This weekend I focused on the last items in the car. First, I took out the cyclops center brake light and painted it the same cranberry color that the back speaker grills are painted. Makes it look uniform in the back.
I also painted and installed the front speaker grills and speakers. I got an enamel mixed that matched the color of the door vinyl so it looks very uniform.
One of the jobs that was outstanding in the front of the car was to finish the center storage box and install the armrest. I created a new insert out of fiberglass the prior weekend, so this weekend I trimmed and finished in using carbon look vinyl, installed it into the center console with the USB adapter for the radio inside of it, and installed the armrest with all the original hardware.
I also spent a great deal of time on the back center console. I figured out how I would install the carbon fiber piece, which required glassing a piece of brass stock onto the back of the panel so that I could run some screws from the inside of the storage box into the panel. The bottom part of of the panel is held in using brass brackets riveted to the bottom edge of the panel that run back and down to fit over the center cross brace of the console itself.
I've been having a hard time getting the finish I want on the carbon fiber piece. I've sprayed and sanded several times now and can't get the smooth finish I want, so I've sanded back all the lacquer and I'm going to put one more coat of resin over it to try to smooth out the few imperfections. So I have a few more days of work on that before I'm finished.
While I was working on the car, I remembered that I forgot to put the left side passenger door stop into the B-pillar before I installed the upholstery. So I had to remove the upholstery, which required removing the front and back door thresholds, the fuzzy edging on both sides of the B-Pillar, the shoulder mount for the seat front belt, the trim piece that fits on the upper part of the B-Pillar and a couple of screws. After installing the door stop, I put everything back in. Took about an hour.
Finally, during the week I sourced four Series III side fender badges from EBay and installed them on the door panels. This was a relatively easy, if fiddly job requiring drilling holes in the carbon fiber panels and installing the badges. It really made a difference though, and I'm glad I got the matching ones since looking in the car, you would have really noticed the difference if I had kept the Series 1 badges.
So, from my list I have left to complete:
In the back of the car:
- Lacquer and rub out the center console panel
- Mount the center console
Front Interior
- Finish center indicator light bezel
- Mount dimmer switch knobe
- Calibrate Speedometer
Trunk:
- Buy carpet kit an install
- Make left and right upholstery panels
Exterior:
- Fix mismatch paint
- Install bumpers
- Install front license plate
Mechanical:
- Front end alignment
- Headlight alignment
I'm going to see if I can get the car into the paint shop this week to find out what it will take to fix the paint.
