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Some July 1 pics.

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A few more....

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And more....

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Anyone tired of GTA pics now? Too bad....

rgauder

iTrader: (1)

Are you going to make the brakets available for the headlights? I love them.

ResIpsa

iTrader: (1)

Can’t have too many pics of that GTA!

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The way they are right now, they take so much time and are so expensive - no. I have some polyurethane mock ups that I will have printer plans made for when I get the time, those plans will be available. The phaser lights are pretty hard to get around here...

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the sounds of summer...

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reflections.. the hood is flawless...

snowflake

Talk about sick!! Fab work is awesome as well!!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

This GTA is a BEAST! Dude your fab work is absolutely amazing as well. I am re doing my Formula 350 now and I am envious of you car. My first new 86 firebird was that color and its my favorite on that car. In 1994 I had my 89 repainted that color. But its peeled, etc. So being its 30 years old and I literally bought in July 1989, its time to take it back to its former glory.

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Y'all are so complimentary, and I appreciate that there are still people who love these cars (third gen's). It's last half of the year already, and it's time to start showing some of the other work that's been done here. I'm about to start posting some of the interior, headliner to carpet, all new. Right off the start, there was difficulty with the headliner. Originally I wished to use the stocker, and although I accidentally ran over it, I used an ABS bust to reform and put it back together. But it was not to be, the leather used to upholster it needed a very ridged form, and the stocker does not have the strength to hold the shape under the stress from the pull, even though the leather is a very thin split. The deformation showed right where it could not be hidden. So, back to the ABS one which was also problematic in that it was almost 1 inch to short. I thought of getting another one, but in speaking to other users and upholsterers, that would not be useful as everyone reports misfitting one way or the other with these headliner busts. So, like most other things on the car, it had to be modified.

When installed with the front in the correct position, the back of the bust intruded into the t-top space by almost one inch. The goal in modifying is to section the bar area and hopefully add strength. We'll see how we can do that....

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A pic of the car waiting for it's next time out.....

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As the ABS bust had to be lengthened, I decided the best place to section it would be the front of the bar area as it had support at the visors in front of the cut and from the overhead light behind the cut.

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I got a little bit of practice covering up the shoulder harness openings at the rear or the ABS bust. The local plastics shop had sheets of ABS the same thickness as the headliner, and pieces matching the openings were cut, glued into position with ABS cement and then the face was 'bodywerked'....

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cut it into strips, this stuff cuts easy, but it's also easy to go off course. be patient and take yer time....

a 3/4" strip is cut to fill the gap inside the section cut

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2 part pu

i love this stuff....
Might not be something everyone needs to do, but I wanted a rigid 'backbone' to use after separation to insure that the angles stay correct during re attachment. I love poly urethane bc it's almost instant, it takes form, and it ends up hard...

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I dammed the ends with foam, put in a layer of saran covered by fg cloth, then poured the pu into the ABS headliner bust.

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Measure, then lay in a line....

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a flexible straight edge makes for a good cut


I like a good knife, you don't lose any material and the line is clean.

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When working on darks, a good light makes a big difference.

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clean separation

Once again, take some time, this stuff is soft and the knife has a tendency to make it's own path.

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After installing, you can measure the gap.

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There is a 5/8" opening that has to be filled

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after the length adjustment


The fit before modification is also very visible in the back, the panel that holds the back end of the headliner up has a large gap in two places, a gap that goes away with the length adjustment.

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Cut a filler strip 5/8" wide....

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very rigid and a perfect fit...


the stabilizing tabs are glued into position


a piece of pipe the correct dimeter and a heat gun make pieces that prevent deformation at the curves


If you'd been puzzled by the creation of the PU 'backbone', here's where you use it. The two ends are strapped to it while you do your work so everything remains stable, in the correct position.

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Because the pieces fit really tight, any adhesive that oozes onto the 'fill space' corners should be removed before it hardens

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ready to glue the front 'half' on to the backing tabs


finish gluing in the backing


fitting the filler

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remove the bust from the 'spine' and give it a check


re-attach to the 'spine' and glue in the final filler

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smooth out with some 60grit



no concerns about strength here, give it the shake test... The casting 'flash' at the edges should be left on until just before upholstery as it adds alot of strength while you work on it

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wipe down with some lacquer thinner and it's ready for a skim coat of body filler


quick install just to check fit. compare this to the opening photo. once the flash is gone it's perfect. you can still see the fill spot under the white circle

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soon will all look (and smell) like this...


finished a-pillar panel...

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just wait till you see these in leather.....

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on the road...

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sway bars work really well..

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a view only truckers get

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Its DASH time... Always nice to be able to start with a mint piece, but too bad it can never be used as a stock dash again....

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needed to decide whether and what type of stitching to use, experimented with top stitches and double stitches using pieces of vinyl just to get a look

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tight double



tight top stitch and open top stitch

Mongoose

iTrader: (2)

Tight double, definitely.

bull-vette

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I pulled the hide over and stretched it on and it looks as though it were stock.... I liked it...

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bugs eye view

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in preparing the dash for adhesives, any unecessary spaces that will trap air should be removed

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a sharp blade is all that's needed



slow and careful, a sharp blade will make it's way where you don't want it to in the time it takes you to blink....

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these turned up edges exist all around the dash, and the edge is where the upholstery has to grab, so a flat edge works best

Hamburger

Outstanding!!

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someone called this ****.... i dunno if i'd go that far....

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after a wash down with a good degreaser, dont forget to wash down the underside, particularly where the upholstery adhesive has to do it's work.