78 Interior Restoration

This is the place to discuss restoration problems, post questions or projects-complete or partial.
TheBender
Patron 2019
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Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:57 pm
Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider

78 Interior Restoration

Post by TheBender »

Like so many other posts I had a lot of heat entering the cabin and wanted to put down a heat and sound barrier. That turned into new carpet.....turned into, well I removed the center console anyway......didn't like the PO radio...... Well that radio console is not great.... What about a short shifter since that is apart.... Into, well might as well recover the seats.....

Pretty happy with the results. Ended up going with new leather seat covers, a newer model heater control center in black instead of the period chrome, soft touch consoles from A/R, an amazing feeling and looking shift knob from Mark Allison, retro sound Bluetooth radio (worth every penny there), new hazard switch (plus a challenge to find the mount that goes around the switch found at good ole Midwest Bayless), and even have a working clock now.

I removed that silver speaker cover grid, painted the mesh that was underneath black, and then installed that by itself. Much cleaner and simpler look that I like. The instrument cluster chrome piece was looking rough, so used some steel wool on that, then painted it black (would have looked good without the paint too as it cleans up nicely).

Ended up being a nice team effort between multiple suppliers and happy with all of them.

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76was124
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Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 4:43 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
Location: Detroit Area

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by 76was124 »

Nice job!

Its hard to pick a stopping point once you start. I bought a new house once because my wife thought the couch pillows needed replacement...then the new pillows made the couch look bad, replaced that, then the carpet, then painted....and so on until there was nothing left to do, so we sold the house.

Is the dash a replacement?
Current 81 Spider 2000
Previous 76 Spider
TheBender
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Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:57 pm
Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by TheBender »

Thanks, you're right about never ending projects. No, luckily the dash is in quite good shape and didn't need the change yet.
tima01864
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Your car is a: 1983 FIAT Pininafarina Spider 2000
Location: Wilmington, MA

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by tima01864 »

The lower console, A cover or direct replacement? Looks very sharp.
TheBender
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Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by TheBender »

tima01864 wrote:The lower console, A cover or direct replacement? Looks very sharp.
Thanks. It was a direct replacement using AR soft touch console. Only challenge with that one is I had to grind the opening for the heater control to fit over it.
DustyDave
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:12 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider
Location: Greenville, SC

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by DustyDave »

Looks great! Where did you get the heat/sound barrier? Was it easy to work with, and were you happy with end result? Did you attach it to the floor somehow, or just lay the carpet over it? I am not yet at that point on my restoration, but curious for how best to do this when I get to that point.
Thanks,
David
TheBender
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Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by TheBender »

DustyDave wrote:Looks great! Where did you get the heat/sound barrier? Was it easy to work with, and were you happy with end result? Did you attach it to the floor somehow, or just lay the carpet over it? I am not yet at that point on my restoration, but curious for how best to do this when I get to that point.
Thanks,
David
Thanks. Very happy with the results and very easy to work with. I purchased through Amazon. It has self adhesive to stick to the car and then used a 3M spray adhesive to adhere the carpet. I've read others put down an additional layer of padding between but I did not.
DustyDave
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Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:12 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider
Location: Greenville, SC

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by DustyDave »

Thanks for the info, very helpful! Do you recall the manufacturer and/or part name or number for the insulation material?
TheBender
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Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by TheBender »

DustyDave wrote:Thanks for the info, very helpful! Do you recall the manufacturer and/or part name or number for the insulation material?
I used this.......

Noico 80 mil 36 sqft car Sound deadening mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00URUIKAK/re ... ZDbXFKEZCY
DustyDave
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:12 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider
Location: Greenville, SC

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by DustyDave »

Awesome, thank you, very helpful!
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royn
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Your car is a: 1982 Spider 2000
Location: 2864 Fall, Norway

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by royn »

You are doing a great job ! Keep on posting.
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royn
1982 Fiat Spider 2000
TheBender
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Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by TheBender »

royn wrote:You are doing a great job ! Keep on posting.
Thanks. Wrapping up going bumperless then update wheels, springs and add Konis.

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joelittel
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Your car is a: 1980 Spider 2000 FI
Location: Evanston, IL

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by joelittel »

Looking good

I like what you did with your indicators and bumper hole covers.
TheBender
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Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by TheBender »

joelittel wrote:Looking good

I like what you did with your indicators and bumper hole covers.
Thanks, it's a work in progress as you know my friend.
wetminkey
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Your car is a: 1979 2000 Spider
Location: Ault, Colorado

Re: 78 Interior Restoration

Post by wetminkey »

It's pretty!! Nice work.
Todd.
1988 Mazda RX-7
1979 Fiat Spider 2000
1978 3/4 ton Chev 4x4 P/U "FRANKENTRUCK"
1976 Camaro
1972 VW Superbeetle
1969 Ford F100
1968 Mustang coupe
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