wcsinx

I'm just curious as to what it looks like, and what's involved. The prices for interior components in good condition are insane.

wcsinx

guess not :nonod:

sb69coupe

I drove mine around the block when I had it gutted for paint and interior. In general, it looks like a bare windshield frame, lots of ducting and wires under the upper metal dash supports, a rats nest of vacuum hoses, and bare metal door skins. In short, it ain't pretty!

How "gutted" of an interior are you talking about? I can't imagine that it'd be a pleasant driving experience, and unlikely to land too many babes with the car either :D

Gotta Fix my '76

Uhm...yeah, I just gutted, cleaned, sealed, changed color, and restored my interior...ew...what a mess...I found the carpet to be holding the floor board together in a few places...I almost had to flintstone it with my feet on the ground....I would suggest not driving it gutted, heck what's the fun in that :)


But I guess it would be different, and original.....hey could that be called "custom" :lol: :lol:

:lolg: :lolg: :banghead:

ps as far as alot being involved...there is alot...but it's fun, and you can usually find what parts your looking for on the forum..there are some great forum members that have tons of spare parts laying around...Hey, I'm one of them now...NOOOOO!!! ;)

Interior restoration will sure teach you alot about your wiring, especially if your not the original owner...and it's great to see everything get cleaned and brought back to life...I went from brown to black, and it looks (eventually) sweet!!

If you have any questions about resto on the interior...ask, we love to help don't we guys... :party: :thumbs: :thumbs: :grouphug:

Arto

My current interior would almost qualify for gutted. I plan to start work on it soon, so that I don't have to be ashamed of it come summer (urgh, so much other engine etc. work that needs to be performed as well!)

Here's a pic. (Hmm... the interior actually looks much worse in real life; you can't see the carpets etc. here)


Also, the previous owner had a nasty oil pressure gauge leak in the cockpit. I've taken care of it mostly, but oil can be a such a SOB :(

(When I was driving the car home after having bought it, the oil together with excessive heat from the engine compartment virtually destroyed my favorite pair of leather shoes.)

Sounds like you've done a good job :) You wouldn't happen to have any before/after pictures to share?

Regards,
Arto


[Modified by FlyingFinn, 10:42 PM 2/6/2003]


[Modified by FlyingFinn, 10:44 PM 2/6/2003]

Arto

Sorry, just realized you probably mean gutted in literal sense, and then my interior, though awful, certainly doesn't qualify :)

TedH

I drive my '80 with its 23 year old interior. I've replaced just a few items, namely the speedo/tach lense, center black plastic shift plate, heater/ac lense, and the plastic surround covers for the door switches. My current 'wish list' at Corvette America is around $2500 and covers practically all of the big ticket interior items. I am hoping to recondition my plastic seat buckets/tracks the glove box and door, and the plastic trim pieces but everything else (including the fasteners) will be replaced with NOS or aftermarket pieces. Going with Doeskin.

So, in answer to your question, my interior isn't pretty. I've spent the last six years on the drivetrain/mechanicals and probably have another 1-2 years to finish the remaining mechanicals (A/C, Steering system, door lock mechanisms, cruise transducer, etc.) before I tear into the dashboard and replace sections of wiring, repair ducting and refurbish the vacuum-controlled heating/ac system that is behind the dash (and install the new dash, steering wheel, etc.). I'll probably also rebuild the seats about that time, install new carpet, door panels and complete rear storage compartment and other misc items. Probably also new t-top liners while I'm at it. Lots of fun! :seeya

Dwayne 76

To redo the interior on my '76 was about $7,000 CDN.

1Bad69

But what a sweet interior indeed....all leather if i remember correctly?? :thumbs:
plus there's the seat massager...hey, come to think of it, you did only have ONE hand on the steering wheel... :lol:


[Modified by 1bad69, 5:47 PM 2/6/2003]

Harry74

Well my vette interior is nice and shiney ( and my wallet is still recovering), but back in the late '70s I did have a '67 Ford Farlaine street racer that I ripped the interior out of. I used sheetmetal to cover all of the areas that had been upholstered, the doors, kickpanels, and the trunk area. It just had the dash, a steering wheel, a tach, two bucket seats, and the shifter. Pretty badazz looking!

-harry

rexx78

There are a few pix of my interior gutted on my photos website as listed below. I will take and post more tomorrow.

Wrencher

Yea, mine had no carpet, passenger seat, or console in it and I drove it for a short while like that. The heat was incredible! It was mighty light though (3100 pounds)...

Hans

Geoff1340

Yup, drove mine gutted for 2-3 years, finished drivetrain, suspension, brakes etc...by far interior was the hardest, almost said "#!@%&*! and donate to charity but a friend calmed me down and assisted alot....wish I'd installed A/C while I was there...sigh

ricketyray

Does sitting on the garage floor between the frame rails and making car noises count...?

rob75383

This is what it currently looks like...
Notice the hole in the floor on the passenger side... thats from the panel that was about to fall off, and is one of my spring projects.
But just as soon as I get new bumpers, I'll drive it around like this.

Besides, when I zip by someone on the road, they'll see my taillights not my missing passenger seat, carpet, console, etc..

The carpet is old, but the console and chairs are in great condition, and they are safer out of the car until I complete the work.

SharkAttack

Once - from the shop where it was stripped (using plastic media) to the paint/body shop. :steering:

Dwayne 76

:lolg:

Dwayne 76

:lolg: :lolg:

Gotta Fix my '76

Ahh yes, I will be posting my whole interior exchange very shortly...It's been an interesting process...$1200 later..(not bad) It's gone from brown to black, and some upgrades, but mostly restoring to good condition and making sure no more leaks, and so on....

Few things left...Need to install the Shark Bar I...if you don't have it, you should get it...Tell em I referred ya!! http://www.vetteworksonline.com they are great...I spoke to Dan, nice guy. and I'm having a few problems with the light switch, but other than that, should be another week and my project of redoing the entire interior will have taken since November 20th. (3 months total) :crazy: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash:

80Xflags

Yup, drove it up and down the driveway many times with nothing but a steering column on the inside. :auto: I gutted the whole interior only to find out I had a Flinstone's braking system installed, curtousey of the previous owner who liked to leave it outside in the rain without the tops on.

I ended up repairing the floors with POR-15 and stainless steel plating which cost nothing but my time. New carpet I got thru the NCOA for $250 including floor mats, plus the $6 I paid for the contact cement to glue it down. The center console kick panels I made out of a $3 piece of press board from Home Depot, using the carpet pieces as a pattern and trimming to fit. The seats, seat backs/bottoms, and seat rails I cleaned up and repainted ($15 for interior Doeskin dye and $3 for Krylon Sand color spray paint [#7771]). The dashboard was $550 off of ebay and was a complete setup including all gauges, *****, etc. in excellent condition with the exception of some sun fading on the top. I picked up some interior trim, sunvisors (telescopic driver and passenger mirror), a center armrest, and door skins all in great condition with the exception of one of the elbows on the sunvisors in a Bucket-O-Parts at Corvette Carlisle for $125. New cargo door supports I got from Ecklers . . . I forgot what I paid for those but I know I talked them down to beat a competitor. A set of seat hinge covers I paid $45 for :mad . I made new speaker mounts for the rear speakers patterned off the old broken ones, $0. A pair of NOS seatbelts off of ebay for $135. And finally a complete steering column, with wheel, in good shape also off of ebay for $350 (had to machine a new hazard light button). All I need now are a pair of armrest.

I have fun shopping around and fixing things up, so I don't mind making used items work and look good. :)

Good luck. (I'd post pictures if I knew how to get them in here.)

Matt