Now that I have a motor that runs decent, its time to make my car comfortable. It was originally a black and gray interior, and here are the details. I have manual seats, power windows, power locks, split rear seat, cargo shade cover, slightly tinted windows, factory T-Tops, tilt wheel. As you can see in the picture below it is in pretty rough shape. Pardon the length of this post, not only am I asking for help with this stuff but I am also using is as somewhat as a log for myself to keep track of what needs to be done as well as receive input.

Here are some details of the problems:

Doors:

Both doors sag.
Passenger window motor is pretty much dead, and driver side works every time but is slow.
Power locks work but I usually have to click the button twice.
The passenger side door rubs along the bottom and is very hard to open.
Driver door is in HORRIBLE shape overall. All kinds of clanging, top plastic piece (with window brush) always falls off. I can see the frame of the door flex a lot when opening and closing the window, along with stress cracks.
Driver door panel is gone. Passenger door panel is shot and needs replacement.

Carpet and Floor:

No passenger carpet. Cargo carpet is in good shape and can be re-used.
No rust on floorboards at all. Clean California car, red paint is still nice and shiny on the floors.

Other Interior Stuff:

Overall dirty. Many years of dust buildup from open T Tops.
Both seats are crusty, saggy, and a bit gross. Rear seat bottoms are the same, driver side rear seat bolt is stripped.
The split rear seats, one seat back sits higher than the other.
Tachometer reads very high.

Windows and Seals:

T Tops leak slightly from the top.
T Tops are mismatched. Would like to buy a pair of matching glass tops.
Both doors leak water right where the dash pad meets the door. This water rolls down the door panels.
Driver window is loose and flops all around. I can pull it back with my fingers.

HVAC:

Heater works, but I haven’t owned the car through a winter yet to tell how well. AC doesn’t work at all, blows warm air. Should I take it to a shop to get the AC serviced? I hear a hissing noise sometimes coming from the HVAC control box, is this normal? Sometimes I hear it just driving with nothing on. Half the vents are broken.


Here are my goals:

I want a nice clean looking stock interior that looks like how it came from the factory, or at least close. Black carpet, clean gray seats, seals that work properly so I can wash the car without sandbagging towels inside the car. I want working AC that blows ice as it can get pretty damn hot around hear, soared up to 115+ for a couple days just a few weeks ago. Since I have all my carpet out, I want to put dynamat over the floorboards and over the cargo area for a quiet ride.

First thing I want to do it seal the car up tight. The T Top weatherstrip appears to be in good shape. There is no rust under it, just dirt. Can I put a bead of clear silicone around the outer edge of the top to seal it up?

How can make it so the junction between the body, windows, and T Top is all sealed up? First I need to get my driver window on track. Can somebody post some pictures of how it should look?

Lastly, If you have completed this job, would you care to share your method? What you did first, what was hardest, what is easiest and cheapest, and most expensive? I plan to do most of it myself, is it worthwhile just to take it to a shop and have the interior done? I’ve read every thread on this site about interior restoration, but I couldn’t find anything about sealing up the t tops that doesn’t say buy new weatherstrip, which I don’t think I need to do at least for the tops.

Pics:

 

Well the doors sagging and dragging on the car definetly sounds like you need new hinge pins you can order kits for this, it makes a huge difference if they are new hinge pins in the hinges of the doors.

The power locks simply sound like you need to get to the door lock and latch housing and spray it with some white lithium grease. I did this works fine.

If you do some searching you will find a bunch of stuff for fixing rattles in the doors, glass, and even the power door locks you mentioned. However, i did half the door lock article by just spraying them down and moving the locks back and forth and spray some more. I suggest reading it anyways just incase.

The two most common carpet companies i hear used is ACC and ACS, I hear ACS is better. I got ACC in mine because some cut me a good deal on it so.

Sounds like new seals and stuff for the windows. Ttops can be had over ebay, the sponsors of this website/forum, and the junkyards.

For the AC sounds like a recharge for sure, check for leaks. Leaks will form around most of the ac equipment and will look like grease. Most times though a vacc pump is runned on there to see if it has any. Me and my uncle( who is a mechanic and has done AC work) got my old camaro's ac to blow air out at 37 degrees F out of the vents. Things such as insulating the AC tower and lines will help this.

Back to the ttops, if they feel loose when locked they need adjustment. Adjustment is behind the trim on the a pillars and b pillars on the interior. Remove the trim to expose the adjustments, you can't miss them. Search may help here more as well. Maybe run some silicon under the areas where the ttop seals are comming up

In the tech articles on the website homepage is something about restoring doorpanels. I did this recently also.

oh well enought for now, any questions i try to help

 

just a few pointers:

- i'd go with "top down solutions", the board sponsor, for the hinge pins. Get the greaseable ones, as it sounds like you want this to be erfect:. These'll last.

