ah, where was I?
I've been working my way through various Weekender prep jobs. The list felt short, but it's turned into a bit of a slog...
I had mounted the rear speakers in my little DIY shelf so needed to implement my plan to hide them. Here's a pic of an infill piece to level with the seatbelt mount plates
Then I trimmed the original (yes, 65 year old fibreboard) parcel shelf to help it fit a bit more easily
I skipped a step here, where I cut out holes for the speakers and also slots for the belts. I then glued the same vinyl as the dash over it;- while digging out the roll of material I stumbled across the piece I cut for it several months ago when I cut the dash piece - winner!!
I had planned to punch holes above the speakers, I decided to attempt a custom/kustom shape rather than a plain circle. I chose a fleur-de-lys which gives a nod to the French origins too
Yep - I'm pleased with that!
Both shapes punched out and fitted
And also with the ebay special seat belt guides.
I needed to remove the rear seat to fit this properly, this is now done and I need to fit the guides properly.
A bunch of stuff got delivered to my company's US office and then carried here by a colleague, including new speedo cable, gears and clips!
I used an online calculator to pick the 17t gear, that's now fitted but I've yet to drive it! I've got 15, 16, 18 & 19 to try if it's off, but I need to experiment
This turned into a fairly loooong job, removing the cluster, unbolting the floor pass through plate and considerable swearing & sweating. However, the added bonus was it allowed me to re-attach the heater control panel to the dash, and fit a couple of AWOL dash bulbs while I was in there.
I had booked it in to a garage next to my work for a rear wheel bearing, which they didn't get round to

, and it rained
all day so I got to find out how leaky it is.
The other side was the same... Could be coming in from a number of places really, but it's not that bad - the car lives in the garage normally so I'll try and deal with that another time. I didn't check the boot either

I also found out on the drive home that my wipers definitely do
not work after all, I think an electric motor conversion is in my imminent future.
The next item on the list was "refit trim" - couple of hours in my head, oh how wrong I was!!
This piece alone took me several hours of jiggery, pokery, clip trimming and basically working out how to access the stud on the top edge.
Extra long extension, routed up through the window mechanism, while lying on the floor and squinting to spot the nut. Loads of bruises, scratches and a good dose of 60yr old grease all over my arms...
The good news is the other side went on a lot quicker once I knew what I was doing. All 4 pieces are now fitted, the rear screen trim is still to be fitted. Even better, my wife is pleased!!

She's been bugging me to fit the trims for AGES
I've also replaced the OG front belts with some modern ones.
I plumped for green ones for a laugh - they're a bit obnoxious tbh, but should offer a tiny bit more safety than the frayed friction buckle ones.
I needed to nip up the heater valve as it was bubbling after a long drive, but it seems to be water tight (except the various bits of rain water that keep leaking out!

)
Jobs for this evening include - Fitting boot badge, fitting rear screen trim, fitting and testing the stereo. It needs a damn good clean, including removing some overspray. I doubt I'll have time for anything more than that though...
Come say hi on the weekend!