Getting Ahead(liner)
Getting Ahead(liner)
Getting Ahead(liner)
The last few days have bordered on being crazy...
On Wednesday, the upholstery shop finished up my headliner, windshield and rear window seals. Huzzah! That same day I recovered my “B” pillar trim panels in anticipation of getting the interior back together when the car came home.
The old vinyl came off the metal covers easily, and everything got wiped down with 3M Adhesive Remover to remove any traces of old glue. I used the old pieces of vinyl as templates and outlined them with a Sharpie on the new material, making sure to mark anywhere there were relief cuts on curved sections.
I moved out to the lanai to glue everything up, using Mercedes contact cement. I spread glue on both the back of the vinyl as well as the metal B pillar cover, including on the inside edges of the cover where the material will wrap around.
Once the glue has had time to set, I use match marks I made on the vinyl so I can line up the mounting holes and make sure the material is centered on the cover. Starting at one end of the cover, I carefully line up the material, pressing it into place as I move up the piece. Once it’s in place, I use a brayer (hard rubber roller) to roll out the material and remove any bubbles.
Once the material is securely fastened to the cover, I’ll start at one end of the piece and carefully roll the material up the side. This assures that there aren’t any creases or ripples in the fabric.
At this point I’ll start to carefully fold over the fabric on to the inside of the cover, again working my way from one end of the piece to the other. I also take a sharp knife and cut the relief cuts in the fabric where there are curves almost down to where the fabric rolls over the edge of the cover. Each tab gets glued down securely, then I move to the next one.
Lastly, the end tabs get carefully rolled over the ends so there are no creases and the tabs glued to the inside of the cover.
And now we have a B pillar covered in new vinyl!
Now on to Thursday...
Went to pick up the car. Looked great, came in a little less than what I expected, which is good, so off I headed to home so I could start reassembling everything. I got to within about 2-3 blocks of home and the car died. Dang it. I determined the fuel pump was not working, so one of my boys was good enough to help me get the car towed back to the house and rolled into the garage. Busy rest of the day, so no time to diagnose further. Pictures of the new headliner and the windshield seal.
I got up early today so I could tear into the fuel pump and see what was going on there. Not good. The pump failed internally in a manner that was unrepairable. Bummer. I got some things going on a replacement pump and then I started to reassemble the interior of the car. First thing, install the refinished dash wood.
I have a time lapse set up of the dash rebuilding, but for now you can see what I got done today:
Yup, everything installed except the glove compartment and door and the wood surround. I still have to finish fitting the dash pad and crank down the fasteners on it, reinstall the instrument cluster, then install the wood surround pieces, but a great deal of work was accomplished today. I’m really pleased with it and it looks great! Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to finish it.
Friday, March 15, 2019