-look into the new board sponsor, "modern day muscle". They have GOBS of interior parts, and good prices! I was shocked.

-good idea with the dynamat, i'd put new carpet "jute" under the *new* carpet as well, cheap, and goes miles as to making the car feel "cushy" inside.

-i'd think about using some sealer, for some of your interior where panels meet, or a draft can get in. Or moisture, etc.

-many threads on power window repair, usually it's just the brushes that fail, or the switches. Again, check modern day muscle, or hawks for new switches. I got one from hawks, $15 or so, NEW, and it looks AWESOME. oh, look for the thread "______the tech article is BOGUS". It's got some good info in there, I did that method to replace my drivers side motor (with one from a caprice in the wrecking yard.) You just need to drill out the rivets, and you need to drill through the inner sheet metal to get to some of the rivets. Makes everything much easier.

-new interior plastics would probably be your best bet. Refinishing old ones is... well, I have no idea how you'd do that. New dashpad too.

-seals are pricey, but I think you do need a full set. If you are putting down silicon sealer, make sure the surface is scuffed, so it'll stick.

-new headliner needed?

What are your plans for seats? 4th gens basically fit right in, some exceptions though... I forget what other GM seats fit in, grand am, cavalier, etc? You could always get new covers for your current seats, if you have a strong desire to keep them. (For example, I have PMD seats, so it'd be worth my while to recover those, but yer basic 3rd gen seats are nothing special, so newish cavalier seats would be cheap, and in good condition at the wrecking yard.)


Good luck with this!

 

Are these the ticket for my window motors?

eBay Motors: 82-92 Chevy Z28 CAMARO power WINDOW MOTOR Pair OES (item 260017304708 end time Aug-15-06 16:03:14 PDT)

I do need a headliner, mine has started to fall down. I hear all this talk about ABS headliner, by ABS do you mean like hard plastic? That would be nice and sturdy i'm sure.

As far as T Top seals....I dont know what to do. I guess maybe I do need a full new complete set of seals for the whole car. Can I buy the complete car set? How much should I pay? Are the aftermarket options worth it, or should I go with GM stuff?

They VERY FIRST thing I need to do is figure out my driver side window. I have no idea whats wrong with it, somebody tried to break in and knocked it loose or something, it goes up and down but it flops around and I cannot see anywhere inside there on how to fix it. I'm thinking about just buying a whole new driver door....?

 

The ABS headliners that you mentioned aren't real hard. The plastic is a firm plastic, but it's very thin so that it's still maneuverable. They actually ship rolled up, so it gives you an idea of their flexibility. The ABS headliners are a little different than stock, especially the hardtop ones in that they have a couple additional ridges down the center for rigidity and style. If you didn't know what a stock one looked like you'd never know the difference, but there is a minor difference. For the t-top cars, they look basically the same as stock.

 

i'm pretty sure that the hissing you hear and some of your vents not working are related. The diverter box that sends air to one set of vents or another is controlled with vacuum lines coming off of the back of your heater control unit. You must have a cracked plastic vacuum hose back there. That will cause you to hear a hissing (or sucking actually) noise when you try to turn on the vents that aren't operating. You'll have to get back there, find the break, and either repair or replace the hose.

 

Ah, by broken vents I just mean the plastic part need to be replaced. They still shoot air properly I think. Can anyone break down for me what vents in the car should be open for each setting of the HVAC control box?

 

my drivers side door sagged and rubbed on the ground effects, so i got a jack with a piece of wood on it( so u dont scratch the paint) and jacked the door up a couple of in. and now it doesnt rub

 

Can't be good.

JamesC

 

why?? it worked i didnt do anything drastic just lifted it a little

 

They VERY FIRST thing I need to do is figure out my driver side window. I have no idea whats wrong with it, somebody tried to break in and knocked it loose or something, it goes up and down but it flops around and I cannot see anywhere inside there on how to fix it. I'm thinking about just buying a whole new driver door....?

Putting on a new door is or should be a last resort. The aligning of the door can be tricky. If you take off the plastic rail at the top of the door you can see the metal spacers with the little brushes attached. There is a bolt in the top that can be adjusted to firm up the sliding of the window. Since you have the plastic off you might as well take off the door liner and inside handle mechanism. It is pretty easy and can be replaced with the same ease. Once the panel is off you can see inside the door to find what else might be loose. There are plenty of post on removing the door panel and this is definetly the cheaper and smarter option.

