1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

[lleelduo]

more of the trunk

[Vegavulture]

Really enjoyed reading your progress, almost the identical wagon I have, except mines a 77 Astre Safari, great ideas and even better pictures!

[lleelduo]

For my birthday last year my wife wanted to buy me somthing for my "new" car. I told her that I would like to have a stereo radio. She thought that was great and told me to buy what i wanted and she would pay for it. On ebay I found a Delco am/fm cassette radio that when I traced back the production number, it would have been the accessory kit pt# for an add on cassette player in 1980 h, f,g,and b body cars. I knew that this was kind of a universal unit and they listed the case size for the unit. I bought it for $165.00 and as a bonus the radio repair shop that was selling it had already wired in an aux jack on a cable that an ipod would plug into. Wired direct to the amp when an ipod is plugged in, it automaticaly turms off the reciever. I next started to figure where to mount speakers. After research and consulting with a stereo shop, 4" round speakers mounted in the kick panels and quarter trim was decided on. I know the kick panels are open to air and water, but we came up with a plan. I found speaker rear housing covers that would mount on the back side of the speaker. with some silicone and that spray water proofing stuff off TV, I was in. Worked like a charm. I mounted the ipod jack and a USB charging port in the glove box so it would all look factory. I glued maroon streach cloth over the speaker grills and painted the mounts, when I painted the old interior parts. I even printed out Delco Electronics lables to put on the rear speaker grills.

[vegastre]

Larry,
Very Nice attention to detail. Restorations of this sort is laborious scraping, cleaning, fixing four decades of neglect and grime. I think it is great you are going to use it for a driver. I think these cars need to be driven because Vega's have a tendency to become couch potatoes either sitting in the garage or in the back yard, beentheredonethat =) Again, keep up the good work and detail.

[Kenova]

I agree, excellent work. , although I am beginning to think that Larry and Clyde were separated at birth.

Ken

[lleelduo]

I have talked to clyde several times. I will take that as a complement!

[lleelduo]

Back to the interior. When I pulled out the carpet to mount the new shifter bracket, I thought cleaning the carpet was an option. I was wrong there. I tried to clean the carpet, but holes just appeared because the backing was bad. Some of the stains just would not come out. The hood release cable had broken at the grommet in the side panel. WATER LEAK! So I bought a new cable and sealed every thing. The insulation was wet and mildewed. So out it came. The floors had some surface rust but that was all. I pulled out all the sound deadening sheets that had turned hard and brittle.(keep them for patterns) I scrubbed and wire brushed the floors. The seam sealer at the panel joints was all brittle and had to be removed and resealed. I used rust converter paint in the floor boards to stop any damage that may hve started then silver painted the whole mess. Then it saw time to do some improvements. The factory sound deadner is a paper backed butyl rubber sheeting. It had all gone bad. under that was the jute mat insulation. I decided to use sheet sound deadner and new padding. Cut and fit for the next few weeks of spare time.... I put two layers on the floor boards, tranny hump and over the rear axle. The side trim was off so the lame factory sound sheeting got replaced also.

[lleelduo]

Clean and paint. And start with the sound deadener. I used RATTLE TRAP EXTREME. Good value, easy to cut, and sticks like mad!

[lleelduo]

I Double layered the sound deadner on the floor, tranny hump, and rear seat/axle area. Took out the lame quarter panel factory stuff, and replaced it all. I also put a layer on the inside of the quarter trim to keep down any speaker buzz caused by the new stereo system. A 3 1/2" hole had to be cut in the sheetmetal on the quarter to make clearence for the new speakers. I used the same speaker covers as the front to block any water or sound from the interior.

[lleelduo]

Now the carpet padding. I did some research on other car blogs and the general concensis is that jute carpet pad is not the best. Closed cell urethane padding does the best job for sound deadening, vibration dampening, and second order harmonics dampening. It has more mass than jute. Also excellent resilence to pressure for its thickness. It also does not "hold" moisture,and cuts easily with a utility knife or heavy scisors. I checked with a local carpet company and he had a remnant of indutrial 3/8" thick closed cell urethane pad.I used the original jute pads as patterns. I added changes to reflect the new center console, and double thickness padding in the "FOOT" areas for a better feel.

[lleelduo]

Now the carpet. I purchased ACC preformed cut pile carpet. The color match looks good I used number 7039 carmine. The original was I think Just a slightly heaver weight than the replacement. The form fit of the carpet was excellent. I let the carpet lay out for a couple days before I started, to get the box folds relaxed out of it. Starting in the center, cut out the shifter and e-brake openings. There was plenty of extra length all around so you could fit the carpet at the edges well. Smooth it out, mark the seat belt and seat mountings and cut as needed. Put in the new console. WUNDERBAR!

[lleelduo]

A little detail I always hated, even back in the 80's, THE OE GAS PEDAL IS TOO SMALL! While I had things apart, I thought it looked like the F body gen 2 gas pedal was the same mounting. I ordered one from Classic Industries. Sure enough it was. I also ordered the clutch pedal pad for the Firebird with the muncie 4 speed, to use for the brake pedal pad. Add the chrome trim, and you have the OE custom pedal package.

[sportriderok]

Larry, your car is turning out great! Watching your progress is the inspiration I need to get back on my wagon. Good show!

[1100kaw2]

Really like how this little wagon is going. Nice work indeed. Details details, details
Darrell

[zeke]

Wow, I bet your floor will feel super comfy! Road noise should be minimal and compliment a great stereo system. Looks great and thanks for posting all this cuz I have the interior project ahead of me yet.