Coming soon in March, the carpet will be installed, the seats will be covered and door and quarter panels will be made.
I began to tackle the interior over the Christmas break of 2004. I had welded in some 1"x3" steel tubes to act as bodily structure and air ducts for the future A/C. So, before I could install the upholstery, I had to get the ventilation in order. Shown here are the hose that extend the tubes down to the package tray, where the A/C unit will be installed.
I then cut holes in the tubes for vent registers. While I was at it, I also cut a hole for a dome light and pulled a wiring loom through.
Next up, I put sound deadening everywhere. I used Fat Mat. The difference was noticeable as the acorns falling on the roof of the car didn't ring anymore.
I started the upholstery around the mid window section. I used an offwhite crushed grain vinyl. I bought yardage and windlace from Sewfine Interiors and had my Mom do all the sewing.
The covering over the vent tubes didn't come out so well. I'll have to go back over it all with the heat gun later and see if I can get some of the wrinkles out.
The headliner was a monstrous task. Here it is on bows waiting to be stretched.
The front half turned out quite well with only minor wrinkles. You can also see the new dash pad, color matched glove box door and grilles, and steering wheel.
The back half got a few more wrinkles than is desirable. I figure I'll tint the windows dark and not let anyone inside and then the headliner won't be an issue.
For the carpet, I bought a carpet kit from Sewfine to do the front and customized it as I went back. I cut all the pieces to fit and had them bound. They now await installation.
To finish the carpet in the rear, I bought yardage to match the kit.
NEW PHOTOS BELOW - JULY 1, 2005
At the end of May I came to finish the car for the wedding.
The time had come to install the carpet for good. But first, more sound deadening was in order.
I laid down some high density upholstery foam for that plush, luxury feel. Then came the carpet. Fun with spray adhesive.
All finished. With time the carpet will relax and settle down.
A view of the front.
And the whole carpet.
Everything finished nice and clean around the pedals.
Next up, the seats went in. I got the seat covers from SewFine Interiors and used TMI padding.
The rear facing passenger seats.
After the seats went in, they came back out to put in the quarter panels. I did these myself.
If I may say, the box pleats on the pockets are much better than TMI's.
I put this in to temporarily cover the package tray. Eventually the A/C unit will fill this space.
This is how I see the limo most often nowadays, driving. The VDO gauges keep an eye on the oil and head temps and the oil pressure. I've got another unbroken horn ring, but it needs to be refinished. The brand new one I bought didn't fit the steering wheel.
I disassembled and cleaned up the speedo. While I was at it I rolled it back to make the limo 'new'.