 

Here are some details of the problems:

Doors:

Both doors sag.Prepare to replace if they sag. That is a problem that can only be corrected with replacement.
Passenger window motor is pretty much dead, replaceand driver side works every time but is slow. Will be going out soon. Replace before it goes out in the down position.
Power locks work but I usually have to click the button twice.Everyones does I think
The passenger side door rubs along the bottom and is very hard to open.That is why I say replace the door.
Driver door is in HORRIBLE shape overall. All kinds of clanging, top plastic piece (with window brush) always falls off. I can see the frame of the door flex a lot when opening and closing the window, along with stress cracks.If you replace the door then this problem will be solved. Get a door with a working motor to save time.
Driver door panel is gone. Passenger door panel is shot and needs replacement.Get panel to match new seats then interior will look like a set. Most seats have a matching panel for pretty cheap.

Carpet and Floor:

No passenger carpet. Get new carpet. You will be happier.Cargo carpet is in good shape and can be re-used.Okay. It is not seen as much so this should work
No rust on floorboards at all. That is a REALLY good thing. Celebrate as our cars seem to rust there first. Those of us in the MIdwest or East know what I mean.Clean California car, red paint is still nice and shiny on the floors.

Other Interior Stuff:

Overall dirty. Detail the car yourself for a long time. Take a day and get the car clean.Many years of dust buildup from open T Tops.
Both seats are crusty, saggy, and a bit gross. Replace the seats with a nice leather set or cloth, whatever your preference. 4th gens fit quite nice although I have mint 3RD GEN LEATHER in my '92 and MINT cloth in my '86Rear seat bottoms are the same, driver side rear seat bolt is stripped. You will have to fabricate as this is the bolt you need to keep seat botton in place. Once seat is out cut old bolt and have your local welder fabricate a new one.
The split rear seats, one seat back sits higher than the other.Because the bolt is broken so nothing will lineup
Tachometer reads very high.Easy replacement. Our cars tachs run a little high, Calibrate if necessary at Chevy or by your mechanic. The factory tachs look better than the aftermarket I think.

Windows and Seals:

T Tops leak slightly from the top.
T Tops are mismatched. Get a matching set. You either have after market or factory one. And either plastic or glass. Mismatch may have something to do with your leaks.Would like to buy a pair of matching glass tops.Not hard to find or expensive. Do your homework on this by searching and shopping.
Both doors leak water right where the dash pad meets the door. This water rolls down the door panels. Once you change doors and get everything lined up this should stop.
Driver window is loose and flops all around. I can pull it back with my fingers.See my first post. You probably need the seals that are adjustable under the plastic piece above the door panel. Do a search. Panel lifts straight up and metal adjustment pieces are right there.

HVAC:

Heater works, but I haven’t owned the car through a winter yet to tell how well. AC doesn’t work at all, blows warm air. Should I take it to a shop to get the AC serviced? No. Go to local Pep Boys, Auto Zone and buy the COMPLETE recharge kit for $30.00. You just follow the instructions and it can be blowing cold air in 20 minutes.I hear a hissing noise sometimes coming from the HVAC control box, is this normal? No hissing noise is normal. Vacumn line somewhere is open. I am not an expert in this so continue to ask others about this.Sometimes I hear it just driving with nothing on. Half the vents are broken.The junk yard has tons of vents that pop out and back in for .25 cents or pocket purchase.


Here are my goals:

I want a nice clean looking stock interior that looks like how it came from the factory, or at least close. Then you want as many new items as possible.Black carpet, clean gray seats, seals that work properly so I can wash the car without sandbagging towels inside the car. Not impossible to do.I want working AC that blows ice as it can get pretty damn hot around hear, soared up to 115+ for a couple days just a few weeks ago. Recharge kit will take care of this.Since I have all my carpet out, I want to put dynamat over the floorboards and over the cargo area for a quiet ride.Definetly plus new carpet for that new car smell and feel.

First thing I want to do it seal the car up tight. The T Top weatherstrip appears to be in good shape. There is no rust under it, just dirt. Can I put a bead of clear silicone around the outer edge of the top to seal it up?YES

How can make it so the junction between the body, windows, and T Top is all sealed up? Step by step. New doors is the first move.First I need to get my driver window on track. Can somebody post some pictures of how it should look?Since it seems like you need to replace the door because it sags the windows will meet the seals when you replace the door. Buy a door with a working motor.

Lastly, If you have completed this job, would you care to share your method? What you did first, Iwent headliner, carpet, seats, panels and then doors.what was hardest, doors and window motorswhat is easiest seats, carpet, headlinerand cheapestswitches, and most expensivedoors? I plan to do most of it myself, is it worthwhile just to take it to a shop and have the interior done? I’ve read every thread on this site about interior restoration, but I couldn’t find anything about sealing up the t tops that doesn’t say buy new weatherstrip,because if you remove the seals to to stop leaks it is better to put new seals back on. But I bet your problem starts with the doors and the mitchmatch T Tops which I don’t think I need to do at least for the tops.

Keep us informed on everything Here is a pic of my '92 and my '86 restore. Not a hard job to do. I did everything in 5 hours, in and out and back in.

 

I can't post other pics for some reason. Do a search.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...servation.html

JamesC