New vinyl top and headliner

[tbm3fan]

Well I finally get to drop off the Polara in the morning to start on the new vinyl top and headliner after painting the car at the end of August. This guy works out of his house and has a great reputation in the car and boat field for his work. He did the seat to my F100 using the original fabric I got from SMS. He will also be installing a new headliner as the original was just plain falling apart on it's own. Should be done in 2-3 days so I can then start installing the window trim. Pictures when it is all done since I haven't taken any since the car was cut and buffed.

 

[polara71]

I dont think I have ever seen photos of your car....... Besides that interior shot the other day

 

[1978 NYB]

Sounds like you are getting pretty close to completing your restoration. I can't remember ever seeing pictures of your car either?

 

[tbm3fan]

When I got the car it sorely needed some mechanical work. We just got it back, from 50 miles away, with a barely functioning master cylinder. So I needed to go through the brakes. Then needed to go through the ignition and some upgrading of the wiring system under the hood for protection. Then I had to replace the timing chain which meant doing the water pump and all hoses at the same time. Power steering was next as the pressure hose needed to be custom made and the pump leak corrected. Obtained a rebuilt Holley 2bbl which has done fine. The gas tank was actually new but needed a new fuel sender. Replaced all of the vacuum lines which when on the verge of cracking.

Then came new tires so I could get rid of the Chinese crap on the car. Now I could drive the car reliably so I was able to take it down to my muffler shop for their custom magic in doing a dual exhaust for me the right way. They actually let me get under the car during the work so the placement can be verified as far as direction and height are concerned. They have done 3 cars prior and this was a really nice job.

The interior needed a headliner as the old was falling apart all by itself. The carpet would just be pulled washed and redyed black since it was a shag type. The exterior had a lot of door dings, the door edges were chewed up and there were 5 different dents that needed to be brought back up. Given that it was obvious the car was going to be repainted after the body work. The vinyl roof came off since it was peeling already and there was surface rust to deal with underneath. This enabled the roof to get the same paint treatment as the body. Should have the car by Friday or Saturday depending on when I can pick it up.

This is a shot before any body work. White is very forgiving so hard to see anything from 20 feet.

 

[tbm3fan]

The exhaust was a pet peeve given how many use straight pipes out the back. Also many have a hard time getting the intermediate pipes tucked up under the car as they should be.

 

[polara71]

Nice, great condition .
Not many 73's being done...
Originally a California car?

 

[commando1]

Now that's the way it should be done!!

 

[bluefury361]

Now that's the way it should be done!!

Yeah.....!!!! Great job on the exhaust. What kind of mufflers are those...?

 

[1978 NYB]

Very nice car!

 

[tbm3fan]

Nice, great condition .
Not many 73's being done...
Originally a California car?

A 75,000 mile car from Lodi, CA.

 

[tbm3fan]

Yeah.....!!!! Great job on the exhaust. What kind of mufflers are those...?

20" Dynomax Superturbos

 

[tbm3fan]

Wow, he was done today. Said the fitted vinyl top went better than he ever expected given the limitations with the drip rail still on. Then he said the headliner was the toughest one he has ever done because of the area around the sail panels with wrinkles. Picked the car up at 6:30 tonight and won't be able to get to the window trim until the weekend. Also need to source those narrow plastic clips that go in the narrow trim around the base of the vinyl at the back. A few preliminary shots. Headliner easy with flash while black vinyl top impossible with flash. Those plastic sail panels really yellow with age. You can see a small sliver of the original color at the very bottom before it gets covered up with the plastic cover from there to the bottom of the door.

 

[polara71]

Oh my, that looks delicious

 

[cm23uoc]

Was this spot on the C-pillar where the emblem goes marked like this right from the manufacturer ?

 

[1978 NYB]

That looks outstanding! Good job!!!

 

[tbm3fan]

Was this spot on the C-pillar where the emblem goes marked like this right from the manufacturer ?

The emblem is factory positioned.

 

[Greg B.]

Are those C-pillar interior sail panels plastic? Our '71 Monaco had ones that seemed to be cardboard covered with a vinyl paper of some sort.

I wonder if you could get a white vinyl dye or paint to bring those yellowed plastic parts back?

 

[tbm3fan]

Those sail panels are plastic and almost seem to be two layers of plastic. Base layer being a smooth plastic base with the second textured layer on top. The reason I say that is the the pebbled textured layer actually peels/crumbles of exposing the smooth base. The guy who did the headliner says it is common among that older stuff. The best you could do was is to use a conditioner routinely to keep the plastic impregnated with moisture. That is what I will do and I will not try to scrub clean as that just causes the texture to crumble off. The plastic is also pretty brittle all around the interior. He suggested a product by Malco which I have to ask him about since they have many products.

The part that that has lost the most texture over the years is the panel in the middle between the two doors of a hardtop. My 1967 Park Lane has a similar panel yet the plastic is in great shape. It's sail panel is fabric over a base in it's case.

 

[cm23uoc]

Have to say the plastic parts in my 70 300 also break very easily. Never had this with other manufacturers of that era.

 

[chry73luv]

This is a very rare vip model with red molding, shag carpeting and the special black, red and gray plaid inserts in the seats with red piping. I too have a 2 dr black on black model that I am restoring. I got the seat fabric fron SMS also-they still have it in stock! Just a great option package and a car that you should hold on to.