Month: July 2013

My previous owner had the passenger side kneepad recovered. However, the wrong vinyl was used, and the recover job didn’t turn out very well. I’ve grown to dislike the kneepad over the years, so I located a used kneepad in good condition:

It has the right pebble texture, and the ripples in the vinyl. It’s a little worn and sun-faded, but I planned to re-dye it anyway since it needs to be black.

My other kneepads were loose, and they had to come out when I replaced my steering column. I also gave them a good cleaning before re-dying them. It turns out, they were disgustingly filthy! Lots of dirt, possibly from when the car was abandoned many years ago.

Dying the kneepads and door panels:

Passenger kneepad dyed:

I think they turned out well:

I plan to sell the recovered kneepad, and “recover” some money. With these kneepads, now I feel I need to recover or replace the dash, binnacle, and A-pillars.

My seatbacks were broken. The vinyl was torn, scuffed, worn, ripped, patched, and disintegrating. Even the staples for the material were rusted. I decided to try and make some new ones.

Tools Used:
Jig Saw
Sharpie Marker
Dremel or Rotary Tool
Drill, drill bits, countersink
Disposable Paint Brush
Rivet Tool
Scissors
Razor blade
Heat Gun

Supplies:
Vinyl
Hardboard
Contact Adhesive
Rivets

I drilled out the rivets on my old seatbacks, and reclaimed the brackets. I marked the position of all the holes with an old seatback. After drilling the holes, I riveted on the brackets. I then spread on some contact adhesive and let it tack up. Then I warmed up the vinyl with my heat gun, stretched it and attached it to the board. Finally, some trimming with a scissors and razor.

Marking the holes for the screws was the hardest part:

The passenger side came out great!. Unfortunately the driver’s side is sub-par, and will need to be recovered at some point. For now, it’s still a huge improvement.

Costs: