Summershandy

I found it funny that one of the tangs were bent straight up and they welded the center brace over top of it. I was able to force it back out. While I was waiting for glue to dry, I did a quick fit of the mat/carpet for under the front seat. I didn't have a long enough piece of carpet so I'm just putting 2 pieces down. I'll glue the carpet to the mat and screw the whole thing down. Doesn't end up being seen anyway.

Makin' the tack strips New black tack strips around the doors. Should have done myself a favour and made them a tad under 1/2" wide. Was bit of a tight fit.

New liner tucked in. Same material different colour. Used as packing when I received the kit. This way I can tug and pull and play with it with no consequences.

Turns out I didn't have enough rubber strip to make the tack strip. Found some 1/8" rubber matting so I have to cut 3/8" strips and double them up. It holds a staple well also. Instead of making the strips today, I experimented with doing a sample. Have to make sure everything is a go before I start my first headliner. I found the alligator strips too tight against the body to shove any liner up there but it's quite forgivable. I think those tangs will help hold it in too. About 3/8" of material goes up and under and holds. Because this is foam backed and not as thin as the cotton nap it feels it holds quite well. About leaving excess for later readjustment seems a little difficult. Gonna have to be patient on this job! New stapled lace and tack strip vs old hanging lace Alligator strip installed

Slick! I hear you about the bulb removal especially if at a show with the hood up all day.

Phil got me thinking....what was the proper switch for these under hood lamps? Mine was a toggle hooked up at the end of the wires laying loose on the drivers side fender wall. The wiring did look original. I replaced it with a rocker which is now hidden.

Thanks and hang in there! You'll have that show car one day. Today was hot for this time of the year at 70 also but it'll be back down to the 40's for the next couple days with rain. I'm converting Celsius for you guys. Good garage working weather, heated of course.

I finished slapping paint above the windows and of course couldn't stop there. I did the back deck which was never done. I'm confident the rust won't ruin the new headliner at least in my lifetime. As you know one thing leads to another and I got thinking, it sure would be easy to throw some paint on the door jambs with the windlace out of the way. I can do the doors anytime. It's not part of the install/prep so I won't bore you with that. I'll be a while before I get those done so nothing will be posted for a while. After that I'd like to make and install the tack strips. It sure is a pain with the hardware stores closed and online purchases only. I have to wait a couple days before I get an email confirmation to pick up my order. Like today, my shop light bulb blew. It's a T-3 and has to be ordered. Can't just run there and pick up another!

You shouldn't recognize it when it returns. Had mine done couple years ago and is still going strong! Is he doing the wiper motor too? Would be good to know.

Curious who is doing your heater valve rebuild? Would it be Jim Tucker?

Today I wire brushed the areas around the roof and windows in prep for paint tomorrow. I'm kind of glad I had to re-visit a few things I didn't bother doing last time around. In the past, the rear window leaked at the bottom corner and messed up the window trim and such with rust. Seeing it doesn't see rain anymore, I had still gone and sealed up the window and trim from the outside 2 years ago. I stripped and sanded the rear window trim. I also decided to paint the underseat heater cover which I never did the first time. You don't see it but hey. Also going to change out the sound dampener material. Figured that's got to be holding some of the old car smell. I've got some trunk carpet left over that should work nicely and again, free.

Yesterday I brushed on a coat of rust protector and left overnight. Today I wiped the strips and bows down again and gave them a couple coats of rust paint and left them in the sun for the day. Going to leave them to harden for a few days whilst I clean and paint the metal above the front/rear windows. It's nice when you've collected years of spray paints and even have a colour that you actually want. Those alligator strips should really be called shark strips....they are sharp! The wife was spring cleaning while I was busy and found an old wrist support from years ago. She removed the metal inserts and asked if I could use these.....are you kidding? Those look perfect for tucking headliner. It really doesn't take much to make me happy! LOL

I would pull the rad, you can get a better look at the tube that way. I was also looking at 6 blade fans on ebay before Charles had one he offered. Generator was on the car when I got it. Too bad about CPR, I've purchased many thing from them. Mark

Same here Charles!

