Not A Duster's Most Excellent Progress
- Thread starter Not A Duster
- Start date
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Been tough making any headway. Been so busy at work that there ain't much time, and when I do have a day off, I'm so tired it's hard to get the motivation to get off my ass & go out to the garage.
Here's some stuff we have gotten done last couple days:
Interior. Started putting this stuff together while I waited for a few mechanical parts.
Being this is a 72+ A body, it came with the swell cardboard headliner. Year one has a kit to convert it to fabric and Dante's makes a plastic replacement. Neither option fits what is left of my budget, so I decided to try and fix mine, even if it's just temporary.
I have two of them, one from the Demon and one from the Dart Sport. (I actually have a 3rd from a parts car that is too messed up to use.) Both suffered from water damage and were bubbled out of shape. I decided to use the one from the Demon, as it was the best of the two and only needed to be reshaped in one large area.. It still had problems - for example the little tab at the back that attached it to the windowframe had torn off.
Here's some stuff we have gotten done last couple days:
Interior. Started putting this stuff together while I waited for a few mechanical parts.
Being this is a 72+ A body, it came with the swell cardboard headliner. Year one has a kit to convert it to fabric and Dante's makes a plastic replacement. Neither option fits what is left of my budget, so I decided to try and fix mine, even if it's just temporary.
I have two of them, one from the Demon and one from the Dart Sport. (I actually have a 3rd from a parts car that is too messed up to use.) Both suffered from water damage and were bubbled out of shape. I decided to use the one from the Demon, as it was the best of the two and only needed to be reshaped in one large area.. It still had problems - for example the little tab at the back that attached it to the windowframe had torn off.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
My solution was to cut the tab from the other one, cut some strips of denim and using contact cement, glue the tab onto the "good" headliner, sandwiching it between the denim on both sides.
Once it was all dry, I trimmed it to it's original shape, it seems pretty togh and should hold together.
Once it was all dry, I trimmed it to it's original shape, it seems pretty togh and should hold together.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Then I turned my attention to the appearance of the stuff. I kicked around the idea of painting it, but it was too rough & bubbled from years of being wet from water an rodent urine. (found a mouse nest above the headliner.)
I got ahold of some ozite carpet from one of our suppliers. Its a very tough, very thin carpet - like material that is used to cover Pro - Audio speaker cabinets, guitar cabinets and line the inside of touring roadcases.
It's tough, looks good and was easy to install. just apply contact ceeement to both sides and stick it on. Used it on the headliner, sail panels and parcel shelf.
Edit: A good two hours was spent with a rubber roller getting the stuff smooth and bubble free once glued on. But it sure ended up looking good.
I got ahold of some ozite carpet from one of our suppliers. Its a very tough, very thin carpet - like material that is used to cover Pro - Audio speaker cabinets, guitar cabinets and line the inside of touring roadcases.
It's tough, looks good and was easy to install. just apply contact ceeement to both sides and stick it on. Used it on the headliner, sail panels and parcel shelf.
Edit: A good two hours was spent with a rubber roller getting the stuff smooth and bubble free once glued on. But it sure ended up looking good.
Last edited:
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Here's the finished headliner ready to install - the second pic is the "tab" from previous post covered with the rest of the headliner.
gomopar440
Livin' my life...one gas station at a time.
I guess now I'm not the only one that's used some denim to fix a vehicle. LOL!
I remade my shift boot on my 68 Power Wagon. Worked like a charm.
I remade my shift boot on my 68 Power Wagon. Worked like a charm.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Dash Pad.
Two before pics and two after.
Used one of them plastic dash pad covers. Took a lot of grief from folks who insisted they are crap. While it does not look 100% stock, it is a definate improvement over what was there.
If you look reeeaaallll closely, you can tell it's a cover.
I'm happy with it.
Two before pics and two after.
Used one of them plastic dash pad covers. Took a lot of grief from folks who insisted they are crap. While it does not look 100% stock, it is a definate improvement over what was there.
If you look reeeaaallll closely, you can tell it's a cover.
I'm happy with it.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Another before/after.
I will never, ever do this myself again. Did a set of buckets years ago without much problem but with my mangled right shoulder I no longer have the strength to do this myself. This will be the last time. Whenever I get the cash to do the rear seat, it will be farmed out.
