Interior progress this weekend

[71GS]

I practiced “social distancing” all weekend in the garage and got the dash and console reassembled. Over the winter Everything was cleaned, repainted and polished. Replaced all the veneer, vacuum lines and LED bulbs throughout. 

Brian

 

[crowvet]

Let me be the first to say that looks first class. 

[SwedeDownUnderR63]

Looks nice. Remember to use the left over alcohol to clean all the areas that you have touched 😷

[Turbinator]

1 hour ago, 71GS said:

I practiced “social distancing” all weekend in the garage and got the dash and console reassembled. Over the winter Everything was cleaned, repainted and polished. Replaced all the veneer, vacuum lines and LED bulbs throughout. 

Brian

 

The LED’s are nice. I put them through out the interior of my 63.

Yours look good. Keep up the great work!

Turbinator

[J3Studio]

I think folks are going to get a lot of work done on their cars over the next couple of months.

[Seafoam65]

                 When the virus gets you in a couple of months, tell your heirs that I would like to purchase

your steering wheel center cap and and unbroken factory horn bar!

[71GS]

Thanks you all. It was supposed to be a new veneer job and fix the driver seat....kinda snowballed. Seafoam, I’ll put ya down for that wheel 👍🤣😷

Clark’s Upholstry looks amazing, can’t wait to see it installed. Still waiting on OPG to update me on the rear foam. 

[Rivman]

16 hours ago, 71GS said:

I practiced “social distancing” all weekend in the garage and got the dash and console reassembled. Over the winter Everything was cleaned, repainted and polished. Replaced all the veneer, vacuum lines and LED bulbs throughout. 

Brian

 

 

Looks great so far, good luck with your progress.

[XframeFX]

On 3/15/2020 at 9:30 PM, 71GS said:

I practiced “social distancing” all weekend in the garage and got the dash and console reassembled. Over the winter Everything was cleaned, repainted and polished. Replaced all the veneer, vacuum lines and LED bulbs throughout. 

Brian

I did the same thing this past weekend! Mostly on the 1963 console, fitting it over and over and over again. One more time to make it final once I source 18" of that 1.75" ID hose for the Drivers side heater vent. This is what it takes when different parts go back in from complete disassembly. Also, DynaMat AROUND brackets, do not remove them without marking exact positions.

Wife wasn't happy, claims I spent 18 hours in there (garage). Doesn't understand - - - - social distancing is "IN"!

I soldered/epoxy'd in a 4-LED for the Radio dial after seeing improvement in the instrument panel.

Oh careful with the power seat inboard track. It keeps falling out allowing the 4 Delrin slides to fall off. I ordered missing replacements tonight.

[crowvet]

6 hours ago, XframeFX said:

I did the same thing this past weekend! Mostly on the 1963 console, fitting it over and over and over again. One more time to make it final once I source 18" of that 1.75" ID hose for the Drivers side heater vent. This is what it takes when different parts go back in from complete disassembly. Also, DynaMat AROUND brackets, do not remove them without marking exact positions.

Wife wasn't happy, claims I spent 18 hours in there (garage). Doesn't understand - - - - social distancing is "IN"!

I soldered/epoxy'd in a 4-LED for the Radio dial after seeing improvement in the instrument panel.

Oh careful with the power seat inboard track. It keeps falling out allowing the 4 Delrin slides to fall off. I ordered missing replacements tonight.

I spent 12 hours of social distance as well. Funny thing is about an hour of that was looking for the seat track parts that fell on the floor. Luckily I found them and was able to reinstall.

[71GS]

Yeah I was out there till midnight Saturday. Seemed like every piece fought me. Even the dash pad 🤷🏼‍♂️Had everything in and out a million times. All part of the fun I suppose. I gave up on that 1.75” hose, couldn’t find any,  and used a 2” with some leftover dynamat foam insulation wrapped around the duct and snugged down with the clamp. Worked fine. Happy with it finally, finishing up the carpet next. I had the console carpet retainer aluminum moldings polished. Excited for that next step. Keep going guys👍
side note, starting to wonder if the ROA meet will happen in June??any thoughts?

