a little about the money I have been spending on the car. I think I will take her through your thread to show her how cheap we are getting off on our new car! Yours looks like brand new!

 

That was last year's tax return...I told wifey I was keeping a grand. When I saw how nasty and ratty the old stuff looked I am SOOOOOO happy I replaced it...it feels like 1970 all over again when I sit in it now (except for the extra 50 ls. or so)

 

Just to bump things along...pictures to come.

I began assembly and installation of the doors over the weekend...everything went pretty well with the following exceptions:

I purchased all of my replacement parts from Corvette America last year just to try and a)simplify things and b) reduce shipping expenses. Parts I purchased included carpet (acceptable quality but not outstanding), some replacement trim pieces (good quality) and weatherstrip and felts for the doors (absolute crap)...

I installed the weatherstrips first, then installed the latch mechanisms, then hung the doors. When I tried to close the doors the porkiness of the new weatherstrips made doing so rather difficult- I practically had to slam them to get them to shut all the way. Tolerable, but not really what I expected.

After that, I installed the window regulators, tracks, and the windows themselves, then went to install the shiny new outer felts into the doors before adjusting the windows. Half of the locating dowels in the new felts were so far mislocated that it was impossible to put them into their respective holes, AND they were one size larger in diameter than the ones that came off of the doors. I tried removing and reinstalling a couple of the dowels on the left side strip, and mashing the dowels down with vise-grips in order to get them to fit the holes, but after awhile I had destroyed the piece...

When I looked at the corresponding felt that attaches to the inner door panel, I noticed that the originals were attached with staples and it really wouldn't be possible to use those new pieces either...

What I wound up doing was putting the doors back together with the old felts which were completely worn out, just so I could get the car back together...

Does anybody out there know of a vendor that sells C3 door felts that actually FIT? I will be inquiring of CA to see if they'll take these pieces of crap back...if not, I'll have to eat them and I guess I just won't be buying from them anymore...

The real frustration in this is that I would have been DONE with the car this weekend had I not run into this little issue...grrrrr

 

Sorry to hear about your issues with the felt, I'd be interested in hearing of where you can get good/correct felts as well...

 

I'll be having to do this as well... Hate that you're having this issue, especially when it means being done or NOT...

Rogman

 

...If someone else on these pages can benefit from my misadventure here then I will have recovered something. It just sucks that when I go down to Autozone to buy parts for my [whatever] they fit fine but when I go to Corvette America to buy $50 worth of door felts fo my C3 they...don't fit AT ALL, nor can they be made to fit.

I had seen a couple posts here where people were complaining about the poor fit of some of Corvette America's interior panels, but I figured they should be able to at least get something as simple as door felts right...I guess that was too much to ask.

Having been a semi-competent airframe/ sheetmetal/ composite mechanic for some 38 years now I have always prided myself on the ability to take repair parts from suppliers (whose fit properties were almost routinely worse than what CA sells) and massage them into correct fit and function. That's important, because airplane parts cost even MORE than Corvette parts. These things are beyond hope though; they're just useless trash not fit for anything.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm gonna go ahead and screw the rest of the car together with the old door felts (glad I didn't throw them away!) and I'll replace them when I can find some that actually do fit. I won't be driving this car in the rain anyway...

 

Am still at the carpet and wiring stage but doors are coming up. Like you I got all the weatherstrip at CA. When you say "weatherstrip and felts for the doors (absolute crap)" are you just referring to the felt or both weatherstrip and felt? My stuff is still in the original packaging and I can return it still.

If memory serves they offer three different qualities for weatherstrip. Which did you choose? The "porkiness" of fresh weatherstrip is pretty common. It will wear in.

I suspect corvette-rubber.com might have been a better choice as I got my rear window seal from them and it looks pretty good. They advertise in Hemmings as the source and I wish I had looked there first as I probably could have saved a bunch of money.

I did not get the felt yet so I will be interested in what you get. The other supplier that I've gotten accurate replacements from is Doc Rebuild. They are a touch persnickety but the parts are always first rate.

Cliff

 

I am going to have to re weatherstrip mine after paint. I will be watching to see if anyone weighs in on the best options there.

 

I got my watherstrip from Willcox, he only sells one brand but I'm not sure which it is. It fit well with the exception of the B pillars, they leak no matter how much I tried to get them adjusted. I have bought a set of B pillar weatherstrip from Rockauto hoping it would be thicker, and it is, I just haven't taken the time to put it on yet and adjust the glass - yet again!!

