Tags: interior trimming restoration headliner

OK -- at long last the Amazon's interior is DONE. Mike and co at Auto Interiors out near Heathrow did a great job rescuing the job that the last muppet did, and though there are one or two things I'm just going to have to live with, overall, I'm pretty pleased with it.The main leather (seats, door panels etc) have been done in a burgundy leather, with piping and details (e.g. gearstick/handbrake gator, parcel-shelf) in a dark blue leather. I've also had parts of the boot (trunk) done in the dark blue, and this, together with the tightly woven grey ...read more

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Tags: interior restoration grille chroming

After a frustrating few weeks, things are hopefully back on track. The interior trimmer I was using turned out to be problematic, to say the least, and I've no got Mike from Auto Interiors to finish the job. Basically there's just the boot, some work on the carpet, the headliner and a few minor bits still to do, and we're looking at a week or so from now, with a final finish date for the whole car at the end of this month, which will allow for the bumpers to be chromed and the paint to be given a thorough ...read more

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Tags: interior dashboard dashtop custom

AS anyone with a Volvo Amazon knows, the padded dashtop (a radical innovation in its day) is somewhat problematic. Original or good second-hand ones are pretty much non-existent and a fortune, remanufactured ones are only available for left-hand-drive cars, or in the 123GT style (with integral parcel shelf -- IMHO not a nice design). Even when you do get one, they don't fit. Old ones crack and warp, and even new ones suffer from design flaws -- they're made from moulded foam, covered with fairly thin vinyl, which also serves to attach the thing to the metal dashboard at the ...read more

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Tags: chrome custom wheel-centres wheels

One of the last remaining outstanding issues was wheel centres for the Amazon -- because I've gone for painted steels, I've dispensed with the stock hubcaps. However, finding suitable wheel-centres turned out to be a nigh-on impossible task as I struck out with one supplier after another. I didn't want bullets, or something out of character with the rest of the car, but nor did I want to hubs showing through, particularly not the hulking great nut on the rear hubs. But no luck, at least not for wheels with a 2.75-inch centre hole. I even investigated getting them made ...read more

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Tags: steering-wheel moto-lita restoration

First in a couple of quick catch-up posts about the Amazon's restoration. Like much of the car, I'd hummed and hah'd over the steering wheel for quite a while, and had originally tended towards a leather one, possibly using the dark blue leather used elsewhere. In the end, however, I went for wood -- partly because I thought leather might look a bit "kit-car", partly because I like the feel of wood better, but mostly because I wood would look just that bit sharper. The 14-inch Moto-lita wheel I chose (a walnut Mark 9) was flat rather than dished, and ...read more

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Tags: restoration seats seat-belts safety-belts driving

Big day yesterday (well, it felt like it). Drove the Amazon for the first time since dropping it off at Romance of Rust (a year ago) for its bare-metal restoration.Though it's not finished yet, it is fully roadworthy, and I needed to get the seat belts refitted, and so (gently nudged by Lance), I decided to drive it up to Quickfit, in Stanmore, North London.When I say 'fully roadworthy', I mean of course it had an MOT and was insured. It was however lacking number plates (quickly attached those temporarily), a boot catch (some tape sorted that out) or even ...read more

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