Restoration progress report

[jmackro]

I reached a significant milestone in my coupe's restoration yesterday - the re-installation of the front and rear windshields. After a year of restoration, the car is roadworthy again. When I disassembled my coupe last June, my plan was to have it off the road for a couple of months for some simple metal work and a repaint. But, we all know how one thing leads to another...

Here's a shot of the installer putting in the front glass:



And a photo of the assembled dash, where I have focused my attention over the past couple of months:



Here's the question: Does the defroster vent in the photo below look to be assembled correctly? My glass installer took a look at it, and questioned whether the plastic diffuser should be visible, or beneath the dash cap. I said that I believed this was how it was when I pulled the dash, but wanted to get others' opinions:

 

[bert35csi]

The vent was installed correctly. Love the light color mahogany liked dash veneers, provides for a more airy cabin feeling. BTW, great work Jay.

 

[gkb]

Agree - beautiful

Really nice job on the wood.

 

[jmackro]

Love the light color mahogany liked dash veneers, provides for a more airy cabin feeling.

Thanks for the compliment, but Madera Concepts deserves the credit. My old wood was pretty trashed - they supplied new curved pieces, and re-veneered my gauge panel, and side strips. The veneer is their version of French Walnut - supposed to match the original grain and shade of stain. Dunno if it does - my old wood was more pale in color, but then it was quite sun faded.

Thanks too for clarifying the defroster vent orientation.

 

[pmansson]

Looking beautiful!!
Will they also do the door and rear side (wood) panels?
One of my cars has had these done, which is the easy bit, but the PO never did the dashboard and inst. cluster, and nor have I.....

 

[jmackro]

Looking beautiful!!
Will they also do the door and rear side (wood) panels?

Yes, Madera replaced the veneer on my door and rear side panels as well.

One of my cars has had these done, which is the easy bit, but the PO never did the dashboard and inst. cluster, and nor have I.....

Having spent the last couple of months removing, refurbishing, and re-installing my dash, I can understand why the PO of your car skipped that step!

 

[jmackro]

After about 13 months of effort, my coupe restoration has reached the point where the car is back on the road. Here are a few shots I took of it at the "Cars & Coffee" gathering in Irvine on Saturday morning.

Naturally, there are still a number of things left to do before before driving it up to Monterey next month - notably installing the sound-deadening and carpets. But, it's sure nice to be able to drive it again!

Thanks to all of you who have been advising me on this project!

 

[OCCoupe]

Jay it was great to meet you in person and also your Coupe, by the way it looks fantastic!

Mike

 

[jmackro]

More restoration progress - sound deadening

I visited my upholsterer's shop today to check out his progress on carpeting my coupe following a floor transplant. He has the sound deadening material in, and the insulation/padding cut and ready to go. The carpet will of course be the final layer.

With just the Dynamat in place, it sort of looks like something NASA would build! I'll post more pictures next week.

 

[glenn in encinitas]

That dynamat job is going to really make a difference. Looks great!