stormrider

Almost year ago I decided to swap out my light oak interior for pewter; personally I wasn't very fond of my pewter/tan combination. To make the project more interesting and a he!! of a lot less expensive I decided to buy as many of the parts as possible from CF members. After a nine months of buying parts three weeks ago I started tearing out my interior. Before I get to the pictures I need to thank a few people:

mrm1149-sold me the center arm rest, E-Brake and shifter boots then threw in the piping that goes around the piece with the active handling button.

Gene's Kar Shop: Sold me the door panels, glove box, knee bolster, upper and lower rocker panels and about half the carpet

coujac: sold me his pewter seats

GMPartsHouse: C6Zo6 shifter and seat foam

TryNKeepUp: Picked up and shipped the rest of my carpet from a member that had my $ but couldn't find the time to ship the carpet

RAAMaudio: Sound Dampner and accustic foam (great product and Customer Service)

VetteEssentials: Great "How to" instructions

Unknown Member: Sold me the seat belts

ajg1915: For sending me instructions on how to remove my glove box lock cylinder & reinstal in my new glove box and torque # for the seat belts bolts

CF Members: For all of your advice and insperation!

First here is a shot of my old interior


Since all the parts where "pre-owned" I shampooed (Tide and Oxyclean) all the carpet and air dried before installing


Time to start the tear out



My friend Phil helping out. Phil is a gear head that pretends to be a radiologist during the work week


Time to put down RAAMaudio's RAAMmate BXT for sound deadening. This product is a lot friendlier to work than the competition which has a reputation for cutting up your hands and because it is made of butyl it only weighs 0.35lbs per sq foot; a lot less than asphalt based products. Of course I picked a 100 degree weekend for installation I put down two layers on the drive-shaft tunnel, driver's side firewall and vertical rear panels for added dampening and/or heat reflection. Floorboards got one layer as did the wheel wells, panels behind the seats and the compartments in the rear. (Follow up note: I went for a long shake down cruise today and the center compartment between the seats never got hotter than the air temperature, before you could roast a turkey, well maybe a small Cornish Game Hen, in there)






Next I installed the RAAMmate in the doors. I found 4" wide strips was the easiest to work with; I installed 2 layers making sure to over lap the seams. While it isn't necessary, I taped off all the seams through out just for a cleaner install. I also put down a layer of ensolite over the RAAMmat behind the speakers. I am blown away by how much tighter and crisper the speakers now sound.
Before:

After:


Now it is time to install RAAMaudio's Ensolite MLC for sound absorption.



I put down two layers on the wheel wheels

Then covered the floorboards, panel behind the seats and the drive shaft tunnel (for some reason the pics I took didn't take). The difference is amazing I have virtually no road noise, I can only hear my Corsa's at WOT, the stock stereo sounds 1000X better and I can actually use my hands free cell phone now! I don't think I would want the cockpit to be any quieter.

Now it is time to install the "new" carpet, seat belts, glove box, knee bolster, door panels and upper and lower rocker panels


Next, re-skin the seats. While looking for burlap I stumbled on this, 1" foam with a thick backing (Note: I fixed the dreaded rocking seat problem while I had the seats out)


I measured and cut the foam to fit inside of the seat foam to give the seat a little more cushioning


Here is a neat trick. Use a zip-tie as a handle to zip up the zippers on the seats after you get it all zipped up you simply cut off the tie. I found this much easier and a whole lot faster than trying to use my fingers or needle nose pliers. (Note: I lathered the seats in leather conditioner and placed them in a hot shed for about a week this really rejuvenated them in both looks and feel)


Install the seats and time to enjoy...Carlisle here I come





Thanks for looking

AbsolutHank

Awesome freakin job! Looks so much better. I too think the tan interior, with the black dash and doors etc is a less than desirable combo. Again, great job

Bob CTS

That was a lot of work, excellent job and great pictures as you went along. The final outcome looks awesome. Job well done.

FactoryRaceCar

Awesome writeup, pictures and I am digging the new interior Mark! Good work

scottydog

You can put some insulation in the rear wheel wells by removing the plastic liner and putting it in there. Really helps cut down the road noise.

AC54ME

Excellent!!!!!!

vettes4fun

Job well done

Bounty Hunter 6

Looks fantastic! Very nicely done, especially with the extra steps you took. I bet the inside sounds much nicer now! Congrats!

tellefan

Very nice write up. Where did you buy the ensolite? I've bought two kits from Crazy Cowboy, now I just have to wait till it cools off. David

jrose7004

Nice job!

csexton

Excellent

Chuck

jon c

great job

sneakelman

That is one awesome write-up, and transformation! The look is fantastic! I love DIY!

bonnell

Great job. What a difference it makes.

FinnZ06

Great job, man! The new interior looks excellent

craig04c5

Very Impressive!

jzemo

wow..looks great...hey what did you do with your old seats?? intrested in selling??

blacksedan87

I love the pewter interior with a black car! You did a fantastic job on the writeup and the outcome. You should be proud of your work!

Z06-JIM

Awesome job, looks great...

double-oh-coupe

Awesome job and looks great!

One quick question -- how many rolls of the RAAMmat and sq yards of Ensolite did you buy to do the job?