I just purchased a 1973 convert. and the seats (including foam) and carpet all need replacing. I have been shopping around prices for these items as well as a heat shield/padding for under carpet, door panels, and storage boxes. It seems like Willcox has the best prices.

My question is how easy/hard would it be for me to do all this myself for the first time? I obviously want to purchase all the product from the same place and at the same time to color match. How detailed are the installation kits? Any advice tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks !

 

Al Knock is the interior vendor of choice to most guys doing restorations.

 

Do you have a website for Al or what mags. he advertises in?

Thanks

 

My experience with an Al Knock dash pad for my 78 has not been good.

much of the detail indentations were lost, so bad that I had to clip the speaker grill tabs and screw on the grills...very tacky for a $400 piece. Many other fit up headaches, but the grille is so obvious it was a hugh disappointment.

just my $.02

Ken (molchaser)

 

i just finished mine and i posted a bunch of info and pix...
if you want to check them out search SIGNGUY / C-3 section both recent and archives...


[Modified by SIGNGUY, 6:27 AM 11/8/2003]

 

I got all my stuff from The Last Detail. Found their prices to be very competitive, in fact lower than the advertised prices of their supplier. Was not that difficult. Just time consuming.

 

I have heard alot on here about "The Last Detail", do they have a website or how can I get information about them. I'm in the process of doing my interior and would like to compare their prices to the ones I have. Thanks any help would be appreciated.

YBNormal...drive a vette
www.angelfire.com/al/swhite7/vette.html

 

Depending on what you want to do with your car driver/show, you may want to check out Corvette America. They sometimes have what they call NQP (not quite perfect) interior parts for sale.
I bought a set of black deluxe door panels for my 75 driver and they are very nice, I would buy them again.
I paid $475.00 delivered to my door

Hope this helps

:chevy

 

My 73 vert had new seat covers but the rest of the interior needed refurb so I relaced the door panels and center console plus redyed the rest of the interior parts. I think it turned out pretty good but there is a slight shade difference between the redyed parts and the new parts. If I was going for frame off everything perfect look then I would have replaced all the panels but for a cruiser I liked to monkey with it is perfect for me. I bought all my stuff ZIP with the 10% discount on the large purchase.

 

I bought alot of interior stuff but recieved most of it in Corvette America boxes if that tells ya anything.
As said before i did buy my dash NQP from Corvette America and dyed it to match. The seats i bought had the foam with the covers already on them. I don't think i would want to tackle putting the covers on the foam myself.
I would recommend doing it yourself. Good luck and keep us posted.
Here's a pic of the finished product.

 

I got my 69 seat covers, foam, and carpet from Al Knoch interiors. Top notch stuff, IMO....especially the seat covers. The website isn't updated, but here it is. If you want newer info, talk to the sales people on the phone.
http://www.alknochinteriors.com/index.htm

The Corvette America windshield pillar covers I got did not fit well at all. I had to throw one piece away, as it did not fit at all, and I simply could not get it to fit and wrecked it in the process of trying. Their console didn't fit very well, and was not made out of the same material as the stock one, and their rear pillar post trim didn't fit well either (had to modify it to fit).

The one major beef I have with Corvette America is that none of the trim parts I received had the screw holes tapped. This tells me two things. One, we get to tap them, so if they don't fit right, we can't return them. Two...they don't know where in the hell to tap the holes, because if you tap them following the indentations in the parts, the screws won't end up in the right spot.

For some reason, trim parts are hard to install. I have installed MANY engine parts and I have only had a very rare problem or two with fit. With interior parts, it seems like every part installation is some sort of adventure.

In any case, it's not that complicated to install interior parts yourself (providing they fit right). You won't get any instructions with most parts. Your best move would be to buy a factory assembly manual for your year Corvette. There are VERY detailed instuctions on assembly in there. Definitely look to Al Knoch for your seat covers. As for the rest of the parts, it's your choice. Good luck! Have a lot of patience. :cheers:


[Modified by A C, 7:02 PM 11/8/2003]

 

I just completed the restoration of the interior of my 1971 Roadster (green) with parts from Corvette America and I have nothing to complain about.
The result is gorgeous and I showed the car to other experienced restorers: They all are commending on the result.
Note: Seats are difficult to do; wherever you get the foam from, you may have a hard time to get the seat covers to fit well on it.


[Modified by ATHANASE, 8:12 PM 11/8/2003]

 

I got a set of door panels from Al Knoch at Bloomington Gold. I am just getting to installing them now. After comparing them to the factory pieces I can till that they are not as nice as the orignal. The storage pockets don't have a cardboard backing to keep them stiff when closed, The factory are sewnin the upper corners, these have staples to catch you hand on. They will look fine installed but if I was after the orginal look I wouldn't happy. Also installed new ACC carpet, nap is much lower the orginal.

 

Yeah, my concern is where do I draw the line on replacing new items on the interior. I have to get the seats and carpet replaced on the 73 vert for sure. I just wonder if that will look "right" or if other items should be done at the same time without going way over budget or mismatching color shades of new vs. old.

If I were planning a full restoration, I would replace everything. I want it to look damn near as good without doing it all. Thanks for all the advice!

 

The door panels are what cost the most, I went with the cheap ones at about $200 a peice, the old ones where just a little too shabby for me. I was glad the seats had been redone since those aren't cheap either. One trick for the old pieces, I found the screws wanted to push through the vinyl so I cut small 1/8" pieces of vac hose to screw up to the head/washer of the screws to act as a cushion so you don't have to tighten them down so hard. You cannot see the rubber once you tighten them and it. If you decide to keep your old door panels and they are pulling away from the door, I used a screw like the ones near the rear top of the door panel to screw them back tight against the door frame until I was ready to replace them. The orig panels are carboard backed so if you do it in steps they won't snap or collapse around the screw. I started to tighten it down all the way and saw it collapsing so I backed it off a touch and let the warm muggy air of Aug do it thing. Once a week I tightend them until they where flush. Worked well for the 2 years I drove it before redoing the interior (or should I say blew up the eng and decided to redo the int;)) and since I used screws similar to the ones already used on teh door panel they didn't look too out of place.

 

AL knock is the way to go...