That headliner is wild. Good tech on the sewing. Love the throttle linkage. Keep the updates coming, good ideas on using what you got for a low buck build. Are you going to do the seats?
indyjps: Thanks for the kind words. I will be attempting the seats, but not until winter. It's time to bolt in the old mis-matched & torn up seats & (hopefully) go cruising for the rest of the summer. After, we finish the heat/sound mat & carpet install. I might start on the door panels in the mean time, though. Been looking for a cheap chrome script, or do-dad, that might look good on the door panels. Haven't found anything "budget" enough yet. This is a low buck build. The black naugahyde, I've had laying around for years. I did purchase the leopard print stuff reasonably cheap off of eBay. The #69 upholstery thread was donated by a friend who does furniture upholstery. The engine/trans was a steal off of Craigslist. The intake was still in the packaging, & I paid about 1/3 of the new price. Same for the air ride set up. Just looking for bargains, as I do have other projects that will not be so budget minded coming up in the future.
Here's my son learning (as I was) how to put in sound/heat mat. Too bad he hasn't learned what a belt is for! 63wagon56 by 1pickup posted Jul 24, 2016 at 2:49 PM
It's been hot & humid, so I've not gotten as much done as I'd like. Carpet is in. It's not great, but looks much better than no carpet. Looked up carpet install on youtube. Tried the heat gun trick to get it to mold better. Didn't work as well as I thought it would. Since I am "smarter than everyone else," I didn't use spray adhesive to keep it down. I tried carpet tape - that didn't really work either. So, it's sitting in there with the seats & sills holding it in. Good enough. I chased the threads for the seat bolts & threaded them in, so I could easily find them through the carpet. A little hacking with a razor knife, & front seat install should be easy. The carpet looks short at the toe board, but that's really because some of the firewall insulation is gone. I'll probably just piece some extra carpet in there. Can't find the vent for the pass side kick panel, so that's why it's not looking kosher in this pic: 63wagon57 by 1pickup posted Jul 25, 2016 at 12:38 PM Carpet set had 2 extra squares that were bound on one side. Had no idea what they were for, Until the back seat was in: 63wagon58 by 1pickup posted Jul 25, 2016 at 12:39 PM Pretty sure I've figured out where they go. Yes, that is what a $150 seat looks like. Can't wait to take it back out & rip that cover off. Here's the B pillar between the doors. I used the original backing cardboard, & sewed some windlace on it. 2 tangs hold it on. The windlace gets tucked into the sill plates & a metal trim cover on the top: 63wagon59 by 1pickup posted Jul 25, 2016 at 12:40 PM
Thanks Jersey Larry. I finished up the B pillar. But, I think I put the piece with the windlace on backwards. The previous pic shows that I wrote "R" for right side, & "out." But that is facing in. That would explain why I can see a hint of the cardboard between the windlace & the upholstered panel. When I get to working on the seats, I'll correct that. 63wagon60 by 1pickup posted Jul 25, 2016 at 10:59 PM And, with the crappy seat installed. It was looking pretty good in there until I had to put the old seats in. But, gotta drive it. 63wagon61 by 1pickup posted Jul 25, 2016 at 11:00 PM
1st shakedown was last night. Went to a local cruise night. Forgot the camera. Got lots of good comments. It's got some bugs to work out, but it's on the road!
Don't worry about the belt issue! Be GLAD he doesn't have a cell phone glued to his hand while he's working! Joe
You must have more time than I do lately Dave, you seem to get a lot more done. I have been working on my plow truck, the kids 47 chevy truck and not much else. Who did the wagon belong to?
Hey Chris! As stated earlier, this wasn't in real time. Well, not the first page & a half, anyway. I also have an understanding wife. She likes me to be happy, & that means shop time. The car belonged to Skip Hornback. Guessing you probably know Vern. It has resided in my pole shed for longer than I would like to admit. Just wanted to do a relatively easy project, that I can drive, reliably, without spending too much. So, that meant something I already owned, something that didn't need a ground up resto & something I was OK with not doing a complete paint on. It was pretty much the only choice out of the junk I have. When I start cutting my Merc up, it will probably be down a LONG time, & cost me plenty. And, I really don't get anywhere near as much done as I'd like to.
Hey Dave saw you on the road last nite in the wagon, what in the world do you have on that thing for a horn? Sounds like a 6 volt horn on a 12 volt system? Good to see you out cruising.
Chris: If you've got an onboard air compressor, you have to have an air horn! Some cheapo ebay thing. When I see someone texting, I make them have to stop & throw away their underwear. edweird: Dash is '72 GM gold lacquer. It had been on the shelf for years, & I thought it would look good with the satin black & leopard print. Engine is a different color. Shake & spray from O'Reily's. I think it's called burnt copper, or something like that. Haven't updated this in a while. Been driving the shit out of it. Went to the Shakedown in Oshkosh (165mi round trip), Mississippi Mayhem in West Salem (250mi), & Iron Invasion in Woodstock, IL (650mi). About the only thing I've done to it, is wirebrush/paint the metal panel on the inside of the tailgate. And, since I don't have the cargo floor, I cut a piece of plywood, stapled a sheet over it, & slid it into the back. It will do until I find the proper pieces. 63wagon62 by 1pickup posted Nov 30, 2016 at 9:16 PM After the snow starts to fly, I'll get back to the interior.
