RE-TRIMMING THE INTERIOR

One of the main jobs I knew was needed on purchasing the car was the interior re-trim. Having not done this myself before I thought I'd have a go and although there are a few areas which I am not 100% happy with and are not to a professional standard the overall effect is (if I say so myself) rather impressive for a first timer.

Having said that it is not finished yet. So far I have done the following:

Yet to do

To achieve the above I sourced most bits from Woolies who ca be found here although the carpet came from ambassador car mats (or wercarmats), who can be found on ebay or here. Overall this change has cost me under £100 and about 30 to 40 hours work and multiple donations to the swear box. The job is not one for the feint hearted and it is very easy to get it wrong, which can be expensive. However the potential cost benefits and the satisfaction when it is done is, I believe, worth it.

So here's the picture story:

Strip Out

The strip out starts. remove the seats and then pull hard using a scraper to ease away the carpet. The more you can keep it together the easier it will be to use as a pattern. Once all out it is vital that you clean away all residue with the scraper as anything left will cause an unsightly lump. I removed all the wadding from behind as well and haven't replaced it as I don't believe it is necessary as sound deadening in this type of car is non sensical. The only places I left is (and it was still all in tact) was on the rear parcel shelf and the gearbox tunnel.

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Hood Off

Next remove the hood as described here and then strip out the rear parcel shelf
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Templates

The lay out the bits and use as a template - you can see what state mine was in prior to replacement (and this was the good side) the passenger side just couldn't be used at all as it was just dust
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Parcel Shelf

Next cut all the bits and make sure they fit before gluing where no trimming is required. Once done stick down where appropriate - I used B&Q spray carpet glue, but any impact adhesive should do the job. For those bits that needed trimming I used the wife's good sewing machine for those were a single layer of carpet was present and her antique one (1892 is the date on the receipt) for thicker areas. The modern machines just don't have the strength unless you have an industrial one. Once trimmed it was all fitted up again before sticking
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The Sides

Now start to glue

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Nearly There

The rear parcel shelf without center console
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The center console was an identical process to the carpet, i.e. strip, and use as a pattern. However for this section you need to retain the sponge padding. Mine was re-usable but needed to be re secured. I also took the opportunity to open up the LHD cigarette lighter position and fit a power socket for the mobile, sat nav etc. However, I must say that if I thought the carpet was tricky this bit was far worse. You need to be really really careful and over cut the patterns (particularly in the long lengths of hockey stick shape that run to the sides of the console) and trim back after. Also the more clips and clamps you have the better I was using around 20 and only working/sticking sections at a time. If you don't use enough the material "relaxes" and creases

The finished pictures:

Passenger Foot well

Passenger Foot well - the creases here flatten out with time (after about 2 hours), but photo was taken just after refitting console which took lots of pushing and prodding and hence moulds the underlying padding temporarily.
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Drivers Foot well

Aluminium Heel plate - drivers Foot well
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The Back

View to the back
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From Above

View to the front - the same as above applies to these creases
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