The Interior

The interior is 44 years old. This in it's self is pretty amazing, but the fact that in spite of it's age it is complete. When I got it to the shop and did a quick assesment I found that structurally it is in decent condition. I am not looking to make a 100 point show car, instead I am going with a mild restomod with some slight modernization. With having all trim and sound structure I think the interior will at first glance to the "Cruise Night"eye will appear stock.

• All stainless and trim is present, but steering wheel is horrible.


• Most chrome covered plastic has lost it's chrome


• Dash and instrument panel are not broken and generally need cleaning

The seats will need recovering. The folks who did my father-in-laws 65 Cyclone, and 79 Capri did awesome work, they are in Fairmount Georgia. I am really considering Banisters Upholstery in East Point Georgia. (http://www.banisters.com/) I have known the Banister family for most of my life and their work is great. They recover, dye, and rehab existing usable as well as replace with new coverings. They restored the red interior and dash of a friends 64 1/2 Fairlane years ago and it was flawless. My father in law recently got a dash pad for his 79 Capri, fit like a glove! My car has the bench front and rear seats, and from what I can tell the padding and springs are reusable.

The headliner is shot. Thats putting it lightly. The framework is all still there, but as some may know replacement of the headliner is a headache although they are easy to get from several vendors.

The carpet will have to be replaced, between the holes, fading, and damage to the looping it is far beyond reusable. While I was checking the padding and underside I found soft spots and small holes in the passenger floor pan. But I will detail this in future post. Molded carpet replacements with footwells, and backing is available in the $120-$150 range, although I am looking to go with a cut-pile Mercedes Black that is made by a local supplier for Mercedes and BMW. This holds less debris, and looks great.

Overall the door panels are dirty, and need minor attention, but overall I think they are reusable. The windows all work, but seals are dry rotted and will need replacing.