My '54 Super 88 has what I would call an Old Car Smell. It's about half from the mothballs that spent some time in there before I got it, but the other half smells like old petroleum and other smells that you'd smell on an old tractor also. My dad believes that the mothball smell will diminish in time, but more importantly that almost all of the rest of the smell is from the old carpet, which got at least a little wet throughout the years, either from snow and rain or from the leaky weatherstripping (and once, when I was about ten years old, I left the windows down in a severe rainstorm - shame on me).

I'd sure like to keep the red leather seats - they just need some TLC, saddlesoap, and minor stitching. Are they stinking?

What do you guys think?

Keith

 

Keith,
To eliminate the seats as the source of the unpleasant odor just remove the front seat/seats and then sniff! It could be the padding used underneath the leather that would retain that odor. I don't think the leather would, especially if you use saddlesoap to clean it. If you remove the old carpeting, clean the floorboards, replace the carpet and padding (which I infer that you are willing to do), then clean the leather seat surfaces and dry out the bottom cushions and padding that should eliminate a lot of it. Although there is also cardboard and paper material in the door panels too.
Another possibility would be to use an ionizing air purifier. My daughter is a smoker and I used it in the car she "borrowed" for a year or more, it really worked and got rid of the odor. Just put the purifier in the car, leave the windows cracked a little and let it go overnight, worked great!
Good luck though.

 

Old car smell comes with the old car......usually everything cloth will take on the smell and the only way to rid is total reupholstery of the seats and new carpet. Old vinyl too will smell on dash and door panels. Any trunk matting or insulation on the trunklid underside will smell.....To use a freshener or mothballs will only blend the smell and maybe worse than just the old car smell...Its not an easy remedy. For me i sorta like the old car smell.

 

Both of these replies are food for thought, but the first thing that springs to mind* is the ionizer. It produces ozone - right? Does ozone make anything deteriorate faster?

Keith

* my wife had this idea about a week ago

 

The ionizer you are thinking of is a device that would go inside the car??....I believe this wont work as the smell is not just in the air...it is being produced constantly....

 

Well, I think that's part of the question: is the smell residual in the fibers of the upholstery (or something else) or is the smell coming from mold that's living somewhere in the car? Again, my dad thought the carpet. He said to pull it out (and maybe discard it, if I can find and afford proper replacement), clean the floors to metal and repaint, and then the smell would be gone.

We'd almost need to take a survey of odor source from anyone who's ever done restoration and gotten rid of a smell to find out most likely and next likely stink spots.

And to be honest, I just about think I could live with it, but I would like my wife to ride with me .

Keith

 

Yeah, you put the ionizer in the seat or floorboard inside the car for a single treatment. I think it does work on residual odors but as I said, cleaning old surfaces and removing old materials that you plan on replacing anyways sure helps. All I can say as a fact is that it removed the cigarette smoke odor from the car I did it in along with cleaning the surfaces of the door panels, dash, seats and windows.

Anyone ever watch that Mythbusters program where they put a butchered pig in a corvette inside a shipping container for a number of months? All I can say is. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Stinky! They never got that one clean and odor free.

 

I restored a 1966 Starfire.....car was moldy inside as water was getting in and on the carpet. The dash gauges clear plastic faceplates started to go foggy and the chrome trim started to pit. When I removed the rear armrests I found dead mice etc under there....and it still smelled rank. I installed new carpet, new door panels had the seats redone and cleaned everything....the old car smell is 95% gone.

 

Well, I guess I'll find out when I begin work on the car, eh? For at least a little while - a year maybe - I'd like to make it safely and enjoyably driveable. That'll probably mean discarding the carpet. And then I'll know...like Oldsguy said...take it out and sniff.

If I remove the rear armrests and find dead pigs, I'll let you know!

Keith

 

take the carpet out and take it to the local do it yourself car wash place ... lay it out and squirt it down good with viniger and soap and then go to town on it with the pressure washer. All automotive carpet has a factory installed pad made of old cloth material under it... That stuff sucks up anything wet and holds it tight for like ever.....
You'll see stuff you spilled on it 30 yrs ago comming out of it when the pressure washer hits it...
Then , theres a product called OZIUM (its an areosal can and comes in many flavors) that works wonders ... unlike an airborne coverup it actually nuetralizes the odor. Don't confuse it with the crud my wife likes ... that fabreeze (which encapsulates the odor causing substance) as OZIUM is way diff.
my .02

 

All good ideas Also try baking soda ,Just get a coople of boxes & pour in pans or if carpet is dry spread it out & vac later .its cheap & works realy good Also A couple of pans of vinegar Both absorb odors

 

Thanks, guys, for the tips of Ozium, baking soda, vinegar, and pressure wash. I bet I'll try all of these in different areas before I'm done.

Keith

 

eucalyptis (sp)works great as a coverup for almost any smell should a coverup be desired.

 

Gents, I just picked up an Ionic Pro brand Mini model Ionic Air Purifier from Walmart for $25. It's meant for individual rooms in the home. I'll let you know how well it works.

The thing I'm most curious about is how ozone effects the car's interior. Ozone, or O3, is more reactive than normal oxygen, or O2. To me it seems that rusting would happen faster, but perhaps we're talking about over years here, not over night.

Keith

 

I'm far from a scientist , but from my personal experience with Ionizers is that they work great up until the time you turn them off...... (ie; airborne particals travel thru the Ionizer and the extra partical charge makes the static smell..?)

 

The idea behind the ionizer is SUPPOSED to be that elevated levels of ozone will kill whatever's growing in the fabrics and making stench. (I can't theorize how it takes care of cigarette smoke residue.)

Otherwise, I might as well hang up an expensive air freshener or throw the finest urinal cakes under the seat.

Ozone is a free radical that causes or promotes cancers in humans in extreme conditions.

I hope my theory is correct.

 

I don't remember when the auto. manufacture got away from using natural materials in cars.I restored a 50 Merc. in the late 80's and it had mostly natural upholstery remnants in it. Most used mohair(goat),Wool(sheep),cotton,jute,horse hair,leather (horse or steer),and very poor rubber products. Some of this was carried through the 50's. I would look for things to clean natural fibers (carpet or dry cleaning web sites) and hope for the best. When we restored cars of the 30's through the 60's attention was always paid to the material and replaced if available. Sometimes you have to shave the dog to get rid of the smell!

 

My car was loaded with maggots when it came, i vacuumed it, cleaned it, and left it in the garage with the windows down and sprayed febreeze in it, eventually the gut wrenching fecal smell disappeared.

 

Ha! so true, funny quote

 

Here is another suggestion; I have found that taking charcoal briquettes (Kingsford, etc) put in an old nylon stocking can be left under seats, in trunks or wherever, it really gets rid of musty odors. I used it in my travel trailer with great results, gonna try it next in my '66 98 conv. and try to get rid of that "funky" smell.

 

I am way late in responding, as I am new. I just replaced the heater core in my 70, it too had that old car smell. Along with have a WONDERFUL time replaceing that thing, I also had to replaced heater/A/C duct hose as they were so brittle. That eleminated that old car smell. I just got it back together today, very much inprovement. Just a thought.