Winter is here, so time to work on the interior. First up, is the back seat, back rest. Looks like somebody left one of the windows down, and it didn't do this thing any good. 63wagon63 by 1pickup posted Feb 6, 2017 at 4:48 PM Here's a close up of the rusted away seat spring 63wagon65 by 1pickup posted Feb 6, 2017 at 4:51 PM
I cut some pieces from an old bed spring, and took the crimp things too. Not sure what they are called. Cut off the offending parts of the seat springs, & bent up some new ones, using pieces from the bed. Just stuck them in the vice and hand bent them to mirror the good pieces on the opposite side of the spring. Re-used the crimps I took from the bed, and ended up with this: 63wagon67 by 1pickup posted Feb 6, 2017 at 4:54 PM The covering that went over the seat, was toast. It had some small wires running horizontally, through it. Presumably, so when you pushed your weight on the back rest, you didn't just sink into that area. It spread the weight over the other springs. I decided to just tie the springs together, by weaving another piece from the bed through the springs. I put 3 of those in. Ended up with this: 63wagon68 by 1pickup posted Feb 6, 2017 at 4:55 PM A couple of wire brushes, a sore back, & a few hours, cleaned up the rest of it. I'm ready to shake and spray some semi gloss black paint and primer in one on it 63wagon64 by 1pickup posted Feb 6, 2017 at 4:50 PM
I'm with everything on this build but the jungle headliner. I guess it'd be perfect if your girlfriend was Peg Bundy. Otherwise loving the build and the details...just don't look up! Lol
Dan in Pasadena: you're gonna hate the seats. And, door panels. The thought is, since the outside is so sedate, & the power to weight ratio is laughable, there needs to be a "wow factor" somewhere. I suppose I could drive around with the hood off to show off the dual carb 6, but that's not practical. So, wild interior it is. Peg Bundy would hate this thing, because it's old, & didn't cost a lot. Her husband probably could afford it on a shoe salesman's budget. mcnally351: Thank you.
Making some headway. Sewed up some burlap to cover the springs. This is to keep the padding from falling through the seat springs. Just folded the ends over & ran a seam. It didn't have to be pretty, as it will never be seen again. Then slipped in a metal rod from the bed spring, to keep the edges stiff, straight, & strong. Hog ringed my new pieces to the seat back, & to the top of the spring. Bought a cheap hog ring pliers (red handles) & rings. They suck. But after cutting about 3/4" off of each end & grinding where the pivot is to make them close more, they became somewhat usable. Then, I bought an antique tool. Much better. And, got some better rings from my upholsterer friend. You maybe can't see the difference in them in this pic, but the one on the left is like a paper clip. On the right, stronger.: 63wagon69 by 1pickup posted Feb 28, 2017 at 10:02 PM That's the top of the rear seat back. You can see where I hog ringed the top piece (it's about 3") to the seat frame on the bottom of the pic (using the crappy rings), & to the seat spring & front cover (using the better rings). So, there are 3 rods hogged together at the seam. If that makes sense. This is the cover. You can see how torn up the driver's side was. It corresponds with the rust issues that were under it. The letters, are notes to myself. P=passenger's side, D=driver's side, B=black, etc. That might help me from getting confused on which piece is supposed to be which color, & where it's supposed to fit, after it's torn apart. 63wagon70 by 1pickup posted Feb 28, 2017 at 10:03 PM And, after ripping the seams to make patterns, just like I did with the headliner. Since the one side is toast, I'll probably just make mirror images of the other side. Much easier than trying to make patterns from pieces that are mostly not there. I need to pick up some padding, & some piping, then get sewing again. 63wagon71 by 1pickup posted Feb 28, 2017 at 10:03 PM
Seat padding was pretty much nonexistent. I bought some 1/2" foam that I intended to use on the door panels, but decided against it. So, I cut it up to match the "face" of the seat back. 63wagon72 by 1pickup posted Mar 6, 2017 at 6:36 PM Got some upholstery padding from my friend, & cut it so it draped over the top & bottom, lining up with the seat frame/back. Left the ends a little oversized. Just laid it on top, & tucked the ends under the springs. That looked to me like the way it was done at the factory. 63wagon73 by 1pickup posted Mar 6, 2017 at 6:36 PM
I had to do a couple of repairs to the seat. The tack strips had some places where they had broken off. Just cut some door board & pop riveted it: 63wagon79 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:52 PM When I took it apart, I broke one of the pivot bolts. Probably made from unobtainium, so I ground off the broken threads, drilled & tapped it for a bolt. Fixed one, is on top: 63wagon78 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:51 PM
I wasn't going to do any more upholstery tech on this, but I ran into a few things & thought I'd share my knowledge/stupidity. When I needed to start sewing things together, I couldn't hold everything where it needed to be. An upholstery sewing machine, has a foot that is used for piping/welt cord. It has a "hook" that holds it in place. I don't have that. But you need a single foot to get close to the piping. Single foot, means the needle goes on one side of it, as opposed to between the 2 forks of a regular foot. Hope that makes sense. Tried pinning, & it worked, but it's a bitch to get the pins out after: 63wagon74 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:45 PM This is the back side of my insert: 63wagon75 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:47 PM
And, this is the finished insert, before attaching it to the center & end pieces: 63wagon76 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:48 PM
When I did the end pieces, I tried something else. I used a desktop stapler to hold things together: 63wagon77 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:49 PM Seemed to work pretty good. Anyway, got the whole cover sewed up & installed. Here's what the top looks like, with the trim installed: 63wagon81 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:54 PM And, a shot of the completed seat backrest. It came out as I expected it to. Far from good, and good from far. I'm sure it will be OK after it's installed & the rest of the interior is finished: 63wagon80 by 1pickup posted Mar 18, 2017 at 3:53 PM
I'm liking the whole thing. The headliner is not what I'd have in my ride, but I do like it in yours, and I like your idea of leaving the exterior, but having the interior loud. I'm looking forward to seeing it done.
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