Congrats!! First drive is a huge milestone.

 

Congratulations on the 3 mile ride! I have the twin to your car, RSSS, with 55K Original miles, 24 options. Orange/Blk Delux. Repaint in 1990 and new rubber and dash. A survivor I have owned for 30 years.

 

Wow - I didn't realize there was a maiden voyage video attached under the photo. Just watched it and what a great motivator for me who's car is about at the stage of page 8 of this story! Congrats

 

Right there with you Bob! I had to go back and look.

 

Small update. Im in the details that take forever, so I’m always working but not much to show. Aligning the glass is a royal pain FYI.

Im sure some of you noticed the missing headrests. That’s because they were in bad shape and looked terrible against the new covers. I found a solution in PUI headrest covers that go over top.

This is the condition after a thorough washin.

It was recommended to add some fluff to help fill out the covers. I glued on some batting.

Finished product. Looks much better than what I had.

 

So I didn't know my upholstery kit came with headrest covers and bought the reproduction ones (headrests, not covers). It will be interesting to see if they match and what the quality is like compared to covering the originals. Yours look good.

 

I like the head rests Matt. Aligning the glass is kind of a pita. I think I had it easier with my 67 due to the vent window frame. Even when these cars were new they weren't tight like todays cars. I had to keep reminding myself of that.

 

Adjusting the glass really is a pain. If I every feel like torturing myself I will go back and readjust mine. However right now I'm just living with it.

 

Been working on door panels. This thread was very useful:

Al Knoch 69 Deluxe Door Panels?

Ive got 2 full days worth of time getting all the modifications done, polishing the trim, installing the pieces.

First these panels have an ABS plastic backing, which is good for longevity but harder to work with. It was really hard to get pictures of the interference, but the plastic is too wide at the quarter and hits the windlace. To narrow it, I had to peel back the vinyl and cut the extra. I used the filler spreader as a backer so that I didn’t cut the vinyl.

After trimming the edge matches my tape line I had placed as a guide, and I could test fit and actually shut the door.

Obviously by that point I had transferred both of the trim strips. You do have to make the holes and everything in the new panels. I used the soldering iron like I did before, and the trim was buffed before installing it.

To start locating the attachment points, I dabbed toothpaste on the holes to use as a transfer mark.

This worked pretty well. I then started to add the clips and make the holes for the screws. You can see one of the staples I replaced pulled through the vinyl, so I added some 3M adhesive for good measure.

After many test fits I finally snapped it in place. I buffed the handle and the pull strap trim. The pull strap and handle shroud go bathed in Meguires interior polish and man everything really turned out good.

To be honest I’m not looking forward to the other one. It’s a lot of work.

 

Good to see someone with similar struggles as me. Glad you referred to that thread. Hopefully my struggles helped you out. I have many hours getting those panels to fit. But I got it done.

 

They look good. Somehow in your thread I missed the fact you installed power windows. How are they working for you?

 

I have the kit from new relics which I highly recommend. The install was very simple and straightforward, it’s well engineered and has high quality components. It works well, but adjusting the glass is a pain in the .... but that would be true with manual regulators as well. I had an issue with the driver window motor, which I emailed nu relics about and they immediately shipped me a brand new window motor via priority mail. No hassle no whining they jumped right on it. I couldn’t be more impressed with their customer service. Holley could learn a thing or two from them....

 

Matt,
Who makes the kick panels?

 

Hey Shawn. I’m not sure...they’re from NPD. Pretty basic plastic covers but they fit halfway decent and are ready for future speakers. One thing I don’t like is they do not have the flap for the upper attaching screw like the originals. They still lay in place pretty well though.

 

Great job on the door panels! Your interior is really coming together.

 

Matt/Tim,
Thanks for the response. I originally was not going to go with anymore speakers than the one in the front dash and the two in the rear, but I think I now want additional speakers up front. Of course I already bought kick panels so I need to decide to use if am going to use them or buy something like the kick panels from NPD.

What speakers are you guys planning on using?

 

Matt/Tim,
Thanks for the response. I originally was not going to go with anymore speakers than the one in the front dash and the two in the rear, but I think I now want additional speakers up front. Of course I already bought kick panels so I need to decide to use if am going to use them or buy something like the kick panels from NPD.

