Interior done! The secret luggage compartments came out great, and I rounded them off with some Mexican blankets to add a picnic vibe and to fill up the space left between the luggage and the rear firewall. Of course, you can have your own thoughts but I love it!
I also got the glass installed so I could actually drive it around. Although this did vastly increase the temptation to start driving it before it was officially done, I needed to be able to take to alignment shops, SMOG centers, etc without trailering it everywhere. And about that SMOG shop... This turned into a massive pain the ass that set me back months (thus it's been quiet on this thread for a while), and I covered all the details on my site
FactoryTwoFour.
TLDR - I hilariously failed SMOG a whole handful of times and ended up dropping the engine again to find the assumed vacuum leak. Since this is a thread on how to backdate rather than how to be an idiot and chase down a mistake you made, I'll leave the details to the story on the site. Once I got my California SMOG signoff, the car was road legal again and I could start on the endgame.
Since the major mechanical work was done, it was time to apply the "Carrera" vinyl around the bottom of the car. As this is the major gilding on the vehicle and attracts a lot of attention (Hello 70's!) a sane person would have an expert install it, or at the very least watch a Youtube video or two on how to correctly install it. I did none of these things. As is my way, I dove right in and started applying the rear bumper stripes first since 1) they are less detailed than the sides, 2) at the back incase I screw up and 3) the shortest sections. Careful measuring and a light touch actually makes this a pretty simple job. I moved on the front, and then the finicky sides by lining up the vinyl (still on it's paper backing) with masking tape to ensure placement, then peeling the paper away and sticking it down.
The car actually looks real now. It completely freaked me out to step back and see my dream car, the car I've been fantasizing about for 10+ years suddenly in my garage. The Carrera stripes changed the entire car and really brought home that I'm just about done with this build...
I also got in my seats from Stefan at GTS Classics in TX. They were pricey, but he was a gem to deal with, added some custom touches to my seats (we mated my car's power adjustments to his classic seat pan), and shipped them out to me with care. They match the luggage and bring the whole interior together. Much better than the temporary beige seats I was using:
With a done looking car, it was time for an alignment and corner balance. I went to Mistress of Silverlake CA as they are renowned in the local community for their alignments. Again, pricey (Porsche tax!) but they did a great job and car felt completely transformed from how I drove it to them. Gone was the nervous nature and flighty steering, replaced by a solid car that tracked true and didn't dart around with every pot hole.
So my Porsche looks good, is legal, and drives like it should. What's left? Well a few last touches and tracking down some nagging problems you only find when it's all together and you start using it. Next time, finishing touches and the conclusion of this build.