Day 1845: Yesterday I Didn't Finish Much... But I Started Tons!

Yesterday was a good day in the garage because I got a lot of projects started and cleaned out a ton of empty storage bags, boxes, and old sandpaper.

If you read the blog post two days ago, you know I forgot that some of the interior metal stays visible and needs to be painted black before I can continue.

So I went down to the garage with the intention of painting the interior first. And I accomplished that!

Here's some pictures:

Basically the only metal that stays visible in the interior is the dashboard (not the top though which gets covered with the dash pad) and the 2 vertical roof supports in the front (the rear ones get covered with the headliner, as does the entire roof).

With 3 coats on that, sprayed thin to avoid dripping, I'm really happy with the way it looks! There's more to be done inside with black paint... specifically I need to paint the front kick panels, the rear quarter panels, and the inside of the doors... but all that can be removed and done outside of the car. For now everything that has to be painted INSIDE the car, should be done!!! ;) 

So next I decided to tackle the headliner.

First of all I figured I would just lay it out to get the wrinkles out but honestly it unfolded pretty nicely and it wasn't stiff at all. I laid it on top of the car:

Heck it looked so good I figured I'd get started and get it in!

So first thing is finding the rods that hang it up. I was really concerned that we hadn't written the order and figured I'd need to check the blog, but "past us" really came through (thanks past Tim and John and Brian and whoever else...):

Check that out! The order is perfectly easy to determine based on how we marked it front to back and numerically. OK, I'm on a roll. What's next?

Well it says to put in the screws for the coat hangers, sun visors, and rear view mirror so you can easily find them to cut holes later. Perfect! Again, "past us" came through. I found all those screws in no time since they were in my tote labeled "interior" and all marked appropriately:

Guys seriously, proper cataloguing of your parts is HUGELY HELPFUL.

OK so I put the screws in their places, here's some examples:

 

And then I started with the rear one. The rear one is where the instructions for the new headliner says to start, because it uses these 2 springs that pull it back and keep tension on the headliner (see image above for bag that has springs).

BUT HERE'S WHERE I HAD TO STOP WITH THE HEADLINER...

Because I forgot one important thing, ROOF INSULATION! Duh. So at this point I went and ordered some Dynamat roof insulation and laid the headliner back on the roof. I have to wait on that unfortunately.

While inside I also ordered a new firewall insulation one piece and new front kick panels. We're going to put those in right away so I can start running electrical and other interior engine bay stuff like the heater, steering column, and instruments panel.

OK SO BACK OUTSIDE...

I couldn't call this day done yet, so I washed down the whole car with a wet towel and a dry towel to remove all standing dust from the past 2 years. That took a while.

Then I started really organizing remaining parts in the garage, separating what I know we won't need (either because it's been replaced or phased out with a new setup) and throwing out empty bags, old sand paper, trash paper.... etc...

After cleaning up the whole garage and car, I decided to work on the trunk a bit.

First thing I did was rebuilt the lock mechanism so I could actually get into the trunk:

Then I figured I'd lay the carpeting I bought in there to see how much it covers and what would still need to be painted. As it turns out I bought an aftermarket solution that covers literally the entire trunk in black carpet that matches the interior!

This isn't what it would have originally looked like in 66, but it's so cool because it means I can do very little in the trunk and have it still look sharp as hell.

Unfortunately it's really wrinkly so I'll need to hit it with the heat gun and let it sit out a few weeks before doing the glued down parts:

So after that I basically just kept cleaning up and doing little things here and there.

I organized all the suspension parts into one area, all the transmission parts into another, and all the engine parts into another. I'm totally ready to go with the engine, just need someone to come and weld/fix that dang oil pan!

Ultimately I'm feeling really good about this weekend. In 3 days I've gotten more done than in 2+ years for sure, maybe almost 3. 

Next up! Finish that headliner, install the firewall insulation, dry-run the electric, and finish the engine! Hopefully all before the wedding in 2 weeks! Eeeep.

Tim