Rebuilding My Mk1 Interior
Well today was a milestone I have been looking forward for a couple of years.
Things have finally starting to come together.
I have got a trimmer to make me a new headlining from my old one and bit the bullet and fitted it up.
I redid my rear seat before christmas , again a DIY in the backyard.
The fronts were just some cheapy buckets form autotechnica.
Door trims were just the old ones repainted nd restuck onto new boards.
The 6 dial was stripped down and cleaned, the gauges work suprising well after I added a electronic volatge stabiliser.
Here is a manky old seat I have had in storage for a couple of years. After looking at the pattern I figured I would go for a more simple pattern that I can manage myself at my first attempt at car seat upholstry.
Stripped the seat frame, washed it in acid and painted it with a KBS rust seal paint.
Not perfect but acceptable and its not a concors restoration. But I am happy with it. I am not planning to have anyone sit on it so it should last a little while.
The car was originally green but now its white. I checked and treated the areas I thought may rust but all looks OK at the moment. Not being sure what I wanted to do with the car meant I have avoided fitting a headlining. Dreaming of going the full race car look but common sense prevails.
Cleaning the old headlining out of the clamp requires a little patience and creative thinking , in the end I used a paint scraper and a screwdriver. I found the new lining would not catch in the grip if old headlining remained in the channel.
Better fit some new belts to the front, cant find the originals, lost during the many moves in 6 years.
Cheap front seats $300 pair brand new, dont know how long they will last but they look good.
My favorite part of any mark 1 has to be the 6 dial, this one I rebuilt from 2 that I had, its nothing special, not the 130mph one but I dont care, I cleaned it all up and took some of the paint off it to reveal more of the chrome, it needs a little paint where I had to fill some holes that someone drilled to fit a fascia.
Standard steering wheel for rego. Still missing some trim items and need to install a cigarette lighter, but happy with the way it now looks.
$100 carpet from Ebay, $50 forsome felt and $40 for spray glue , which I also needed for the roof.
The roof I started before I fitted the carpets and seats, Step 1 fit the lining on to the rods and clip it it, I would have prefered a warmer day but only time will tell if its a disaster. The Liner is a moonstone putty colour, I didnt go black, feeling it would make the interior feel even more cramped and like I said before its no concors restoration.
Clip it all in and add a little heat. It bunched up in a few places but managed to get it a bit better without ripping it or tearing it whilst installing.
Pulled tight, glued , clamped and left overnight.
Overall it looks OK, some areas that could be better, but most people wouldnt notice and I am not trying to win any trophies. Its a 70's car so it needs to have 70's level of quality!!
A definate improvement and the end of two days work. Windows next.
To do list
Minor trim bits
Glass and seals
exhaust
Rego
I found the light at the end of the tunnel burns brighter if you fuel it with $50 bills!!
Regards
Emil.