Project 80

The project 80 is underway.  The car is a 1980 hatch that was originally black with black interior.  At the present time it is grey primer.  The interior is pretty much intack.  

First modifications include switching to an 89 GT interior.  I replaced the seats, carpet, and seatbelts with grey pieces.  The car had blue seats and a blue console.  Everything bolted right in.  I had to use the seat brackets from the 89.  The 80's brackets were too short for the 89 seats mounting holes.  I could have modified the older brackets but leaving the brackets on the seats was much easier.

The carpet went right in too.  The holes for the shifter and the console fit just fine.  The only modification that I had to do was to cut new holes for the lower front seatbelt mounts.  The holes were off by about two inches.

I found some rust around the rear seatbelt mounts and in the passenger side footwell.  The floorpan around the left back seat mounting hole was cracked too.  To fix this I'm going to weld up the floor and put subframe connectors on that run underneith the back two seat mounts.

The headliner was also bad so it was recovered.  A few trim pieces needed to be replaced too.  The one under the steering wheel, the door seal trim that holds the carpet down, the sun visors, the glovebox and the way cool wood grain trim on the dash.  This trim goes around the gauges and between the air vents.  

This completes the interior.  I like the way it looks my self.  The seats look good against the trim.  I like the boxy way the rear hatch trim is laid out too.  Next the drivetrain will be replaced.  Now a powerful 2.3 L and four speed take space.  Soon a small block, super duty T5, and an 8.8 rear will be bolted in.