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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/17/07 7:38amMessage 1 of 15

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bio11

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Oklahoma City, OK - USA

Joined: 4/1/2007

Posts: 432

Vette(s): 1972 LS5 Convertible,Auto.Targa Blue with Black Interior.

I drove this thing around the block yesterday for the first time. Open headers, no hood, no top and I hope the neighbors are ok with it. So I started on the interior in the afternoon. This thing had no carpet or door panels, just seats. The dash was easy to take out, all I had to do was cut the zip ties holding them. I'm ordering a dash harness from "Lectric Limited" today but I need all new dash pieces and console pieces. I'm not sure if the tach or speedo work or any gauges. Has anyone been in my situation, and do they have any advice. I would love to find this stuff out of a wrecked one. Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks Lonnie.

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/17/07 10:24amMessage 2 of 15

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dwright

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Victor, NY - USA

Joined: 7/12/2004

Posts: 6842

Vette(s): 2004 Commemorative Edition Coupe, Auto w/HUD. 13K miles in 2015. Sold 1982 Red Coupe

Sounds like a great project.

Do a search on key words like dash, door panels, carpet and you will find lots of info.

I guess I wouldn't mess with a used dash as the condition of a 35 year old original is probably poor.

There are junk yards that specialize in Vettes and you might get lucky.

Check some of the older threads.

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/17/07 6:47pmMessage 3 of 15

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KDADDY79

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Dutchess County, NY - USA

Joined: 8/27/2007

Posts: 2484

Vette(s): White '79 Corvette. It's a driver.

Lonnie,

Check out Adam's post from July 28,'07 Titled "Not For The Faint Of Heart;

http://picasaweb.google.com/AdamWartell/ContemporaryCorvetteBacklot

Looks like there is something for every one of us there.

Good luck on your project!!!

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/17/07 7:54pmMessage 4 of 15

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Ten15

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East Hanover, NJ - USA

Joined: 9/25/2004

Posts: 525

Vette(s): '68 Black Conv. Matching 327/300 4 Spd. P/S, P/B, P/W, Tele, A/C

Lonnie,

Except for recovering my seats & replacing the door panels, I just finished a complete interior resto on my '68.

Here's a brief explanation of what I did & where I got stuff from:

>V-Shield Ceramic Heat Shield applied on entire inside firewall by me. http://www.lizardskin.com/

>Correct carpet set, shift console housing, & upper dash pad - Wilcox Corvette. http://stores.ebay.com/Willcox-Wholesale-Corvette-Parts

>Lower dash pads were re-skinned by me.

>Dash Harness - Lectric Limited.

>New 3-Compartment frames & carpet heat barrier - Rick's Corvette.

>All gauges restored (quartz clock conversion) by Roger Scott http://www.corvetteinstruments.com/

>Shifter Console Plate stripped & restored by me.

>Original Radio upgraded to modern FM board by Mike Hagan.

>Polk Audio 4x6's in front, 6x9's (in enclosures) in the rear.

>Heater core replaced & heater box restored by me.

>New '68 only gauge bezel.

>NOS Switches - E-Bay

>New headlight & heater vacuum hose kits, - Doc Rebuild.

>New accelerator, speedo & tach cables

>New everything else - pedals, knobs, bezels, actuators, bulbs, fastener kit - Usual Major Suppliers.

I saved the most money by using Wilcox & the Roger the gauge restorer. Be sure to take a lot of pictures as you go, & if you don't have one, pick up an assembly manual, they are a good reference source.

This may be a good time to change the heater core, since the right side dash & the center gauges have to come out anyway.

Also, be sure to change the plastic oil pressure line that goes to the block. I have a spare oil pressure gauge if you want it. You'll need it if you want to run the engine before the interior is back together.

Basically, depending on the level you take the resto to, be prepared to bleed money and above all, be patient, you'll find yourself ordering parts almost daily for a while.

Good luck,

Anthony

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/18/07 6:46amMessage 5 of 15

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6880Mike

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Horse Cave, KY - USA

Joined: 10/22/2007

Posts: 488

Vette(s): 1968 convertible; 1980 L-82

[QUOTE=bio11]... I would love to find this stuff out of a wrecked one. Any advice or tips would be appreciated...[/QUOTE]

Lots of stuff on eBay.

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/18/07 8:34amMessage 6 of 15

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BlueX2

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Joined: 3/9/2006

Posts: 2179

Keep us updated on your progress. I too need to redo my interior. I didn't even try on my gauges, I took the car to a Chevy dealer. (Which wasn't cheap, but I knew it would be done right.)

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/18/07 10:30amMessage 7 of 15

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dwright

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Victor, NY - USA

Joined: 7/12/2004

Posts: 6842

Vette(s): 2004 Commemorative Edition Coupe, Auto w/HUD. 13K miles in 2015. Sold 1982 Red Coupe

Ten15- did you take any before and after pics?

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/18/07 10:43amMessage 8 of 15

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bio11

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Oklahoma City, OK - USA

Joined: 4/1/2007

Posts: 432

Vette(s): 1972 LS5 Convertible,Auto.Targa Blue with Black Interior.

Ten15, You said you stripped and refurbed your console. Any tips on that would be great. Mine would be OK with some fresh paint.

Lonnie

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/18/07 11:50amMessage 9 of 15

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6880Mike

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Horse Cave, KY - USA

Joined: 10/22/2007

Posts: 488

Vette(s): 1968 convertible; 1980 L-82

[QUOTE=bio11]....You said you stripped and refurbed your console. Any tips on that would be great....[/QUOTE]

Krylon semi-flat black is a near perfect match for interior restoration.

Clean things up well. It's possible you may not need to strip the trim if it's otherwise in good shape. Mask off the chrome areas and shoot the Krylon. While the paint is tacky, use a rag soaked in lacquer thinner and your finger or a Q-tip to go over letters and numerals and rub off the black.

6880Mike2007-12-18 11:52:33

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72 Interior Project

Posted: 12/18/07 7:44pmMessage 10 of 15

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Ten15

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East Hanover, NJ - USA

Joined: 9/25/2004

Posts: 525

Vette(s): '68 Black Conv. Matching 327/300 4 Spd. P/S, P/B, P/W, Tele, A/C

Dave - Mike,

I took a lot of pics, it's funny that no matter how many you take, you never take the you need as things are going back together. As for the before pics, picture a compltely empty engine, no front suspension, & a bare fiberglass interior. When finished, everything that was important was blasted & re-painted or re-skinned & everything else was replaced.

The while I'm here syndrome can be a dangerous thing!!!

As for the shift plate, I stripped it w/ a stripper from a spray can & some brakekleen. I taped off the outer chrome lip and sprayed the plate. After it dried, I used a new razor blade to clean off the paint from the inner chrome trim & the letters.

As for paint, NCRS guys reccommended SEM Trim Black #39143. When sprayed over Dupont's A-4119S Self-Etching Black Primer, the finish is a perfect OEM match & bullettproof. This is the best paint (& I thought Eastwood's stuff was good) that I ever used from a spray can. Both can be found @ any auto body supply store.

I'm trying to get up the courage to restore the seats (new foam & correct covers) this winter, but the engine rebuild, engine bay, front suspension, & interior restoration from the last 1.5 years has beat my wallet up pretty bad.

Here's some pics of the console plate.

Good luck,

Anthony

After being stripped