1966 Polara 500 Ragtop

[Dsertdog]

Got the car this morning after a week of crap weather and pulled the seats...again. Also removed the gas pedal.

Fixed the front floor rust and hoping the epoxy sets up before I have to drive it up to storage.

I have a line on a set of seat belts and just need to get some bolts and windlace

 

[Dsertdog]

Well...I got the noise deadener down and the carpet in.
It's not trimmed yet, kinda waiting for things to settle in a bit more.
View attachment 327037

 

[LocuMob]

I'll have final tally on the belts tomorrow, looks like you're ready for them!

 

[Dsertdog]

I'll have final tally on the belts tomorrow, looks like you're ready for them!

Yes I will be. I'm going to an all Mopar show and race the truck. I wish Miz Ruby was ready, but she's not.

Sunday, I'll be poking holes for the drivers seat and gas pedal so I can drive her over to storage.

I need to figure out how to remove the rear side panels so I can fit the carpet under them. There's several screws to remove but they seem welded to the upper rear seat!

 

[Dsertdog]

Well this was my weekend.
I ran the truck at the strip Saturday, got po'd because I couldn't get any runs in because people were breaking, then I red lighted....twice. Disgruntled I headed home.
So I came home and worked on Ms. Ruby. I started trimming and poking holes. Got the gas pedal installed and the drivers' seat holes burnt through. A wood burning iron works like a charm!
Sunday, I got the back inner panels off enough to slide the carpet under them, and I had plenty of carpet despite ACC claiming that the carpet would not fit a convertible. It fit perfectly! BY the end of the day I had the drivers seat in and drove her over to storage. It's supposed to rain the next 4 days.

The weights are used to stretch the carpet

Next weekend I hope to get the back seat and passenger seat situated.

The console needs a make over. The carpet crumbled when I touched it and plastic is faded and stained. There's some pitting in the chrome but I can live with, but missing or incorrect fasteners I can't.

Between the time change and the weather plus the work, I'm wore out.

 

[Dsertdog]

Today I managed to get the rear seat in, trying some insulation under the seat as part of the process.

I have enough insulation left to put a 2nd layer over the center area.

 

[Dsertdog]

While things were apart, I replaced the map light bulb. And cleaned all the nasty stains off the area no doubt from smoke.

Do I have to take the dash apart to replace the glove box lamp?

 

[Dsertdog]

The carpet pieces for the console arrived today and they look great! Time to get started.

 

[Dsertdog]

Between honey do projects and such I was able to disembowel the console. Two bags of fasteners later I had all the main pieces strewn throughout the house.
Here's the bad and the ugly...

These two got dunked in very hot soapy water The black painted trim around the shifter had been covered by some cheesy stick on wood grain that had peeled back over time leaving a nasty sticky mess. Goo gone and acetone barely touched it!
Hot water and a stiff bristled brush got the residue off but also took some of the paint. I hope lacquer thinner will remove the remaining paint and I will re-spray it.

At this point I'm not completely impressed with ACC. While the console sides look accurate, the end piece isn't close.

Original on top of replacement.
I have to dunk the front console piece yet to get the residue off.

 

[Dsertdog]

A good day for me today. Got the passenger seat in.
Trimmed the carpet back up front around the kick panels and put in the dimmer switch grommet
Worked on cleaning and rebuilding the console. Started gluing the carpet on the piece of tin for the rear of the console.

After being a bit impressed, my opinion of the console carpet has changed
Carpet for console sides is cut poorly. Drivers side is too short and passenger side wasn't deep enough. I already showed you how off the rear piece is.
Even though these pieces were for a Charger, I had believed the console frames for B and C bodies were all the same from 66 through 70. Am I mistaken?
May call ACC about it this week.

 

[mr. fix it]

You don’t need to remove the dashboard but the glove box door and insert
Don’t be surprised if the insert breaks
They are available on line for about $35

 

[Dsertdog]

You don’t need to remove the dashboard but the glove box door and insert
Don’t be surprised if the insert breaks
They are available on line for about $35

The original insert is as perfect as it can be. So I'll forgo that project for another time, or never.

 

[Dsertdog]

The Thanksgiving storms finally passed and I brought Mz Ruby home for the weekend.
The final trims were made on the carpet.
Kick panels were screwed into place.
The rear piece of the console was painted semi gloss black. I think it needs more gloss The cracks had been epoxied and the carpet glued to its plate and trimmed.
I washed off the dust and crud and shot a couple of photos.
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

 

[Dsertdog]

The console base is ready to install.

I received my new shift indicator assembly last week and installed it. Thank you Dan aka 71newport! I now have a working shift indicator with the correct bulb tint.

 

[Dsertdog]

Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow will be the 10 month anniversary of when we brought Mz. Ruby

Today, I finished painting the console door. I should be able to install tomorrow.

While the paint dried I shined up Mz. Ruby and we went for a Christmas cruise. Even the dogs rode along!

 

[Dsertdog]

It hasn't been a happy New Year for us. At the moment the little white dog in the above photo is having some serious health issues and we are doing what we can to either help her or we face the inevitable.
I brought Mz Ruby home today and placed the new ACC floor mats in. The carpet replacement project is finished but the interior work is far from done.

Thanks for following along.

 

[65sporty]

Sorry to hear about your pooch, it's never easy when one of your pets get ill.

 

[Dsertdog]

Well...our fur baby is stable for the moment. She won't be around much longer but we now can cherish the time we have.

Mz. Ruby... she'll be around a while like me...I hope.
I'd had the battery out because we'd had several mornings below freezing, and the battery spent time in my heated work area.
Today I put the battery in and brought her home for a spell. As always, I snapped a couple of photos. It really is hard to take a bad photo of her, even with the crappy paint.

The wet spots under the car are from my truck. Poor Mr. Drip! He was clean for about 8 months...

 

[Dsertdog]

A lot of tears and sadness in our home. I had to put down our female Cocker, Sandy. She's the white and tan in the picture. At 16+ years she suffering from several things and would no longer take her meds. So yesterday we gave her spirit back. She was stray who picked us when we lived in Phoenix, and we gave her 12 good years. The vets figured she was 3-4 1/2 years old when we got her. She was a diva goddess and a sweetheart all in one.
She also traveled with us from Nashville, to Minneapolis, and all over Arizona trails and back roads, and was absolutely a delight.
RIP sweetheart. Dad will love and miss you forever!

 

[LocuMob]

Sorry for your loss, my condolences.