Edited April 5, 2020 by 71GS (see edit history)

[RivNut]

Had the same thoughts about the meet in June.  Guess I'll wait till the last moment to register etc. to see what the news is.  One thing that concerns me is the average age of the attendees - they're pretty much prime targets. There've been at least nine confirmed cases as of this time in the county in which I live. 

 

I'm practicing social distancing right now.  Pluto TV has a bunch of "binge watching" channels - same series 24/7/365. I've been watching Ask This Old House learning all of the trade secrets for carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and landscaping.  Think that I'll still leave those jobs to the pros.

[71GS]

Solid plan Ed👍 I personally hate plumbing. 
Yeah I guess we will see as time goes on about the meet. Was really looking forward to attending. Haven’t been to one since Lexington in 13. Oh well stay safe everyone. 
Made a little progress tonight. 

 

[RivNut]

Well, it's official. All K-12 schools in the State of Kansas have been closed through the end of the current semester.  Students will complete their classes online. 

 

Trouble is, Mom and Dad millennials are not taking this as seriously as they need to. Kids are getting together and playing or just hanging out.

Edited March 18, 2020 by RivNut (see edit history)

[telriv]

Problem is hanging out causes other problems.  In MANY cases Mom & Dad HAVE to work.  The younger ones will be shipped off to Grandma & Grandpa.  The problem with this the ones that are MOST favorable  are the most vulnerable by children that show no signs of infection & will more than likely not act or look sick. 

[RivNut]

Just glad that my grandson is old enough to stay home alone - if only he'll do it.  Luckily, both his mom and dad are able to work from home.

[telriv]

Good for them

[71GS]

Yeah I feel fortunate that both me and my wife can and are working from home since Monday. Stay safe everyone. 

 

[71GS]

Hello. A couple folks have asked about the LED source. I used superbrightLEDs.com. Pretty sure I found them from someone’s thread on here. Anyway, they have a search function where you put your year,make and model and it pulls a list for you. Shows the stock bulb# and the available  LEDs. 
My invoice  below for reference. This includes one for the accessory “reel” trunk light. Colored ones for signals, high beam, idiot lights  and cruise lamp.  Hope this is helpful 

 

Brian

Edited March 19, 2020 by 71GS (see edit history)

[DrownedRiv]

This is great.

Thanks Brian.

[XframeFX]

Confusing. I couldn't source the miniature BA9s for the clock and radio so I made my own from bi-polar 194 capsule style LEDs

Another tough one is LED for #90 for our Courtesy lights - single filament double contact.

[71GS]

2 hours ago, XframeFX said:

Confusing. I couldn't source the miniature BA9s for the clock and radio so I made my own from bi-polar 194 capsule style LEDs

Another tough one is LED for #90 for our Courtesy lights - single filament double contact.

John, the replacement for the 90. Is the first one on my invoice  the 1142.

👍

Edited March 20, 2020 by 71GS (see edit history)

[XframeFX]

I see now, on my chart. 1142 on the same row as #90. I thought a "warm" would be suitable for courtesy lights. How are the "cool" in operation?

[71GS]

4 minutes ago, XframeFX said:

I see now, on my chart. 1142 on the same row as #90. I thought a "warm" would be suitable for courtesy lights. How are the "cool" in operation?

I struggled with that decision too. Personally I like them, but everyone is different. You could order some of each and return them I bet. 

Warm would definitely be more similar to the incandescent look. 

 

[XframeFX]

So, I see you ordered coloured 194s. No problems with your flasher? Instrument lights DIM OK?

I fab'd my own BA9 4-led for the radio as I had a window to install it. The clock takes the same BA9 but that can be changed any time. Cool White for the instrument panel 194s for sure!

going to order 1142s for those courtesy lights

I bought high power 1156 bulbs and something like 19 LEDs 80W equivalent for the cornering lights. Yet to install them.

