Not the whole job. Just the wheel. That was probably the best $80 you ever spent. You tackled a big job and made it turn out great. And your comparison to the OEM pics showed you made the right call there also. Yours look just as good and you have money leftover for your next project. And with these cars there is always a NEXT project.

 

I guess the dash is done too. I mean there is some fine trimming to be done here and there but this is pretty much it. I’m loving the vintage grain, hope it’ll look good once it’s inside the car.

I didnt pay much attention to parts that will be covered with gauges or vents but those turned out pretty good too.

Here are some pics of the damn thing along with some more detailed ones. Keep in mind it’s still dusty and dirty, afer a good clean and cockpit spray it’ll be even better.

 

Spent last couple of days pulling the headliner parts and seat belts out of the car. Even managed to snap my t50 bit in half trying to un-sieze the belt bolts. Finaly got them off with german steel ratchet and bits.

In the mean time last part of the dash is wraped. The under steering wheel cover part (dunno the name of this one)


Before

After

After - back side

 

 

…and T frame is done. Dunno if it’s the right name but here’s a pic

 

That looks really good Mate! How are you shrinking this vinyl? Some photos of the process would be great for those of us who would love to learn to do this.
Thanks.
Oh, and great thread so far. Fantastic work!

 

Oh, sure, no problem. I’ll document the next piece.

Shrinking? You are probably talking about this part:



It is not shrinking, it is extending. Prepare a small wooden block (it just needs to be angular for you to press in with it, not the correct size) and then there are three steps:

1. You put glue on both the vinyl and the surface
2. With a heat gun heat both the UNDERSIDE of the vinyl and the surface until glue evaporates all liquid content (30 seconds on low setting making sure you dont hold it in one place more than couple of seconds, holding the heat gun from about 8-10 inches away from the surface you are heating)
3. Glue two materials together and asap press the block in the indentation to strech the vinyl to form within the crevice

Most important advice: work no more than 2x2 inches at the time or you’ll lose the heat. When you press hold the block pressed for at least 2 minutes. That’s why you need the heat gun, the glue needs to be instantly sticky. Clamps are helpfull here.

I’ll try to video document my next piece and post it here.

 

Well that part for sure. But also a lot of other contours as well. Looking forward to your instructions and pictures. Thanks!

 

I took the spare tire and entire mounting assembly out of mine a month ago to detail and repaint. It is done but I haven't found the motivation to reinstall everything. I took a step in the right direction by backing mine up on ramps the other night. Baby steps, haha! Meanwhile, you are doing amazing work, reupholstering seats from scratch and completely covering your dash. My hat is off to you. Truly amazing job you're doing there. Keep it up and keep the pics coming!

 

Thanks for the support, I’ll make sure I keep them coming.

 

You’ve asked for it…

So just not to think all is perfect, here is an issue that occured with the glove box. A giant bulge formed in the front.

By the looks of it, it seems that the old material underneath gave up or it was never glued correctly in the first place.

It was time to see what was going on.

Gently pry the lock out


with needle nose pliers unscrew the lock


This is how it will come out


Take the four screws out from the back


Peel off the new vinyl and here is the problem


we need to remove all of it and reupholster this panel



This is not leather, it is not the vinyl either. Just some kind of plastic moulded to dash.

This is bare plastic piece we are left with.



Now the new piece… cut to lenght leaving yourself a bit of material for a wiggle room.



Now add glue


make sure it covers every single bit of plastic, add the glue a bit thicker because we will fold the vinyl once for a glue stencil


after a fold we now see where we need to add glue on the vinyl side


Dry it with heat gun. Both vinyl and plastic side


once all the bubbles evaporated presss firmly from middle out


Repeat for the other side. Notice now we added glue to the lock indentation


After heating and firmly pressing the flat side, over the lock indentation we place some scrap vinyl and firmly press with a round object. Here the lock handle came in perfectly.



this is how it turned out


Now flip it and cut all the sides to 1/4 inch away from the plastic sides


Cut the corners by 45 degree angle but leave 1/8 inch of material from the corner as it will fold over the corner covering it up


again add glue and heat it up


Fold it over


and here is the final piece, notice the corners


now the lock… it will only go in one way. You need to insert the key first. When the backside locking mechanism is at 12 o clock as per standard, the cylinder will go in only when the handle tongue is pointing at 10 o’clock (in the picture I’m holding it the right way). Now before putting it all together you need to return it back to the dash with all 4 screws in place. Only then you can install the lock

This is how it is supposed to go in once everything is assembled. Oh, you need to raise the lock spring from the back side by your finger to allow the cylinder to slide in.


And there you go. Job done.


Now these are in order for rebuild and color change.



And as always, stay tuned…

 

Sneak peek of what’s planned for door panels

 

I guess now it’s time to panic

 

Those panels look pretty bad. Especially when you think about how much work you are going to put into them.I would suggest you get 2 used OEM panels. My 78 came with only one original door panel and I thought I would just buy 2 new ones so they matched. A big waste of money. If you research new panels you will see that they are plastic backing boards. The plastic will eventually start to warp with heat and cold. Then they look bad. And that is exactly what I discovered. So I found an original one in good shape. I repaired any cracks in both of the oem ones and then went on from there. Still working on them. FYI here is a link to a post here about replacement covers using your original boards. Not sure if it is an option for you in Croatia, but it worked well for this forum member. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...els-cheap.html.

 

To be honest i’m not that worried. I already found that topic you linked but these skins are not available anymore.

As for used door panels I have no option on buying them because I don’t know anyone in the USA, no option other than new in Europe and mine look waaay worse then they really are. It’s mostly water damage and surface rust. Only thing that worries me is replacing inner felt. Seems originals were held by some kind of staple wire going through metal (never saw that one).
I have to research this.

Thanks for the help.

As always I’ll post update progress

 

Did you try contacting the manufacturer of those skins via Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/A1upholsteryservicesYour panels don't look too much worse than mine were, it was mostly surface rust. The inner felts are stapled on, but you can replace them using self tapping screws as described in that thread, that worked for me.

 

Yes I tried and got no answer. Regarding panels, surface rust is on 95%, but corners started to go. I’ve cleaned it up and now rebuilding it. I’ll probably put a thin layer of plastic bondo over it. I found the upholstery glue sticks much better to bondo than to paint. It actually dissolves paint.
I’ll update when I’m done

 

Ok, ok

I know I shouldn’t be showing it just yet because I need to trim it and it’s missing the outer framing vinyl and it is not done and I need to make a pocket etc. but I am so psyched

This will be amazing on the doors

 

I like the mix and match of the fabrics. Glad you didn't do the whole panel with the pattern vinyl. I am telling you that you have the skill set for a new career. Very nice.

 

Those door panels will be awesome.
This is custom interior grade work and it is amazing.