5
Before re-installing the interior I set about installing sound deadener. The first step was to spray in 8 cans worth of Duplicolor UC 102 Sound Deadener Undercoating, I could have used more, but at $5 per can I found 8 cans sufficient to spray inside the car. The most time consuming part of this project was covering the car with newspaper that I did not want the spray to get on (as it is a BIG pain to clean off). After allowing this to set up I installed the sound deadener kit I ordered from Classic Industries. Next I put in 6 rolls of sound deadener I ordered from J.C. Whitney. These were 32"x 54" self-adhesive sheets of asphault type material that were 1/8" thick. I first had to heat the sheets with a hot air gun to keep them from cracking/tearing up as I unrolled them. It also helped to heat the material when I went to install it to follow the contour of the car. Finally I sprayed insulating foam in the T-Top crossmember.
The interior installation began with replacing the four speakers in the car with new speakers I ordered from crutchfield.com. Then I was finally able to get the new carpeting installed, which was a fairly simple installation. I just had to take my time cutting holes for the center console wiring, seat belt/seat belt buckles mounting holes, and for the mounting bolts for the seats. I then cut to fit and installed material similar to carpet padding insulation onto the back of all the interior pieces and door panels. Next I put in the seat belts/seat belt buckles, headliner, interior pieces, center console, and the seats. I also installed heavy sheets of plastic to act as a water-barrier before I installed the door panels. Also, I picked up a set of front tan floor mats that Sears had on sale. My brother uses them in his SUV and they do a great job of keeping dirt/debris out of the carpeting. In addition, these floor mats are easy to clean.
Before I installed the dash trip and dashpad, I had to install my "homemade" scanner. I used a U-channel from the bottom of a storm door I made the scanner light housing, and I used the left over aluminum to make the dividers for the housing. For the lenses I used three pieces of plexiglass. One of them is clear, the second was clear and I painted it red, and the third is a smoked piece of plexiglass. Then I used the instructions from the Knight Technologies website to modify a J.C. Whitney scanner run the halogen lights I installed in the light housing. While doing this I took time to cut to fit and installed a heat and sound insulator on the underside of the hood. It looked to be made of the similar undercarpet padding I put on the back of the interior pieces, except this also had an aluminum covering on one side of the material. After I installed the scanner housing, scanner control box, and ran the wiring I installed the dash trim pieces and dashpad. I ran the car for a while and found the starter needed to be replaced, so I replaced it with a new one and it made a huge difference. Here is the finished product, for now......
