Door Panels

Unfortunately, I am still waiting on parts from Al Knoch Interiors.  They have wonderful products but their shipping policy is horrible.  I found out that when multiple items are ordered they hold shipment until everything is ready.  Any specialty item that requires fabrication will prevent in-stock items from shipping.  They still owe me parts for the doors and the seats.  This is not good.

Cool Desert Nights starts Thursday night.  I can't hold off on the doors and the seats anymore so I decided to assemble the doors knowing I'll have to go back later and add missing parts.  

These are drivers side door panels.  I have to take the parts from the old panel and put them on the new.  The "hockey stick" is simple.  What's difficult is on the back side.  

On the upper part of the door panel, the right side of this picture, is a stamped steel plate that's stapled to the cardboard panel.  These are beefy staples that go through both the steel and the cardboard.  These are not easily removed and I haven't a clue how the staples would be reinstalled.

Here is the sheet metal piece.

After sand blasting and painting I did a dry fit to the door.  No issues here.

I decided to use industrial grade contact cement to bond the sheet metal to the door panel.  It's very strong.   The hockey stick and other pieces were  attached to the new panel.

After the door panel was hung I installed the window cranks, door knob, arm rest, and door lock.  I am pointing at the door lock.  This reflector twists to lock and unlock the door.  It's pretty cool.

I worked on the passenger door but I can't find the old door panel.   I don't know if it's misplaced or I never had it.  I emailed Dennis S. in Hawaii to find out if he remembers.  No luck.  Neither of us can say for sure one way or the other.  So, I am going to assemble the door knowing it has to be redone after CDN.

It looks nice but it's lacking the upper sheet metal and the hockey stick.

So, the doors are ready but the seats are not done.  Thursday night I'll take the Corvette to Dairy Queen for what many believe is the best CDN event.  Richland shuts the street down making way for hundreds of classic cars.  I'll post pictures Friday.

That's it guys.  We are almost done.

Hope to see you there Max!  You too Ty!


My Distraction

Ta-da.

Getting Ready for Cool Desert Nights 2013

Over the last several months the Corvette collected a lot of grunge from sitting in the garage.  Dust, finger prints, over spray, and grit from the blast box mostly.   After a good bath at the car wash I spent most of the weekend wet sanding and polishing the paint back to its original condition.  I'll wait till Cool Desert Nights to show you pictures.  CDN 2013 starts June 20th.

I did get to work on the headlight bezels.  I used the same paint and process as on the car. 

They turned out nice.  Now I need to make brackets to attach them to the headlight buckets.

Sun visors come in either Coupe or Roadster models for 1964 to 1967 Corvettes.  63's came in the roadster model only.  So even if you have a 63 coupe you have to specify roadster.  Surprisingly, Al Knoch Interiors got it wrong which means these are incorrect.  Al Knoch has been contacted and they agree.  Replacements will be mailed later this week.

I am still waiting for the burlap that goes between the seat foam (shown) and the seat frame.  I am assured they will be mailed Wednesday.  That leaves little to no time for assembly.  Even I am interested in knowing what happens to the seats for CDN 2013.

I have the leather covers and they look great.  Just need to get them installed.

Seat frames are done and ready.

I did install some of the interior trim.  I even installed the rear view mirror.

That's pretty much it.  Aside from upholstery, I'll be detailing the car for CDN. 

My Distraction

The Schwinn Stingray is looking pretty good too.