FHC resto nr. 159; More interior refurbishing

Last weekend I started on cleaning and refurbishing several of the (hard) plastic interior parts. And that’s where I continued this weekend. Starting with the finished results from previous weekend:

Console insert XKC541, facia switch panel RKC4660, which both used to be light grey,

and the carpet protectors (which don’t appear in my parts manuals).

Early grill moulding XKC291.

Centre console WKC531, which also used to be light grey.

Next on the to do list was a thorough clean of the centre console’s armrest (WKC541) and repairing a typical cracked mounting hole at the back of the armrest. I will probably make a pair of steel plates to go behind the mounting screws head, to spread the load better and prevent future damage in this area;

Clearly visible is a discoloured area on the side of the armrest that couldn’t be removed with the normal cleaning fluids. But the Jet Black Vinylkote covered that quite nicely. As it did with all other areas of this part.

Dashboard switches next.

FHC resto nr. 158; Interior refurbishing

In my previous post I mentioned that I had managed to acquire a few rattle cans of RAL 9005 (Jet Black) Vinylkote, supplied by Rawlins Paints. And this is needed to refurbish some of the plastic interior parts.

But first all parts needed a good clean. With the first stage being a good scrubbing with warm water, dish-washing liquid and an old but still functional electronic tooth brush. This was to remove most of the dirt that had accumulated over the years. Next stage being the final paint preparations, cleaning and degreasing all the surfaces with a Vinylkleen solution (1 part Vinylkleen and 3 parts water). Quite amazing to see how much dirt the Vinylkleen solution still removed from some of the cleaned surfaces! Actually so much that some of the black plastic parts probably don’t need a new coating;

Early A post trim WKC481PAA / WKC491PAA

Steering column shroud XKC593 / XKC594

And with some of the later (grey) parts also cleaned properly, it was time to get one of the Vinylkote rattle cans out and cover the boring grey or weathered surfaces with a few layers of jet black coating.

At the time of me typing these words the freshly coated parts are still drying. But first impression is that the quality and finish of the used coating is still to the same level as when I first used it on the interior of ‘t Kreng in the mid 90’s. Detail pictures of the finish hopefully in one of the coming posts!

FHC resto nr. 157; Slowly starting again after winter

It’s been far too long since my last report on this subject. Well on any TR7 related subject actually! But I haven’t been completely idle on things TR7 over the last few months.

To start with I had to search through my spares again. This time to look for another rear screen, as on closer inspection the chosen one had badly corroded heating wires. Luckily I found one that turned out to be much better in that area.

Next problem area (still) are the mounting holes for the rear parcel shelf. But as soon as the weather improves and I have enough time that should be rectified, together with fitting the newly chosen rear screen.

And while trawling through my spare parts I thought it might be a good idea to use the opportunity to sort out some more stuff; various electrical stuff this time. Plenty of spares left, but with three 40+ years old cars one never knows when something fails.

Back to the interior. Thanks to Russ I am now in the possession of an early US spec steering wheel. For no obvious reason I always liked the style of their design. Probably because they shout 1970’s. So when this one was advertised I couldn’t ignore it. In the pictures Russ sent to me, it looked like there were some tiny blemishes. But after a few hours of cleaning with hot water, dish-washing liquid and some brushes, it came out pretty nice. As new actually! A trip to a friend’s workshop, to use his blasting cabinet for the centre pad’s steel mounting plate, certainly helped with the finishing touches. Together with some new fasteners that is;

But that immediately leads to another problem, what steering wheel to choose for this car? As I also have this Moto Lita steering wheel which I ordered earlier in the cars restoration. Also very 70’s. Choices! Luckily the last one can also be used as a replacement in ‘t Kreng or my Defender.

And thanks to a recent trip to England I finally managed to get black (RAL 9005) vinyl paint (Rawlins Vinylkote) The joys of Brexit, as a result of which they didn’t deliver outside the UK anymore! But I can now start to rejuvenate some of the interior parts. So more cleaning to be done in the following weeks.

More interior parts to follow!