Thread: Does this qualify as a Hot Rod?

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Between the metal seat parts and the upholstery are these plastic wear protecters. Mine are pretty discolored and stained, so I cut new ones.

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I fretted for quite a while not knowing where to get a sheet of clear plastic material. After checking the local hardware and fabric stores, without success, I resigned myself to taking the 35 mile drive to the closest Tap Plastics store.
But, while procrastinating I had an epiphany. The clear protecter on my desk is almost exactly the same thickness and has the same flexibility. $10 at the Staples two miles away. They cut out easily with scissors.

My exhaust tips arrived yesterday. Time to adjust the rear valance holes and possibly add some sort of blister to accentuate the exhaust ports. Will see...

That ought to work!!! Who needs a silly old desk protector anyway???

Good thinkin Wes. I usually grind the brain to headache mode before 2 hours later, jumping in the car and driving 35miles to get what I should have just mailed ordered a week ahead of time! Nice when a close by solution presents itself.

Originally Posted by stovens

Good thinkin Wes. I usually grind the brain to headache mode before 2 hours later, jumping in the car and driving 35miles to get what I should have just mailed ordered a week ahead of time! Nice when a close by solution presents itself.

I hear that!! I've been traipsing through every boneyard in the Bay Area and Sac. looking for a little roller that keeps my drivers window from rattling. Found a couple on ebay at, what I considered, outrageous prices. I've now spent more money in gas than I would have paid to have one shipped to my door... and of course, now they've all been sold.
"Headache mode" in full bloom.

Well, I sent back the exhaust tips I ordered from Summit. Several reasons combined to bring me to this decision.
1. Mocked up, they looked smaller than I expected.
2. Not sure why I thought I could weld stainless steel with my cheap little wire feed welder. And...
3. The inlet diameters were different, even though all other dimensions were the same.
I just couldn't bring myself to "settle" for the smaller look when there was going to be so much more work to getting them installed correctly.

Back to my headache.

Finally some good news.
I just received these pics of my new custom seat covers.
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They're gonna ship tomorrow.

Good looking covers! Won't be long now and the seats will be lookin' new!!

Wow they great Wes. I'm jeleous!

Awesome seat covers!

No real progress.

But while I'm waiting for the skins to arrive I decided to tidy-up some things in the interior. I bolted the seats in with the new foams (and one seat belt) just to get a visual, rerouted the wiring harness on the passenger side to hide underneath the reinforcement rails and started making cardboard patterns for the kick panels.

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"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"
(must be sung for proper effect.)
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This is my wifes' way of telling me it's once again, time to decorate for the holidays.

The new seat skins arrived last night, but alas, the butt warmers were shipped separately and are still on route. If I finish my decorating chores today, maybe I can do a little test fitting.

Wes,
One of the Christmas packages I wrapped for my wife two years back was a pair of seat warmer panels, relays & switches. When she opened the package she had this look of "...what the heck is this???", but a brief explanation got a hug!

That's funny.

My wifes' enthusiasm for a roadster went up considerably, when I assure her that there would butt warmers in the VR.

Well, it's not perfect, but I'm happy with my first attempt at covering the seats. It took me most of the day to install the butt warmers and seat covers.
It's a cold rainy day in Norcal, so my cheap heat gun came in real handy when it came time to stretch the synthetic leather. I wasn't able to get all the wrinkles out, but I'm pleased with the overall appearance.

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Nicely done Wes. We went up to apple hill today, and believe it or not it was sunny up there. Rained all the way home though!

Seats are installed.

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With the new foam and upholstery, the driving position is higher. The steering wheel and shift lever are now uncomfortably positioned. But at least now I can work from the actual sitting position in order to get the ergonomics correct.