John B.

[71GS]

Yeah they recommend colored ones where there is a colored lens in front of them. Not supposed to bother the flasher on these but it didn’t try it the other night when I had the battery connected, I’ll check. Instruments definitely visible now and looks awesome. Polish up your lenses while your at it too, makes a difference 😎

Edited March 20, 2020 by 71GS (see edit history)

[71GS]

Some more progress today. Drivers side buttoned up. I think I’m done being a contortionist for awhile..pulling the door panels tomorrow to finish the last of the veneer

 

Edited March 22, 2020 by 71GS (see edit history)

[PWB]

Black paint, white letters/numbers chrome and finished wood.

 

Like viewing all the instruments together in an orchestra. 

 

Eternal Class

 

 

[71GS]

50 minutes ago, PWB said:

Black paint, white letters/numbers chrome and finished wood.

 

Like viewing all the instruments together in an orchestra. 

 

Eternal Class

 

 

Bill Mitchell & Co sure knew what they were doing...

[crowvet]

Looking real nice, your catching up with me. I need to get busy.

[65VerdeGS]

Looks great!

 

Hey, what's the gauge hanging under the dash to the right of the steering column?  Oil pressure?

 

[71GS]

3 hours ago, 65VerdeGS said:

Looks great!

 

Hey, what's the gauge hanging under the dash to the right of the steering column?  Oil pressure?

 

Hey thanks. It’s a Stewart Warner temp gauge the previous owner had installed.  I like having a gauge but may hide it. 

Edited March 26, 2020 by 71GS (see edit history)

[71GS]

4 hours ago, crowvet said:

Looking real nice, your catching up with me. I need to get busy.

Thank you, I’m trying to keep up😃 working on the door panel veneer now. Still no update from OPG on the rear seat foam.... probably going to have my upholstery guy make it I guess. 

Brian 

[crowvet]

48 minutes ago, 71GS said:

Thank you, I’m trying to keep up😃 working on the door panel veneer now. Still no update from OPG on the rear seat foam.... probably going to have my upholstery guy make it I guess. 

Brian 

Probably better off to have them made. I personally don't think they are as good as original. I finished my veneer, pleased with it.

 

[71GS]

On 3/26/2020 at 12:01 AM, crowvet said:

Probably better off to have them made. I personally don't think they are as good as original. I finished my veneer, pleased with it.

 

Yeah probably not worth waiting on them. Their customer service is non existent. Your veneer looks great 👍 I got the last door trim glued up last night. 

Making progress. 

[crowvet]

5 hours ago, 71GS said:

Yeah probably not worth waiting on them. Their customer service is non existent. Your veneer looks great 👍 I got the last door trim glued up last night. 

Making progress. 

SWEET, makes such a huge difference

[65VerdeGS]

Here's what I did to my car in 1984 (was it that long ago???)

 

Back then there were no precut wood veneer panels available for our 1st Gen Rivieras. or that's what I would have bought.

 

I thought that making my own veneer panels wouldn't be too hard...  So, I went out and sourced some walnut veneer and went about trying to craft my own replacement panels.  That turned out to be much harder than expected.. First of all, the factory veneer was backed with a very thin film of metal foil.  Nowhere could I find foil-backed veneer. Second problem was cutting the shapes accurately.  I wrecked a fair bit of veneer trying to get it right.  Finally gave up.  And then it occurred to me:  what about using Formica, like is used for countertops? 

 

So I went to a lumber yard and pawed thru the Formica catalog to find the closest match to the stock veneer in my car.  I used the rear seat panel for comparison as this would have been exposed to the least amount of fading sun.  Then I went a tad darker, in hopes of matching the original as close as reasonably possible.  The best match was named "Medium Teak".  I wouldn't know if that's available now, but I'm sure of the 100's of patterns of Formica and similar plastic laminate one should easily be able to find a good match.  I had to by a 4 x 8' sheet of the stuff as it was a custom order, but the good news is I had a lot of spare material in case it was needed (it was not). Cost?  Can't recall, but it was peanuts, relatively.  Certainly much less than you'd pay for repro wood panels from a vendor today.

