Pimp my own ride

Lots of progress lately. Its getting closer to the time when I can drive it and not be embarrassed, at least not 100%, maybe just 35% embarrassed.

As I mentioned, the interior doors have lovely sound dampening Dynamat on them now.

And yes, there is carpet. Black carpet. With Dynamat underneath. Mmmm Dusty!

A very nice southern gentleman scored some great white interior pieces from a junk yard. Pre-cleanup of the console. Some nice grime and rust! 

I tried some Method brand all purpose cleaner. It did a decent job but even soft scrub couldn't get rid of the rust. So I opted to buy some white paint. I found Rustoleom in a textured style called Hammered. I think it worked out nicely.

And while I'm giving old things a second life. I decided to find out the best way to buff up my dirty black trim inside the car. I saw something somewhere that peanut butter works well to get wax off of black trim and also the oils help shine things up. Worst thing that can happen is my car smells like a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. Not a bad thing. 

Here's Before:

After JIF.

I continued to detail all my black trim with it, and really like the results. Plus its cheap and a natural way to clean.

I also installed the front speakers. Some Polk Audio 5.25"

Also painted the black map pockets and speaker enclosures with, you guessed it, more Rustoleum! And not any, color shifting! Oooohhh, shiny! 

So here is the mostly finished Oxen White vinyl door cards that I ordered from http://www.mtmfg.com/

So far, really happy with the result and I'm excited to get the seat covers I ordered from them as well to finally get rid of the tan for good.

Spring is here... sort of.

Pretty decent weather over the weekend and able to make some headway.

Bye bye icky tan carpet! Stripped everything out, used acetone to clean the metal and added dynamat for sound deadening. The previous owner most definitely had a dog and kept this car in a pasture somewhere. THIS is why I have a shop vac. I also discover some gnarly looking pennies.

In side the door panel, someone left a present. It will be covered with dynamat soon. Such a pity.

Top is UP!

I've been struggling all winter to get my convertible top up. Pro-tip: Don't leave your top down when its cold (yes, this can be applied to other things...) because you will never, ever, get the top to stretch enough to close again. It was 50 degrees today, so I started Mabel up (that's her name now) and put her in the sun for a while. After about an hour I came back and tried to shut the top, it was a little rough, but I did get it closed. Hooray for minor victories!

Booorrrinnnnggg

Nothing much to say except that its winter in Iowa.
Its too cold to even think about being out in the garage. Although the winter has brought me some new goodies to play with when it warms up.

Another friend was able to pick up my boot cover and some misc. parts from the previous owner. So I have THAT going for me. I also have a plastic piece that needs a little MacGuyvering so it will cover the speakers. I have speakers, they are sitting in the box waiting for me to install them. And I am just waiting to thaw out.