79 Low Budget Resto-Mod

[wachuko]

Sweeeeeet. Keep the reports coming!

[WBPDX]

Been very slow going on the paint. I have had nothing but setbacks. Had to change the kind of paint even. I am now using super cheap alky-enamel. It is going to be a 10-footer kind of paint job, but it will look good going down the road. Here it is this morning getting ready for wet sanding before another coat.



I put on another coat today, and it probably needs one more. I'm going to try and sneak in the final coat tomorrow, but it takes about 5 hours to sand, clean up, and lay down another coat.

[WBPDX]

Started to get the hang of it...

(Straight out of gun)

Sanded with 1500, rubbing compound, polishing compound, and wax:



Slowly putting things back on... Very slow going. Need to replace\repair a huge number of little things...

[fiat218]

nice color. lookes like the paint is very heavy

[WBPDX]

I don't know what heavy means, but okay. I wanted a 10fter paint job without having to do tons and tons of work, and that is exactly what I have. If I keep the car, I think I will re-do it over the winter.

Finally passed emissions testing. I think the station employee may have 'helped' a little bit....

Now I have to:
- Make new door cards
- Replace the seats
- Paint the lower skirts black
- Put on the rest of the trim
- More forward with better fixes for the headlights and windsheild wipers
- All new front suspension bushings\etc.
- Two new tires on the front
- Front alignment

It will never ever end!

[fiat218]

i just meant it look like it was sprayed thick

[WBPDX]

Got the rockers painted finally and added the lower trim back...

Still TONS to do. Hope to make door panels over the long weekend, and take care of enough little things for the car to be a daily driver...

Needs to be lowered!

(Yeah, the trims bent, and hood could use better alignment. The orange on the tires is from wet sanding, not over spray.)

[WBPDX]

Just got done completely rebuilding the front suspension and steering (except box\idler, which both checked out fine.)

New ball joints, complete tie rods, all bushings, shocks, sway bar bushings. Also, new wheel bearings and races, both inner and outer. It has been a busy week! Also got two new front tires; I will be replacing the back ones soon as well.

I cut one coil off the springs in front to compensate for the bumpers a bit. I need to do the same in the rear, along with new shocks.

I also painted everything, even the springs. Lookin' good.

[BEEK]

very nice, keep up the good work

[WBPDX]

Discovered local auto parts place carries the seats I wanted, at the same price as eBay, but no shipping!

Here they are before bracket modifications...



Which motivated me to finally rebuild my rotten door cards in black.... Also needed to get rid of the mirror hole, as I went to a different style. No armrests for the new door cards.







I am really glad I did the bolster in this carbon fiber print stuff, looks really cool, without looking like it belongs in a Honda with a fart can.



Finished product next to the passenger side:

[kbee00]

Dude! That looks bad! What material did you use? I have similiar colors in my '79 and just hate them. Wanting to go all black like you did. My cards are actually in really good shape, but the color is just aweful!! Someone at Fiat was having an off day when they chose that color ....man oh man!

PM or email PLEASE as to how you did yours and what and where, etc.

Thank you so much

And keep it up - I am following you, just about 3 months behind....

LT

[WBPDX]

The upper material is a carbon fiber vynil, and the lower is just a generic black vynil. Both are automotive\boat grade. Both came from Fabric Depot here in Portland. They sell all their stuff online as well, but I am sure you can find similar materials on eBay.

The backing board is just thin MDF from Lowes. The pictures tell the story of how it was done. I did the door card in about 2 hours start to finish; the next one will probably be 90 minutes.

Keeping the card so simple makes them look plain, but makes getting okay results much easier.


Here's one with the handles etc.

[WBPDX]

Just going to add that if you are recovering you will need a rivet gun and rivets in addition to basic hand tools. You'll need a drill to drill out the old rivets that hold the two parts of the card together, and the window wiper bit. A chisel helps deal with the rivets as well.

3M upholstery\headliner spray adhesive (extremely expensive) is the only product I would trust. Follow the directions on the can and it will work great.

[DocGraphics]

Wow those look like almost the same seats I got.
what did you do to mount them?

Great job on the door panels.
I need to do something with mine (warped) & that just might be the trick.
They need more than just flattened, there are a few tears & the kick panels are missing.

I redid the door panels on my Courier kinda like that but with 1/2" foam in between to give them a padded/tufted look.

[WBPDX]

Not mounted yet; working on the brackets still. They obviously are kind of tall and don't fit that well, but I've got ideas...