The interior [2]

(04/28/02) I finally got the carpet down to flatten. It comes shipped in a roll, so I like to let it settle for a while before finishing the install. I didn't think it was gonna take as long as it did, though. The console is in there just for the heck of it.

(05/24/02) After a short delay (brought on by a cross-country trip) I got back to work on this little project.

Here I have the back of the back seat ready for a post-mortem...and maybe a little upholstery work while we're at it.

It's not in real bad shape, but there were a few rips along the top edge and a couple of the seams were coming loose.

Here's the other side of it. It looks kinda funny because it's a fold-down seat. Not too many RS/SSes were sold with that option...or so I've been given to understand.

This is the finished product. Not all that bad for a job done on a blanket on the family room floor.

For more info on installing re-pop seat covers, you can go here and see how I did this on a 79 Camaro's seats.

Then I did the backs of the front seats. They were kind of a wresting match, but not too bad.

Finally I started on the front seat bottoms. I just about had to tear this one to little bits to get the old foam rubber off of the frame.

Then I took a good look at the frame and found that it was cracked and broken in a couple of places. I checked a few places to see if I could get a new frame...HAH! The best I could come up with was a used frame for $150. I don't think so. I ended up taking it to a local welding shop and the owner welded it up in an hour or so for $15. I can live with that.

As long as I had the interior torn apart, I decided that I'd better fix the quarter window problem. It would roll down, but when I tried to roll it back up, it would tilt at all kinds of crazy angles and bind up and in general, not work very well. I found out that it had a broken center roller...the one that goes in the middle of the rail assembly. In order to replace that I had to completely remove the regulator, the rail assembly and then take the glass out. But since I had to do the same thing to the other Camaro, it made the second job go a lot easier.

And while I had the door panels off, I replaced the little hairpin springs for the lock mechanisms. Both of them were missing and on the driver's side the door could only be unlocked with the greatest amount of difficulty. This made for some interesting situations on the drive back from Louisiana. I didn't think I was nimble enough to climb over the console and get in and out of the car on the passenger side...but I did. It's sure nice to have that lock working now.

(05/24/02) With a little help from my son, I got the back seats reinstalled. This is normally an easy job, but the mounting bracket for the fold-down seat had broken its welds at the floor pan. So we had to drill and bolt it back in...then fight to get the folding mechanisms all lined up and bolted in. Not the most fun I've ever had. And what usually takes one or two minutes took a couple of hours. But it's back together and it even folds down now.

This is a picture of the front seats halfway through re-installation. I positioned the bottoms first, bolted them down and then installed the backs.

(06/07/02) The interior is finally back together. I even mounted the console securely to the floor pan (it was just set in place when we first got the car.)

The short shift lever looks somewhat out of place in this car...but it's really convenient and comfortable. The shift throws are very short and precise with the Pro 5.0 shifter.

While the car was in the garage with its interior ripped out, I took a look at the trunk. It was pretty icky.

So I cleaned it up with water based cleaner (Simple Green...that stuff smells like shaving cream) and then used Restomotive's MetalReady to prep the surface.

Then it got a coat of POR-15 (breakfast of champions.) Not quite so icky any more. I guess I better get a trunk liner to make it look official. :)

And here it is, posed in front of the neighbor's house along side the Pumpkin. We had just spent the evening preparing both of them for a car show the next day.

A couple of things that are evident in this picture: First, there's a front license plate on it. When we got the car from Louisiana, it didn't have one, since they aren't required in that state. So I had to get a bracket and the associated hardware for that. Second, the headlight doors are closed. Again, when we bought the car, one of the doors was held in the open position and the other one was in the trunk. I've got them both functioning manually now and I have the motors and the relay assembly, but that still needs to be installed. Finally, (and although this picture doesn't show it real well) I painted the bolt-in subframe connectors with POR-15 and sprayed the traction bars to match the body color. That may change in the future, but it works for now.

So what started out to be a little bitty project ended up being a complete interior job. But I think it's worth it. At least I don't have to look at the holes in the carpet and the splits in the seat covers. And I fixed a buncha other things while I was in there.

Next page: more detail work.

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