Does anyone have any good suggestions for handling the old, dried out plastic?


These scratches in this photo were made just by my finger nail. I would consider just painting these, however I am concerned that with the weak plastic underneath the paint would just quickly flake off. It's a shame these are so textured - makes it impossible to come up with an alternative. Though one might be able to get creative with fiberglass and perhaps using a layer of bondo overtop to imprint the texture on?

 

I believe that is UV damage. It was much more severe on some of my pieces; a layer had powdered away where sunlight was most direct. You can see this on two of the pieces in the bottom row on the photo.

My painter, Tim, brushed off the powder, treated the pieces with adhesion promoter, and painted with the interior paint. They came out well except, if you know where to look, you can see the transition where the powering started. However, even in the powered areas, the original grain still shows up nicely.

I checked these spots before posting this and there is no sign of paint letting loose.

Your pieces are in relatively good shape and I think they would turn out well without heroic treatment.

 

Regarding the much needed screw. From the parts catalogue here is the valve assembly. The screw attaches the valve assembly to the firewall






Screw is 9421159 - neet to find specifics though

 

I’m curious, did you leave the factory insulation under the roof supports? I still have my factory insulation on the roof, but would like to do it with a product like what you have used. Just trying to wrap my head around the easiest most efficient and effective method. Beautiful restoration!

 

I didn't touch the factory bits under the supports - I'm sure some of it was damaged during blasting but only on the edges. It's way to difficult to do anything with that area. Even with trunk lids it's best to just leave it in my opinion.

 

Slow process adding the deadener to the wirewall. But I have that done + Firewall pad + Heater box.



I forgot to take a photo before adding the pad. But there is mostly full coverage for sound deadener behind the heater box. I used a hole punch to leave enough room for fasteners so they can snug up to the firewall. Closer to the drivers side there is less material as there are so many bolt-ons here and I want them to be metal-metal contact like factory. I might add some pieces afterwards. The firewall pad fit better than I originally thought it would.
However, there were no pre-made holes for the top left corner where the Cruise control system routes through - I used a punch and a knife to fix that.

The speed nuts I bought came with these foam washers - I don't like them, and I have no clue of their weather resistance. I am going to order some replacements with inset rubber grommets instead. These will hold it in place for now.

I still have to deaden the underside of the dash - it's crazy how much noise it makes! However, this is a tricky process as I need to leave room for the heater ducting etc. For now I've moved onto the floor so I can get the main wiring loom in the car.

 

Does anyone have experience restoring fuse boxes? I am wondering if there is any corrosion removal/prevention I can do now that it is still out of the car?

 

When I inspected my harness, the wires themselves were not as bad as you might think. I still ended up having M&H build a new fuse harness due to corrosion on the fuse terminals. I had visions of all the money/time and work going up in flames over something so simple to rectify. I’ve been pleased thus far with their replacement. Again, not cheap but nothing worth anything in this hobby is. I guess it would depend on the extent. Thanks for the clarification on the roof insulation. I’ll research and get that done now before I have the headliner sewn/installed. 👍

 

I was just placing an order with SMS auto Fabrics for the linoleum for the trunk and they offer a fully sewn headliner for this car. I ordered one, I'll compare it to the original when it arrives!

 

I think you'll be pleased with your SMS headliner! They use original date coded material. Great restoration!

 

Does anyone have photos of the main interior wiring loom installed? I can't figure out where these clips go.

 

They snap into the plastic inner fenders. Also my Dynapro showed up on Thursday!

 

Now that you mention it, I do remember removing these from that location! Thanks!

 

The speed nuts for the heater box, I just use a little piece of 3M Strip Caulk and put around the stud and then let the nut squeeze it out. It seals it really well.

 

That's precisely what I ended up doing! I really enjoy working with the strip caulk, even the factory caulking was still pliable so it's very reliable stuff.

 

Majority of the floor has its sound deadener applied now, including inside the dash and doors. I left out the channel where the wiring harness goes so it can sit nice and close to the floors. With this stuff the manufacturer claims only 60% coverage is needed for 95% effectiveness - so no need to worry about these gaps. Once the harness is installed, sound absorbtion material (in lieu of Jute) will go down over top, prior to carpet.



You can see the begining of the wiring harness install. I've only started to install one loom (power window + locks) and I'm already panicing! Hopefully the rest will install easily. I do remember the dash harness being the worst - it's simultaneously screwed down to the dash AND the firewall (to my recollection). What's everyone's recommendation for reassembling the entire dash + wiring?



The AC box is installed now, fully restored. It's sealed to the firewall with a strip of 3m dum dum/caulk. The dum dum I have is 3/4" wide and the manual calls for 1/4" bead. So I rolled it into a rope and stretched it out to a rough size. All the nuts and bolts were then sealed as well. I also added some around the heater core outlets and around the guide pin above the blower motor.

Should be ready for engine + trans soon. I was waiting on piston rings to get delivered - but now they are trapped in the US at my parent's cabin. Hopefully I can get them forwarded to Canada by a neighbor.

In the mean time I've been working on the wiring harness. I've decided just to use a deoxidizing spray to soak the pins in for cleaning. I see too many people sugest scrubbing with sandpaper until they're shiny. Too my knowledge these pins should be plated so you'd wear the plating right off. Every cleaned pin then gets slathered with dielectric grease. I've also been adding some shrink tubing to some areas, and I've ordered a roll of factory correct wiring harness wrap to replace the original wrap.

 

I put my harness in the bead blast cabinet to clean the fuse contacts. . One coat of WD40 twenty years ago, and everything's good.

 

While waiting for parts to get delivered I cleaned all the plastic with a Simple Green bath and a stiff brush.
I've also prepped a few odds and ends for more powder coating.

I posted a wanted ad for this part:


It goes around the tailgate hinge. Its split in one area and very stiff + cracking.
I haven't had any luck with a replacement so I am getting creative.

I purchased some Rubber Renue


And am going to soak it for 7 days. I made up a container just to the dimensions of the part to maximize the liquid (this took the whole can and its not 100% submerged.)

This is an old drawer from a fridge that we threw out 10 years ago, but decided to keep the drawer... The gorilla tape is to take the bow out of the drawer, then a piece of MDF coated in Tuck Tape (for waterproofing) was hot glued in to make a small compartment. Plastic wrap and tuck tape overtop to prevent/reduce evaporation.

This chemical is a mix of solvents + Methyl Salicylate, supposedly the methyl salicylate helps soften and restore rubber.
Once it's done soaking I will wash it off, then fix that tear with crazy glue. Open to suggestions on this one, but from what I can read, crazy glue is about as effective a rubber glue as you can get.
For good measure I bought a can of black plastidip that I will spray over the part afterwards to re-coat it. Hopefully this will produce a usable piece with some longevity.

 

These two pieces were installed with the power seat tracks. I can't quite remember, but I believe they went above the carpet. I'm not even sure of their function, perhaps to prevent damage to the carpet somehow?
My power seat came from a '71 parts car - oddly enough, while the interior was brown, these pieces and the plastic skirt for the seat tracks were black. Either GM didn't colour match these, or perhaps they were a replacement.
These pieces I will paint to match the interior green, and the skirting will get painted green as well. Black would stand out so obviously against the green seat, especially considering that there is NO black in the entire interior.