While the wheels are away for a new coating I started on the interior. Plan is to work from the front to the rear, which means I first had to fit the sills’ carpets and the trim pieces for the A-posts. But I forgot that the aftermarket DHC carpets for the sills came with the pieces for the B-post attached to them. So back home to pick up the vinyl pieces which go to the top of the B-post behind the mounting brackets for the soft top frame.
With these vinyl trim pieces fitted I realised I couldn’t access the inside of the B-post through the large holes to fit the door catches. Luckily I’m not that heavily build so I could fit the catches from the smaller hole just above the sills. After which I could fit the sill carpets, followed by the A-post trim pieces.
Having sorted the soft bits I fitted the various supports for the dashboard and steering column. As I am using a very early dashboard for this car (from ACG96L), I also used the support between heater unit and A-post, as found on earlier cars. Very convenient for some bling parts, but more on that later.
With the supports in place I fitted the steering column. As I couldn’t reuse the original break-bolts (for obvious reasons) I adapted a pair of Allen-head bolts to fit inside the mounting pieces for the upper steering column bearing.
As the two plastic upper steering column bearings usually are pretty much gone after 30 odd years, and I hate rattles, I ordered a pair of new bushes to replace the rather perished old ones. Putting them in was rather straightforward. The upper one needed a few well aimed taps with a soft hammer to seat properly though. But the steering shaft now is a very nice tight fit.
Next on the to do list was the rear of the interior, covering the hood stowage area, fitting the seatbelts and the edge finishers. The edge finishers were a classic example of parts that came of the car, but needed a fair bit of persuasion to get back on.
I will start on the doors next. Plus I have ordered some fancy tyres for when the wheels return.
With these vinyl trim pieces fitted I realised I couldn’t access the inside of the B-post through the large holes to fit the door catches. Luckily I’m not that heavily build so I could fit the catches from the smaller hole just above the sills. After which I could fit the sill carpets, followed by the A-post trim pieces.
Having sorted the soft bits I fitted the various supports for the dashboard and steering column. As I am using a very early dashboard for this car (from ACG96L), I also used the support between heater unit and A-post, as found on earlier cars. Very convenient for some bling parts, but more on that later.
With the supports in place I fitted the steering column. As I couldn’t reuse the original break-bolts (for obvious reasons) I adapted a pair of Allen-head bolts to fit inside the mounting pieces for the upper steering column bearing.
As the two plastic upper steering column bearings usually are pretty much gone after 30 odd years, and I hate rattles, I ordered a pair of new bushes to replace the rather perished old ones. Putting them in was rather straightforward. The upper one needed a few well aimed taps with a soft hammer to seat properly though. But the steering shaft now is a very nice tight fit.
Next on the to do list was the rear of the interior, covering the hood stowage area, fitting the seatbelts and the edge finishers. The edge finishers were a classic example of parts that came of the car, but needed a fair bit of persuasion to get back on.
I will start on the doors next. Plus I have ordered some fancy tyres for when the wheels return.
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