'83 Cutlass Cruiser Build Thread

[Blake442]

Jack,
The beaded strips I have are kinda corroded too. They were pretty thin looking on a few spots once I got the old rubber removed.
My main concern is if there's enough material left to hold it in place once they're installed. If not, I'll just leave them off.
Spent today removing the old headliner material from the foam backing board, and my new material was here when I got home.
I was planning on using good old 3M headliner adhesive, but after hearing your recommendations for DAP Weldwood, I thought I'd try.
As luck would have it, they had it in a spray can at Home Depot so we'll see how it turns out tomorrow.

 

[Longroof79]

Blake,
While doing the large portion of the headliner, it couldn't hurt to have an extra pair of hands to help hold the fabric up while in the process of applying it.
The rear portion was easier to handle... lesser amount of fabric to deal with....I guess why the rear portion on mine came out better than the main part. 😕

 

[Blake442]

Got the headliner recovered today.
Not perfect, but considering how rough my foam board was it looks pretty good.
Hopefully my extra material will be enough to have the sun visors redone.

 

[Longroof79]

It's looks good, man.
That's pretty much what I did, had the sunvisors done with the extra fabric. My headliner board wasn't in the greatest shape either. It's been repaired a few times. Also, the fabric available today is thinner that it was when I first had it done years ago. I think it's like 3/16" compared to 1/4".

I like the coupe in the background. That's sweet! Looks like a '41 Ford, or Mercury.

 

[Blake442]

Thanks Jack!
The large size of the spray cans deceived my eyes at the store and I only got one...
Of course I ran out half way thru and had to make a 40 mile round trip to Home Depot to get another can!
Even then, I ran out before I got as much glue on the rear portion as I would've liked... oh well, seems to be sticking so far!
Today I ran out to the shop quick and hung the main headliner piece in the car before heading out for lunch at my sisters.
There's a shortage of good stash spots in the shop at the moment, and I don't trust Ziggy for too long unattended...
I haven't installed any of the surrounding trim, it's just held in with the sun visor swivels, dome lite and coat hooks.
Enough to hold the corners and get it out of the way.
Tomorrow after lunch I'll head out and slam together as much of the interior as I can.
I forgot to call the glass guy and tell him to order up the windshield, so I'll do that and pick a day for him to come glue everything in.

It's a '41 Ford. A little side work that found it's way to me...
I'll be installing all new side glass and seals, as well as converting it to power windows once he finishes collecting the rest of the parts.

 

[Blake442]

Yesterday I was able to get a bunch of the interior pieces into the car. Carpet and headliner are in.
Once I trimmed about 2" off the front edge of the carpet, it fit great. The heel pad isn't far enough forward but no other complaints.
Got 5 new headliner clips from GM Classic parts for the front trim piece and all 5 broke the instant they were installed...
So just like last time, the A-pillar pieces are holding it up. At least I tried lol
A-pillar trim, kick panels, B-pillar trim and all seat belts have been reinstalled.
Waiting for the 1/4 glass to be glued in before I put the rear part of the interior together.
Lite was bad so my pics turned out shitty, but you get the idea...

 

[Longroof79]

Blake,
It's a good feeling seeing the interior come together. You know you're approaching home stretch. It looks great .
I also noticed that the heel pad on my carpet wasn't forward enough...oh well. I also noticed that some areas of carpet don't quite lay down that well. The heat gun should help around the rear seat area.
Just gotta be careful with the amount of heat applied.
I'm surprised the front clips all broke on you.

BTW, that '41 coupe looks sweet.

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Looking good Blake!...and a few more steps closer to finishing....

 

[drogg1]

Progress!

Regarding the trim clips, it seems trim clips throughout the body are a source of headache when it comes to finding and installing them.

I thought it would be interesting to take all the trim clips and model them with CAD software. Then these files could be shared with everyone and they could then be 3D printed. I realize not everyone has access to a 3D printer but there are 3D printing services available. The ABS or PLA plastic that is normally used to 3D print would probably be strong/flexible enough I imagine. Just a thought.

 

[Blake442]

Glass guy came today.
Windshield turned out to be junk.
A big 2"x4" area right at the bottom center around the antenna wires had begun to de-laminate, so they had to order another.
He did glue in my 1/4 windows though, and I was able to reinstall the rest of my interior parts.
Now the interior is completely together except for the seats and the door panels.
1/4 windows look good and my trim fits nicely.
I had to leave the lower garnish bead piece off because there just wasn't enough room to clip the trim in place with it stacked in there.
Tuesday looks like it'll be a nice day for a run to the junkyard...