 

Actually, I painted the car yellow 12 years ago, and I replaced all of the weatherstrip with Corvette Rubber pieces. the doors weren't as hard to close with those on as with the stuff I bought from CA. the doors are starting to loosen up a bit though- I don't have to shove them closed nearly as firmly as I did two days ago so I expect they'll be fine. They're not 'crap', just not as good as what I had previously.

As for the felts, I was specifically referring to the outer pieces that attach to the door itself. The little buttons that press into the mating holes in the door are a larger diameter than the ones that the car came with, making them impossible to press into the holes withpout enlarging the holes, and I'm not willing to do that. Additionally, they are incorrectly spaced apart, so they wouldn't fit even if they WERE the right diameter. I actually tried removing a couple of them and re-attaching them in the correct locations, but that obviously requires a special tool which I of course didn't have so I only wound up making a bad situation worse. These are part #'s "2270" and "2271".

In the grand scheme this is really a little thing, but I really hate throwing money away...

 

Hi Bird,
Supposedly Corvette Central has reproduced an outer door seal that fits.
I'm referring to the one that's a ss bead with a rubber flap.
I believe the 'flap' changed size during the years it was used in production so the one's that CC sells is "more correct" for some years than others, but supposedly does fit.
Regards,
Alan

Take a look at 283061 & 62.

 

Alan, I think I'll give those a try. Thank you for the info- there's also a really useful tutorial on how to adjust the door glass and replace the weatherstrip and felts...The driver's side went together pretty well; the glass on that side is adjusted better than it's ever been, but I had a little problem with the passenger side and I think from the tutorial I can see the solution.

You're the best, Bro!

 

Finally I got a few minutos to post some last pics.

(1) Door assembly...there is one correct sequence, and it goes like this: (1) Install the rear latch, upper latch, and lock mechanism (2) Put the little plastic cover thingy on, then hang the door on the car while it is still light (3) Install the rest of the latch mechanism (4) Install the window regulator and horizontal adjuster channel (5)Install the window sliders (6) Feed the channel into which the glass bolts onto the upper regulator rollers and down into the aft channel (7) Drop the glass into the door and attach it to the channel (8) Attach the top trim piece and outer felt (9) Install the front and lower covers (10)Install the little fuzzy things and adjust the glass (11) Put up the plastic vapor barrier (12) Install the inner door panel (13) install the door pull, lock ****, and crank, and last (14) Install the mirror.




I didn't show many of the pictures for simplicity's sake, but you get the general idea. I actually, finally broke down and purchased an AIM while attending the Super-Fabulous Big 3 swap meet at Qualcomm stadium in San Diego a couple weekends ago, specifically to get a little insight as to how the doors should be assembled. it really wasn't much help, and to tell the truth I could have done the job just as fast and easily without it. it's not like plastic model instructions where they tell you "Put part 13 onto part 19 etc." It's really just a bunch of exploded views that shows the general relationship and orientation of the various different parts...the little tutorial that I downloaded from Corvette Central's website the other day really WAS helpful in getting the windows properly adjusted.

Oh, and a before/after shot of the infamous Corvette America door felts...



...I guess with any job like this you reach the point eventually where you just flip out, cuss, and smash something. This was that point for me

Anyway, after that little tantrum, I settled down and got to work finishing the doors. as mentioned before they are a bit difficult to close still because of the fat weatherstrips but they are getting better with each passing day, and the side windows are adjusted better than they have ever been since I've owned the car. I finished putting the doors together yesterday after work, then today I torqued down the wheels, shined up the hubcaps, put those on, and took it out for a little drive down the street...



At this point there's really not much left to do...I have a short little laundry list of things to fix, I've got to clean up and reinstall the spare tire and carrier (I might actually disassemble that, blast the frame, paint the tub, etc.) adjust the headlights, and bleed the brakes (there is an unnerving jump to the right when I step on the pedal with any authority) but really it's about done. This will probably be my next-to-last post here. Hopefully this was slightly educational and even entertaining for y'all, and please allow me to offer a sincere THANK YOU!!!!! to all those of you that were kind enouigh to look in and offer advice and comments during the ride- the end result was far better because of your help. Cheers!!

 

Corvette looks fantastic!!!

Super job and much thanks for the education as I followed the thread along the way!!!

 

Yes, Willcox. Here's the link:

http://willcoxcorvette.com/product_i...ducts_id=15422

You'll definitely notice the difference in price but the quality of the door felts is night and day different.

 

Wow. Just, wow.

 

She sure looks perdy

 

GREAT JOB!! I followed along as im doing a frame off on a 78. Thanks for takeing the time to document and post. I enjoyed it !!. Now enjoy. Frank.