Summer 2011 Trans Am Projects (D-O-N-E!)…

Mileage: 88,493

 

Well, in total, it took about two months to complete this project.  The bummer is that I missed a bunch of nice days of driving the car, but if it is leaking coolant, then driving it really wouldn’t be much fun!  I am really happy with how everything came together, and really we didn’t have many issues along the way.  I think the final results are awesome!  The before (left) and after (right) pictures really show all the improvements!

 

As with any older car, I still have a small laundry list of projects that I plan on doing in the future, but for now, I am going to be happy with my fresh, new, clean interior and drive it as much as I can until the end of summer!  Speaking of that, check out the first place I took the Trans Am with it’s new interior….

If anyone has any questions, or would like more details on anything I did, feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to get into all the boring details!

Summer 2011 Trans Am Projects (Final Reassembly!)…

Mileage: 88,493

 

We are now on the home stretch!  I started the final reassembly by addressing the T-Top Molding Trim.  The originals were both cracked, so I installed the new and freshly dyed replacements!  This really made a big difference!

 

 

Next, I installed the new sun visors.  The material on the old ones (bottom) had began to sag and come detached from the frame.  The new ones I bought from Classic Industries and they look great as well!

Finally, I moved onto the driver’s seat and seat belt.  We followed the same procedure as the passenger side and everything went together great!  I think the interior looks great!

To complete the entire project, we replaced the nose emblem!  The old one was showing its age, and since I had already purchased the part I figured why not!

Summer 2011 Trans Am Projects (Console, Passenger Seat and Seat Belt)…

Mileage: 88,493

 

Since the back seating area was now done, it was time to move forward!  The center console seemed like a good next step.  Before I got it installed, I needed to brighten up the map pocket.  Some of the silver trim around the edge had worn off over the years, so I got a Testors “Gloss Silver” colored paint pen and touched it up!  I think it looks great!

 

I have been collecting a few parts over the past couple years for the console.  I have a new bin, arm rest lid, and shifter bezel.  The arm rest lid required the metal stop piece to be removed from the original lid and then mounted on the new one.  We used small aluminum rivets to mount it on the new lid.  Also, since it was out, I did a deep clean on the entire console, it was nice to get all the nooks and crannies cleaned!

After we got the console finished up, we moved onto the passenger seat.  Really, the reason we started with the passenger seat was because the car was backed into the garage and the driver’s side was against the wall!  Since I kept the old carpet, we used it as a template and cut the holes for the seat and seatbelt exactly as they did from the factory.  The only change we made was on the outer lower seat belt mount, we made sure our cuts were very tight and could easily be tucked up into the trim pieces.  The only advise I can give is to make sure to measure and lay out the cuts before you get the knife out!  After we got the carpet cut, we bolted down both seat belts, the seat, and reinstalled the rock panel sill plates. 

The one funny thing I noticed when I was installing the female latch part of the seat belts, is that the actual seatbelt webbing isn’t camel tan.  The driver side was maroon and the passenger side was oyster!  I guess it really didn’t matter when color they used at the factory, since the webbing is completely covered by the trim sleeve!  I wonder what random combinations, other people have in their cars?!

We are almost done and I think it is looking great!  I can’t wait to get the driver’s side done now so I can drive it again and show off all our hard work!