68 Polara restore back on

------Well thanks for all this info and yes I think my floor boards are ok and i will attempt to just get the Quarter Panels that I bought a couple years ago installed to save $$. I do own a shop manual but not a parts manual and looks like I need that as I didn't realize the back window was just the caulking gun style goop they are using to this day. I find that strange as when I enquired a few days ago, at a couple of the old car window glass and gasket manufacture and sales (Dante's) , they said they do not make this anywhere and I bought the gasket for the front windshield a few years ago? That would be great and if so in my '67 Monaco 500 I will remove and fix the rust and put it back in. The wide anodized body side moldings are on the 67 & 68 but very hard to find NOS complete and ridiculous $$ for any piece I have seen on ebay,... so much so that it never seems to sell. The bulkhead is on ebay and hope its good for any model and accessory's as I have powered seats , windows and ac and I appreciate the info on the ammeter controlling the power and maybe thats a main problem on these cars? I didn't help the issue of to much draw when I tin foiled the fuse to keep the heater motor fan going so when I attempt to reinstall a new bulkhead and go over some rewiring etc I will be installing a new fan motor to not create this overheating again. I am not as talented as you but I have patience enough to get the job done and as long as that AC dash doesn't need octopus hands and I can find door window motors I think I can get a decent finish on these intricacies. The problems I anticipate will be the electric rewiring, seat and window motor repair or purchase and install. I really enjoyed your expose and your long journey to expertly finish your beautiful C car and I have yet to go further to see the finished product of your sweat n tears and $$ of joy.
Owen you’re correct in that the front window requires a gasket. It seems that for the sedan models some rear windows required a rear gasket, but the hardtop/ Fastop are glued in like modern cars.
 
Brought my old carpet down from the attic and trimmed my new carpet closer to size. I think I need some more insulation padding. The padding on my old is twice as thick. I think I will trace out the pad on the old one to new padding and add it to my new carpet.
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Ordered my window trim clips today. Next I need to start thinking about finding a front windshield. I would really like to find someone to come install it and the rear window. It would be such a pain to haul the car somewhere vs someone coming to me to install. My goal is to have the interior finished except for the seats by Christmas. Then I can get back to my seats.
 
Clearly the reman carpet padhad much less thought put into it vs the original.
First picture pad on new carpet. Second traced from my old pad.


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Added to the carpet padding on my replacements. Looks better now and with both layers it should be about the same thickness as the original.
The front next.
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Ordered my window trim clips today. Next I need to start thinking about finding a front windshield. I would really like to find someone to come install it and the rear window. It would be such a pain to haul the car somewhere vs someone coming to me to install. My goal is to have the interior finished except for the seats by Christmas. Then I can get back to my seats.

I don't think finding someone to install it at your place will be an issue. I've never seen a glass installer that didn't do mobile work. Usually they are thrilled if they can work indoors on your car, instead of outside in some parking lot.
 
Clearly the reman carpet padhad much less thought put into it vs the original.
First picture pad on new carpet. Second traced from my old pad.

Normal, especially for a carpet that was purchased decade(s) ago. I think ACC has improved the supplied backing over what you used to get.
 
I got my dash parts back from paint today. Seems to be close to original color although maybe a little too smooth as it was a suede finish. I wonder if a Satin clear would “rough it up” a little? Maybe test a spot under my dash pad.
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Roof rail and window trim needs to go back. It has the right finish, but the wrong color. Is supposed to be A low gloss “Rebel Red Metallic”. It is more of a Maroon color. Should be closer to the color of my seat, headliner and sail panel. Although I am noticing that my new fabric is a little more maroon than red. Either way the trim should be closer to my sail panel color and visors.
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Original vinyl is the long narrow strip.
New is the rectangle. Along with my sale panel, headliner and carpet.
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I got my dash parts back from paint today. Seems to be close to original color although maybe a little too smooth as it was a suede finish. I wonder if a Satin clear would “rough it up” a little? Maybe test a spot under my dash pad.
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As far as I know, clears of different shine levels do nothing to the roughness of the surface. When it`s the shine that matters, a satin or totally matte clear would fill the need.
 
As far as I know, clears of different shine levels do nothing to the roughness of the surface. When it`s the shine that matters, a satin or totally matte clear would fill the need.
You haven't seen me paint, I am not that good. My finish is sure to have texture. Although not not in the right places.
On the flip side the smooth finish will probably clean better. Of that big dash 90% is covered by padding. Only below the lower dash pad shows paint.
The paint guy mentioned they were having trouble finding something they could spray.
I have been unsuccessful finding the paint on my own as well.
 
Dropped a couple of coats of satin clear coat on. It got rid of the gloss and now looks closer to what it did. Still not the suede texture, but it won’t bother me as much now, until I see a car wit the same color with a suede finish. I will let it cure for the rest of today and give it a quick polish.
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I recently ordered some tail filler panel red and silver argent paint from Chad at MOPAR Automotive Restoration Paint

Friday evening I sent Chad an e-mail asking if he also mixes up interior colors. I sent him the codes. He responded that he can do the suedes and the low gloss in the proper colors. When he gets back after the weekend he will check if he already has the formula recipes for those colors. Otherwise he says he can dig up the original formulas and go from there.
Maybe I will repaint my roof rails myself. And you know I will have to order some for the dash as well just to compare to how close it is to what I have.
 
Dropped a couple of coats of satin clear coat on. It got rid of the gloss and now looks closer to what it did. Still not the suede texture, but it won’t bother me as much now, until I see a car wit the same color with a suede finish. I will let it cure for the rest of today and give it a quick polish.
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That looks good!
 
That looks good!
Some day it may come back to haunt me, but I have become a big fan of Eastwood’s Satin Clear for bare metal and paint.
They used to have one just for bare metal and another used on paint. Now it seems to be one in the same. They claim it won’t UV yellow and withstands up to 300 degrees and fuel.
Every bare metal part I have restored has this as a protective coat. Even my blackened bolts.
It actually looks pretty good on my dash as well.
Time will tell.
 
I showed my wife what I wanted for Christmas today. She asked me how much and I told her about $160 each. She told me to text her the details. I am not sure if she realizes that was for 1.
Anyway if she did it I am sure it would go on the credit card and I would pay anyway. At least it would be an approved purchase.

Yes I am sticking with the 14” for a while since I already have brand new 14” tires. These were an option in ‘68.
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Bumper update.
The body shop officially lost my bumpers and spare tire (rim). After being there working off and on for 11 years they were bound to loose something. It didn’t help that they moved to a different town about 8 miles away. It seems that they sold their old building last year. When they were cleaning it out they didn’t realize my bumpers were still over there and got lost in the shuffle.
They offered to pay for new cores. Thankfully North Star plating has one front bumper no extensions and 3 rear bumpers. They will send me pictures so I can verify that they are in fact Polara bumpers. I do have good pictures of my old ones.
As soon as I get these started plating I am sure they will stumble across my old ones. In three months hopefully I will have “new” bumpers. End of February?
 
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