What Bloo said, I pulled my brass distribution tube out as far as I could get it to inspect when I had the rad and pump out. Unfortunately I couldn't pull it completely out unless I started taking body parts off. I poked around with a cloths hanger making sure none of the holes were plugged either. I've got a few posts on my past heating issues. My straight 8 temp gauge sits around 1/2 way while cruising and slowly rises sitting at a red light. Once during a "parade" on a very hot day, I had my gauge max out until I turned off the engine. Had puking and bubbling coolant everywhere. Thought I had baked the engine. Those straights are tough as nails although I don't recommend pushing it that far. I've since installed a 6 blade fan which I haven't tested yet. I will be posting results when that day comes.

Shiny, smooth and numbered. The main bow (3) is wrapped in paper which seems in good shape. Now I can start painting the alligator strips and work on tack strips and cleaning up and painting the rust above the front/back windows. The pillar caps come in to get cleaned up and ready for material. Just going to be creative where the vinyl meets the liner. It's kinda hidden by the seat and I'm not looking for any awards on this! Keeping all old material if needed for templates.

I pulled the bows out and of course they were rusted in place. Sanded and steel wooled them shiny smooth. Question: think I should leave them as is or spray a coat of paint on them? I also found it interesting that a couple of them were painted at the end. Guess for placement.

I finished cleaning up the rusty alligator strips and have to bring them in the house to throw a coat of paint on them. Still too chilly to paint in the garage. I was happy to find a roll of rubber stripping I have to use for tack strips above the doors. The space is roughly 1/4" thick x 3/8" wide and the prongs can be bent to hold the rubber in place. I have to cut and trim the rubber but again, is free. 1/4" staple held really good.

My engine never had a thermostat either when I got it. I can't comment on running without it because I never had it on the road until after one was installed. I figured if it was designed for one, there should be one.

Thanks Rodney for the reply. I was referring to filing down the thermostat retainer. The housing never leaked before I installed the new OEM assembly. The housing is in pretty good shape with maybe one pit hole. I've since trimmed, cleaned and resealed it back up. If it does start to leak again, I'll be sure to make those surfaces new again! Mark

I always thought the rusted liner was the result of leaky drip rails outside the car. I had cleaned and sealed them up last year. A closer look showed me the outside rails are no where near the liner. Just rusted at the alligator strips. Wonder how they got so bad? It's going to be a while cleaning everything up. You know what they say, it's all about prep work.

Thanks for those tips Bloo! I'll refer back to them when I get to the headliner. Didn't get much done today. Taking my time and overthinking as always. Sewing is out of the question. I got the old lace off but am a little concerned on the durability of the cardboard with all those stitched holes. There are some other rips now that I look closer. I'm thinking of beefing it up with a wrap of tape on both sides to hold it together. Looks are the least of my worries. As long as I follow the outside shape of the cardboard with the lace it should look good. Practised a couple 3/8" staples through the old lace and seemed to work well with the ends bent. The pillar cap should help pin the lace down if someone rubs into it getting in or out of the car.

Thought of you when I started this haha. I vacuumed mine too but still had rotten fuzz. Liner was so rotten in spots even a sharp box cutter wouldn't cut through it. Speaking of cutting, I just cut above the doors to get to the retainer to release the liner and removed the tacks front and back. I'm not a fan of hack jobs but it's the only way I could see getting it out. I thought I'd try keeping progress and share stuff. I couldn't really find anything definite for this car. The basic info is available of course but if someone like yourself can use what I find, then great! Going to head back out today and start to clean up the rusted retainers. Thought last night maybe wood could be used for tack strips above the doors. I'm also going to see if I can cut the stitched windlace off the pillar board and re-use it. Maybe 1/2" staples with the back side bent inwards. The metal pillar doesn't look too user friendly for lace to attach to and the cardboard is in great shape.