Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Lizzy gets some new duds!

After I got the Triumph I took her to a British car repair shop for new brakes, some front end work, and general safety and reliability freshening up. Next it was time to make her prettier. The carpet was all there but tired, and the seats left a lot to be desired. 

 

 So I took her "down to the metal" as the saying goes...

 

Those black rubber circles on each side cover holes for the jack lifting points. You can actually jack this car up from inside! Could come in handy on a rainy day.

 

   

 

 

That's concrete visible through the hole

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found a great upholsterer named Ernie Romero, and located a nice big leather hide on line.



The skin had a big hole right in the middle, but Ernie carefully laid out all the parts and was able to get everything he needed, in spite of the hole. When the car came from the factory, only the parts touching your body were leather; the tops, backs, sides, and bases were all matching vinyl. None of that for Lizzy! She's all leather.

 


The results were everything I could have wished for.

 

Carpet kits for this car can cost up to $500, so I went to my friendly neighborhood Lowes (an hour away, but that's life in the sticks) and picked up a 6'x8' piece of carpet that the clerk marked down to $13 for some reason. I used the old pieces for patterns, sewed some edgebanding where needed, and voila! 

Homemade, but... 13 bucks.




And this came in the mail today 

 







Needless to say, I'm a happy guy...

 




 






 

9 comments:

  1. You have Alex print you up that key fob?? Gotta watch out for my grandkid's college tuition...

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    Replies
    1. Nope. Custom hand stitched by a sweet lady in beautiful downtown China.

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  2. Great job on the interior! (Well, then you sat in it...)

    Looking forward to seeing her.

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  3. Want to do some off roading with it neighbor? You would look mighty stylish!

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    Replies
    1. Hah! My driveway is off-road enough for me. And I take that VERY slowly... Don't want to stir up dust. I'd never make it down your driveway!

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  4. Wow! Fantastic fixup for a fantastic car!

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