Interior

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 4:39 pm

So i just spent about an hour and apparently that's all it takes to ditch everything that is on the floor of this car. So nice in comparison to new cars. It's like this thing is meant to be pulled apart. I'll post pictures sometime tonight or this weekend.

Couple of questions though. Nobody makes a "molded carpet" for this car, right? only these crappy "puzzle piece" sets? I can't believe they cost that much after seeing one up close in person. This is crap and I'm pretty sure I either have the factory carpet or one of the nicer corn-row (whats so nice about that crap, i'll never know) replacement carpet sets. I just said forget about it and ordered some carpet of off ebay, I'm pretty sure I can cut mine this well. If i want sewn edges on the visibile portions I can do that myself on my wife's sewing machine.

Next question: Part of the floor is covered in sound deadening material that is cloth type with some sort of plastic or rubber backing, or something.... part is covered in that PLUS some 1/2"-3/4" rubberish sound deadening material. I'm sure this second combo is one of the previous owner's contributions to my headaches. Where can I find a good floor liner that isn't outrageously expensive. This isn't the same stuff as dynomatt, right? this is actually temp insulation as well as sound insulation, right? (can you tell I've never done anything like this?) everything that is there has to go because it's icky due to water damage (rear window was gone....) Seats all appear to be in great condition though. foam AND covering is in great shape on ALL seats.... Just needs a good cleaning though.

Well, i'm sure I have other questions but that's a good start until I get pics uploaded.

CarlaRWG · Post by **CarlaRWG** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 9:31 am

I'm in the process of gutting the interior and redoing. Remove the tar crusted nasty stuff (use gloves, mine was gross) it's original to the car. I ordered a starter kit of POR15 (about $15) to seal the floor, it has a rust remover, nutrilizer, and a sealer that is supposed to rock.

I then ordered from (http://www.yourautotrim.com) "Thermozite Heat Shield Carpet Padding" $12.95 yard (I ordered 2 yards). This stuff is thick and insulated and cheaper than other products I've found.

And believe it or not I bought replacement carpet from "Walmart" for $16.00 and the quality is pretty good, at least go check it out. I plan on ordering rubber mats for the floor so I'm not worried about wear.

Total spent on interior floor is $60.90

If your interested I'll tell you what I'm doing to the wood dash trim!

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:54 am

you have to be alittle careful about the thickness of padding and carpet; I've seen several Spiders that lost significant pedal travel because the replacement flooring was so heavy.

CarlaRWG · Post by **CarlaRWG** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 11:35 am

On the floor under the gas pedal is a stop so it does have to be shorter than that. My replacement is a "down grade" from the house carpet and padding the previous owner had put in.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 11:53 am

yourautotrim.com ; exactly what I was looking for, thanks. I did have a teensy bit of water still in there, but the floor is in superb shape, there is a teensy bit of rust, but I'm gonna use cheap rust converter for that. I know I'll need tom POR-15, so I SHOULD just get some, but for now I have access to wal-mart "rubberized truck bed liner" so with the rust converter and a can of the liner I should be pretty good.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 12:25 pm

yeah, I'm interested. what are you doing with the wood dash pieces? Mine are in excellent condition, but I don't like the wood look. If you really want some EXCELLENT wood pieces I'll sell you mine.....

Another thing. How did you (or did you even) get all the fuzzy crap left on the floors from that original insulation? that stuff is gross and annoying.

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 2:47 pm

clutch and brake pedal travel are just as important as gas pedal travel, but it sounds like you're using the right stuff.

CarlaRWG · Post by **CarlaRWG** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 4:29 pm

With the help of my husband I just finished a web page showing some of the work I've done so far. This includes before pictures, gutted pictures, floor down to metal, POR 15 applied, recover and alteration of b/s quarter panels to include speakers, insulation install, and start to wood trim upgrade.

It was $12 to recover the b/s quarter panels, $9 in vinyl, 3 for glue.

The wood trim is all going to be covered with Mappa Burl veneer with a shellac coating. Picked up the wood at a wood craft store for $54 for 8 sheets (only using 4), shellac $8, glue $4.

go to http://www.goingshouse.com
click on Fiat pictures

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 4:47 pm

so you bought black vinyl for those panels? did you have problems locating a similar color of beige/caramel/tan/whatever vinyl? I think i found some from an ebay auction (UK, though) and it's decent priced even considering the shipping to the US for it. I might be using your page for help though!

I guess the key for me getting that fuzzy crap off of the floor is using a wire brush (duh) and that's good for getting some of the rust too. I really should just get some POR-15 that stuff is tough, and looks good too. My floor isn't near as rusty as yours though.

That veneer will look great. I thought about doing something similar for the trunk lining, but then thought that would be a little overboard....

CarlaRWG · Post by **CarlaRWG** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 5:38 pm

The original color in the car is tan but I'm making everything black. Bought the vinyl at Jo Ann fabric's, they have several colors.

For the fuzzy stuff and any rust or debris try putting a wire wheel on your cordless drill and going to town, pulls alot up then sweep.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 5:42 pm

CarlaRWG wrote:The original color in the car is tan but I'm making everything black. Bought the vinyl at Jo Ann fabric's, they have several colors.

For the fuzzy stuff and any rust or debris try putting a wire wheel on your cordless drill and going to town, pulls alot up then sweep.

just came back in from my car and guess what I had been doing...that's right. WIRE WHEEL + DRILL, haha, thanks anyway, maybe someone else will be saved some time because of us, lol.

It's pouring rain right now though, and this thing sits outside, I had to scramble to get everything into the car and the top up and cover on.... sooooo, project on hold for now.....

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 7:01 pm

that floor is pretty rusty, have you figured out where the water got in?

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 7:05 pm

how sweet would this be?
http://store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-sto ... ccata.html

CarlaRWG · Post by **CarlaRWG** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 7:39 pm

It was mostly surface rust with a couple of quarter and dime holes. I figure considering the condition of the nasty padding, the use of foil and black paint to cover the holes by the previous owner, and the rather large slice into the tranny tunnel with a sad attempt to close that those were the factors in the rust that was present.

I haven't begun the engine yet so I don't know if the ebay ad lied and there are issues!

CarlaRWG · Post by **CarlaRWG** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:06 am

You asked why I had surface rust on the front floor boards, well I checked more because I noticed the rust was in the front of the car but the holes were in the back so one had nothing to do with the other.

I have either a leak in a return hose or a bad heater core (I'm betting heatercore since it cost more). Moisture has very slowly been coming out so now I will stop the interior restoration till its fixed.

Thanks for asking the question!

Interior

Interior

Interior Carpet