 

The only tough part of the job was getting the old veneer off without damaging/scratching the chromed pot metal on the console.  Patience and toluene/acetone to remove the old glue did the job.  

 

The beauty of Formica is that its rigid, strong, and impervious to stains, and moisture.  Its also the right thickness to replace the original wood veneer.  Working with it was much easier than with real wood veneer.  I was able to get the console and door panels to match so that the grain ran through them.  For the door panels i went to a hobby shop and got pinstripe tape of the right width.  I used 'Crazy Glue" to adhere the "--R--" emblems to the center of the door veneer.

 

Here's what my interior looks like today.  Note this was my daily driver for 10 years after I installed the Formica veneer, so it may have faded just a bit:

 

The paneling I made from Formica has held up extremely well.  Still looks as good as the day I installed it.  Most folks think it's real wood veneer. So, I would suggest this is a great option for the do-it-yourself-er with a modicum of skill.

[crowvet]

12 hours ago, 65VerdeGS said:

Here's what I did to my car in 1984 (was it that long ago???)

 

Back then there were no precut wood veneer panels available for our 1st Gen Rivieras. or that's what I would have bought.

 

I thought that making my own veneer panels wouldn't be too hard...  So, I went out and sourced some walnut veneer and went about trying to craft my own replacement panels.  That turned out to be much harder than expected.. First of all, the factory veneer was backed with a very thin film of metal foil.  Nowhere could I find foil-backed veneer. Second problem was cutting the shapes accurately.  I wrecked a fair bit of veneer trying to get it right.  Finally gave up.  And then it occurred to me:  what about using Formica, like is used for countertops? 

 

So I went to a lumber yard and pawed thru the Formica catalog to find the closest match to the stock veneer in my car.  I used the rear seat panel for comparison as this would have been exposed to the least amount of fading sun.  Then I went a tad darker, in hopes of matching the original as close as reasonably possible.  The best match was named "Medium Teak".  I wouldn't know if that's available now, but I'm sure of the 100's of patterns of Formica and similar plastic laminate one should easily be able to find a good match.  I had to by a 4 x 8' sheet of the stuff as it was a custom order, but the good news is I had a lot of spare material in case it was needed (it was not). Cost?  Can't recall, but it was peanuts, relatively.  Certainly much less than you'd pay for repro wood panels from a vendor today.

 

The only tough part of the job was getting the old veneer off without damaging/scratching the chromed pot metal on the console.  Patience and toluene/acetone to remove the old glue did the job.  

 

The beauty of Formica is that its rigid, strong, and impervious to stains, and moisture.  Its also the right thickness to replace the original wood veneer.  Working with it was much easier than with real wood veneer.  I was able to get the console and door panels to match so that the grain ran through them.  For the door panels i went to a hobby shop and got pinstripe tape of the right width.  I used 'Crazy Glue" to adhere the "--R--" emblems to the center of the door veneer.

 

Here's what my interior looks like today.  Note this was my daily driver for 10 years after I installed the Formica veneer, so it may have faded just a bit:

 

The paneling I made from Formica has held up extremely well.  Still looks as good as the day I installed it.  Most folks think it's real wood veneer. So, I would suggest this is a great option for the do-it-yourself-er with a modicum of skill.

WOW Alex, thanks for sharing, and what a project. Curious as to why the thin foil was a issue? I never installed anything under my laminate. Should I have?

[RivNut]

Probably a moisture barrier.

[71GS]

2 hours ago, RivNut said:

Probably a moisture barrier.

Possibly, my thought was the foil back allowed them to use contact type glue on the veneer to glue to a metal surface. Can’t use that on bare veneer. That’s why I glued my unbacked, to a paper backed  veneer..Who knows. Would have been nice if it was still available like that. 

😁