What speakers are you guys planning on using?

Probably round ones? Lol. That’s down the road for me, I haven’t thought that far. I also used to prefer Pioneer, but after they were bought out by Onkyo they turned into junk. At least in the home audio side. The car audio side could be different but I’ve been out of the scene too long to know anymore.

 

All 5 of mine have Pioneer, some 20 years old and work fine. I put 5.25 in the kick panels

 

Matt,

Great thread with tons of details! Lots of nice work that you have done and shared. I am on page 47 and still reading to get caught up. I have read a lot of Patrick’s also, and there are several more that I have yet to get started going through. I am tired already 😀.

You are Blessed to have been able to do all of this. Keep up the good work!

 

Yes Tony, some of these projects are really works of art. Perfection is a good description.
Brett....

 

I’ve got more than 2 whole days in the drivers door panel. And I’m not done yet.

Old vs new. Daw-gone-it the bottom chrome strip is missing. There’s another $60 to order.

here’s a good picture of the windlace interference. But it’s more than just that on this side.

This panel didn’t fit the opening. I scratched my head then measured both the old panel and the new passenger side panel. Sure enough, this one was 1/4” wider. Worse, it was actually 1/8” long on both sides. I spent an entire day trimming plastic, which is ridiculous considering what these cost.

So at least I have it on the door now. Time to start locating holes and fitting all the pieces.

But no. My car had one more rusty secret yet to be discovered. Some of the pins on the other trim piece no longer exist thanks to rust. Many of the others are too corroded to be useful. Another $60.

While cleaning up the door emblem on this side, the white paint flaked off. My wife suggested white nail polish. It’s not quite the right shade, but good enough for a save.

Also found the hole for the handle wasn’t cut right. Had to trim that out too.

The trim piece I knew about showed up so everything is fit loosely into place. Once I get the other trim piece I’ll snap it in for good.

 

It's painful when you start getting to the end of the project. I think I spent more on shipping in the last couple of months than I did on parts themselves. I tried really hard to maximize my shipping costs but when you just need odd ball things it starts getting painful. And what the heck, what's another $120 in the big picture, right? Panels look good so it's worth it in the end.

 

That’s the truth isn’t it? I’ve been so careful to plan orders, and now at the end these little things bite. I could’ve bought both trim pieces at the same time and saved $11 in shipping had I known.

 

It was dusk when I wrapped up last night. I had to pull it out to see all the lights, which the whole car is LED’s. I think it looks really cool.

 

You've done an outstanding job Matt. You should be very proud.

 

Matt, what front headlights are you using?

 

Theyre LED from octane lighting. Basic 7” replacements that were just under $100. There was a thread floating around here a year or so ago about them. Link:Octane Lighting - Halo Headlights, H4 Conversions, LED Lighting

You've done an outstanding job Matt. You should be very proud.

Thanks Al. I just had to keep up with the quality of the other builds in here. 🙂

 

Really nice

 

Looks killer. Again, I know alllll the pain your going through on those panels. I had to everything you are doing!

 

Well my friend the UPS man brought the missing piece. So that’s about it for the big stuff. Just little odds and end to take care of now.

 

Finished installing the grab bar, glovebox, and ash tray. I have one more seat belt buckle that hasn’t shown up yet and the seat backs to figure out and then the interior is done. There are only a couple lines left on my list in the garage. It feels strange being so close to “done”.

 

When you are "Done" you have just started.
Stole that from somewhere but true.

 

My friend the UPS man came again today.

This time he brought my seat belt buckle. I was able to reuse most of my original belts, but I discovered someone had actually cut off the buckles for the shoulder belts.

I picked up some aftermarket replacements from another member (thanks Pat!) who had some extras. While putting things together I found another buckle that was just corroded beyond use. This is after soaking in the evaporust.

Original belts

The replacements are a little bit different shape.

Anyone know how the shoulder harness buckles were typically stowed?

Ive got an original used belt, housing, and button if someone needs.

 

Interesting the looks of the aftermarkets? My aftermarkets look exactly like your originals?