| LIFE OF A GT |
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 | |  | January 1, 2009 - The dash is almost out.
I just need to label the wiring and we can disconnect it. Due to the poor paint job on the dash, we're going to make it black again. The whole interior of the car was painted tan - and with a fairly good job. But at least one of the panels seems to be stock, so hopefully there's a stock equivalent. The door panels are rather wavy.
The dash is going back to black, as the paint job on it is poor. It also needs some repair as can be seen. The choices are to try to patch it up and then respray the dash, buy a $50 top bit to cover it up, or install a $300 dash. We'll see what wins - I'll probably start with option A and see how that turns out.
entry 114 - tags: interior, dash | | |  | August 18, 2009 - The interior of the parts car isn't exactly pristine, but the dash is in better shape than the 1972 one.
It's a pillow dash without a glovebox, but the switchgear is in much better shape and the instruments look really good. Excellent source for restoration parts. Plus it comes with a "Personal" steering wheel!
I love the wood trim on the bottom of the doors. That's actual wood paneling.
entry 197 - tags: parts car, dash | | |  | November 26, 2010 - Janel wanted a dashboard, so I decided to give her a dashboard.
It didn't take long to pop it in, but then I started playing with heater controls and other doodads. Still, after a couple of hours of work it almost looks like a real car. Only three of the gauges - tach, fuel and temperature - are hooked up but I had to fill the extra holes anyhow or it would look weird.
The dash was painted before we got the car, and the paint is damaged. There's also a big giant crack in the top. I'd like to recover it, but it kinda looks good in tan. Hmm.
entry 472 - tags: interior, dashboard | | |  | November 26, 2010 - When I was messing around with the dash, I also changed the center console for the one from the 1969 parts car.
You can compare it to this picture. I think I like the older design better, it's so simple and the interior seems more spacious. The downside is that there is no more armrest. We'll see if that's an issue.
The 1969 parts car came with a radio, but I already had this "radio blanking plate" with a chrome surround and the octagon logo. Looks great. I just have to figure out how to finish up the trim around the bottom.
Take a look at the shroud around the steering column as well. It's the Miata part, and I had to trim off just the tiniest bit to make it fit. It really works with the rest of the interior.
entry 473 - tags: interior, dashboard | | |  | December 21, 2010 - A peek at the dashboard.
It used to be a very shabby looking thing, it's looking much better now! Not exactly concours-ready - my technique of dealing with a crack above the speedometer was to put some black duct tape over top before painting - but it's worlds better. You can see dusty hand prints above the tach, the paint job isn't as patchy as it looks in the picture.
Although looking at that old shot of the interior, I see I have the location of some of the lights in the wrong place - the right turn indicator and the alternator light seem to have traded spots. That'll be a bit of a pain to change now, as I took a special effort to make sure they're properly anchored!
entry 516 - tags: dash, interior | | |  | June 12, 2012 - When I repainted the dash a while back, I simply covered up a crack with black tape and sprayed over it.
This was intended to be a temporary thing, with a future plan of refinishing the complete dash. But then the 1969 parts car showed up with a plastic dash cap - and you know what? It looked pretty good. I think I saw one in place when I was at the Mitty as well. So I decided to take the easy route.
Unfortunately, when I unpacked the cover there was a big gouge out of one side. Nothing functional, but when a part is 100% aesthetic it's difficult to overlook a problem that's right in front of the passenger and very much not aesthetically pleasing. The box wasn't damaged and the gouge appeared to have been in place when the part was wrapped up at the factory.
So I called Moss Motors and got Kevin on the line. He offered to send me a new one - and after I told him it was damaged inside the plastic, he actually went into the warehouse and started unwrapping. He called back the next day and said they were all a bit rough, but he'd picked the best for me. It was shipped out that day and arrived shortly after.
Now that's excellent customer service. I've been on the other end of that phone call. Would our company have handled things as well? I don't think so.
The cover will likely go on this week. Janel thinks it's a big step up.
entry 645 - tags: interior, dash | | |
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