PAUL LOGUE wrote:
>>I am restoring a 77 Spitfire.
I am finding most parts except:
Rubber mounts for side lights and parking lights.
My lenses, frames and sockets are fine.
Since I hate to reinvent the wheel, I need an opinion on the best route for
doing a complete interior.
Any suggestions?<<
I havenšt found side light rubber mounts anywhere either. If you do, let
me/us know where (!) You may have to settle for decent used mounts from a
junker.
Regarding an interior restoration, herešs my two centšs worth. Carpeting is
probably the easiest job. Buy a decent carpet kit, but donšt bother the extra
expense of a ĒmoldedĒ set, unless you want the job to be REALLY easy. Use 3M
trim or general trim spray adhesive (and a breather mask!) This is great stuff
for carpeting and lots of other interior trim problems. Spray each piece, wait
until tacky (usually 60 secs. or less) and press together. Then have a beer.
As per another listeršs good advice (sorry to forget your name!), I glued,
rather than snapped, the footwell sections, but stapled the tunnel. I also
added extra padding underneath the seats and rear well sections, and found the
noise reduction to be considerable. Then I had another beer.
By the way, the most difficult part of a carpeting job will be restoring your
floorpans if they are rusty. Mine were somewhat so, and I POR-15šed the
suckers so I can sleep at night. Then I had a l had my 3rd beer. OK -- maybe
it was my 23rd beer.
As per seats, if youšve been watching this list, you will have learned to buy
the kits and take them to a professional. Youšll probably have to keep your
old head rests, and you will get widely divergent price quotes on this job,
with your best value found at a shop that is experienced but hungry. (I got
mine done for $100 bucks per seat, but even the INSTALLER said it was a bigger
job than he anticipated. He did a nice job, though ...)
As for a dashboard renewal, some listers have located new veneers, pryed off
the old, and reglued the new, cutting out the instrument holes. This is
probably the fastest route. Rather than shell out the bucks for a
replacement, I cut my own solid walnut dash using the old plywood/veneer dash
as a template, but this is NO piece of cake! In fact, it was a 3-night job,
using my brotheršs appreciable woodworking experience and his fully equipped
workshop. Given that, however, it was do-able, and the final product looks
great after finishing. (If you want to avoid my considerable pitfalls on this
project, e-mail me directly...)
--
Martin Secrest
74 Spitfire 1500
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