Well it's high time for an update don't you think? I've been pretty good about updating progress monthly or so on
FactoryTwoFour, but absolutely garbage about updating the nitty gritty details here. This is supposed to be a step-by-step thread! Let's fix that.
In this long meantime, the car has been stripped of paint, the interior dismantled, doors, glass, and all rubber removed, and sent off to paint for it's coat of Grand Prix White. I had a hell of time finding a local shop to spray the paint for anything less than 20k - even after I'd done all the prep work! It was stripped, patched, cleaned and ready to be sprayed! I did eventually find a quality small shop on the wrong side of town that wasn't focused solely on insurance repair jobs.
They wanted to spray the chassis first, then I'd bring them the doors and fenders, then odds and ends and so on. I thought it was mighty strange that they didn't want to spray everything at once, but as I checked out their previous work and the fact that they were charging me 5k, I rolled with it. And as everything has come back, I'm extremely happy with the quality and consistency. She looks great in white.
So now it's on to reassembly. I returned the engine to its cozy home around back and started on the interior. First up was the headliner as I didn't want to trod all over my new carpet while did that. So while it was still a naked shell I tackled this oft-quoted terrible job. It was actually quite easy. As long as the car is in pieces anyway, the headliner is a breeze. Took me about 3 days (2-3 hours each day) to line it up, stretch it, mock it, then finally glue it in place when I was happy with the placement. I did it alone with no major issues or desire for a helper. This was the first time I felt like it was becoming a real car again.
No stripping or sanding was necessary as the interior floor pan was already at bare metal when I bought it. So a quick vacuum and plucking of any last sound deadener and it was time to install the dynamat. I bought a 911 Carrera specific kit that was perfect, came with everything, and was slightly cheaper than buying everything separate. I applied the small sound deadening panels all around the cabin, then glued thick fabric insulation wall-to-wall all over the cabin. It was rattly as hell when I drove it around previously, shouldn't be a problem anymore.
Before laying carpet, I wanted to mock up my stereo system so the wires would be hidden underneath. It looks like I can hide both my amps (it's an immature stupid-big system I took out my last sportscar) underneath my seats, but that's an assumption since I'm not sticking with stock seats. Here's hoping it works out. So I mocked up the amp placement, ran all the power and sound wires, then removed the amps and laid down the carpet on top to hide all the wires. The carpet kit I got was terrible in the sense that nothing was labeled and there were no instructions. I was left to trying to figure out how some oddly cut piece might wrap around this bend or that. In the end, I'm left with about 5 leftover pieces I have no idea where to put. But the interior is covered...
The last item I've done recently was a custom rear-seat delete. Every delete I've seen has two fatal flaws (IMHO), they are crazy expensive, and the storage area doors open on the side like a glovebox. Having never tried one like this, I can only assume that I would have to tilt the seats forward to access anything. No bueno for a lazy person like myself. The same former sportscar I had that donated its stereo system also gave me a better idea: storage compartments that open from the top rather than side. So I came up with my own over-ambitious design: a fake luggage shelf where the two pieces of luggage act as the door to the storage compartments. Basically the suitcases will be screwed down, and if you open them up they will reveal a little cubby hole. It's great in my head, hopefully it turns out that way when it's done.
I mocked up my idea with cardboard first and finessed all the dimensions, then cut it in very thin wood to further finesse curves and angles, and finally cut it out of 1/2" wood for the final pieces. I decided to use one of the cubbys for my subwoofer, and the other for storage. I made sure the storage cubby to accommodate a full-size takout container should I have a Chinese food craving. I had to estimate the wiggle room required once everything was wrapped in upholstery, but the final fitting worked great now that it's back and wrapped in vinyl.
That's where I'm at for now, pieces are slowly coming back from upholstery, and I'll share pics and details of the finished interior soon.