I will never, ever do this myself again. Did a set of buckets years ago without much problem but with my mangled right shoulder I no longer have the strength to do this myself. This will be the last time. Whenever I get the cash to do the rear seat, it will be farmed out.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
And finally - Mr. Driveshaft is in. This completes the driveline, so I'm hoping to sent the car into the bodyshop for it's coat of blue late this week.
Pic by Pic:
First we scrape and clean, then we paint, then we press in nice new ujoints. Once it's ready it get's bolted in. Check out that beautiful 8 3/4 - custom built for yours truly by the incorrigable Dr. Jass and delivered by the incomparable Stretch.
Yeah - it's finally in the car - imagine that.
Pic by Pic:
First we scrape and clean, then we paint, then we press in nice new ujoints. Once it's ready it get's bolted in. Check out that beautiful 8 3/4 - custom built for yours truly by the incorrigable Dr. Jass and delivered by the incomparable Stretch.
Yeah - it's finally in the car - imagine that.
Last edited:
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Gomo - I figured denim was strong enough to resist tearing while being thin enough to not show through the fabric covering the headliner.
Lucky for me I was right...
Lucky for me I was right...
gomopar440
Livin' my life...one gas station at a time.
That cap looks fine to me. Where did you get it from? I might just stick a cap on the chally until I can find/get an A/C type dash.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
The brand name on the cap is "Palco."
I bought it from Legendary. It was reasonably priced- like $39 bucks or something. I'm thinking the ebody variety might be a little more...
Glues on with slicone (provided.) Like I said, you look real close, (like inches away) you can tell it's a cap, but I think it looks just fine.
I bought it from Legendary. It was reasonably priced- like $39 bucks or something. I'm thinking the ebody variety might be a little more...
Glues on with slicone (provided.) Like I said, you look real close, (like inches away) you can tell it's a cap, but I think it looks just fine.
gomopar440
Livin' my life...one gas station at a time.
Not A Duster said:I'm thinking the ebody variety might be a little more...
Ya think???:doubt:
Thanks for the link. I've seen some E body caps on Ebag for about $89 but would like to shop around a bit before buying. I'd like to have it made in light to medium grey if possible. I imagine that'll cost extra too. :doh:
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Well - just so happens I gots my Legendary catalogue right here:
They only show a cap for 1970 challengers. Black with or without air is $89.00 - colours are $105.00
Website link:
www.legendaryautointeriors.com
sales email:
dp@legendaryautointeriors.com
They only show a cap for 1970 challengers. Black with or without air is $89.00 - colours are $105.00
Website link:
www.legendaryautointeriors.com
sales email:
dp@legendaryautointeriors.com
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Wow, Nodda--everything's lookin' really good. Nice to see you're getting some time to do it.
As a side note, when we took pics of Stretch's car during the wheel swap, we got a good look at the rear axle after a year's use... everything still looks like new--even the rear drums! So I'm happy to report that those long nights of snorting baked paint fumes paid off in the long run, with the exception of the occasional flashback hallucination in which I'm convinced I'm a strawberry Pop-Tart.
As a side note, when we took pics of Stretch's car during the wheel swap, we got a good look at the rear axle after a year's use... everything still looks like new--even the rear drums! So I'm happy to report that those long nights of snorting baked paint fumes paid off in the long run, with the exception of the occasional flashback hallucination in which I'm convinced I'm a strawberry Pop-Tart.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Boot:
They are hole punches. I bought 'em years ago at Princess Auto for making gaskets. They were cheap - like $5 for a set of 6. I'm sure Harbor Freight in the U.S. has something similar. They have come in real handy for lots of things.
Flamin' Head:
Yeah, the headliner came out way better than I expected. In direct sunlight, you can still make out some of the roughness underneath where the cardboard was wet, but I'm hoping you won't be able to notice it once it's in the car. If it looks good and lasts, I'm sure I will just keep it this way. The material sure makes it easy to clean & maintain.
They are hole punches. I bought 'em years ago at Princess Auto for making gaskets. They were cheap - like $5 for a set of 6. I'm sure Harbor Freight in the U.S. has something similar. They have come in real handy for lots of things.
Flamin' Head:
Yeah, the headliner came out way better than I expected. In direct sunlight, you can still make out some of the roughness underneath where the cardboard was wet, but I'm hoping you won't be able to notice it once it's in the car. If it looks good and lasts, I'm sure I will just keep it this way. The material sure makes it easy to clean & maintain.