This is Easter weekend and in addition, a vacation day was taken on Thursday, to take my wife to the doctor. Upon returning home, the passenger seat was removed, to do a little rust clean-up on the adjustment rails and any exposed metal.
The metal was cleaned and any areas with surface rust were coated with rust transformer jell. After the jell dried, the area was cleaned with a wire brush and wiped down with some solvent. The seats were masked off and a coat of metal etching primer was applied to the adjustment rails and all of the exposed metal. After drying, a coat of semigloss black paint was applied.
ADJUSTMENT RAILS PAINTED
RECLINE ADJUSTMENT PAINTED
On Friday morning, the masking tape was removed and all of the vinyl was cleaned with Armor All. The rails were then greased and it was then I noticed that the rod from the adjustment lever was missing. A coat hanger was used to make a new one and after a little fitting and adjustment, the slides on both side of the seat worked freely. The bolt that attaches the seat back to the bottom had to be run in and the seat hold down bolts were cleaned and painted.
NEW ADJUSTMENT ROD
When the seat back adjustment and seat belt guide covers were dug out, it became apparent that they were not going to be able to be used. The holes to bolt them to the frame were either broken off or wallowed out. I did an internet search and found that THE FIERO STORE has replacements in stock, so ordered a pair.
BROKEN OFF BOLT HOLE
NEW SEAT MECHANISM COVERS
Aluminum backed duct tape was put on the bottom of the seat mounting feet to prevent future rust from staining the carpet.
TAPE ON FEET TO PROTECT CARPET
Finally the mounting nuts were cleaned and painted. One of the nuts was missing but fortunately, I have a box of miscellaneous GM fasteners from a Camaro I rebuilt a few years back. I must be better than the Manufacturer because there always seem to be bolts left over from my projects!
SPARE GM FASTENERS
PAINTED HOLD DOWN NUTS
Many metal parts and fasteners can not be seen and are hidden under the dash or interior panels but they have been rust treated and a new coating applied. There is just something that bothers me about knowing
there are rusty parts hidden in the build, so they were dealt with during this conversion. GM must have saved millions of dollars building their cars without coating all of the hidden parts, so it must not bother them. Maybe that is part of the reason GM went bankrupt a few years ago and had to scrap the Pontiac brand.
While working on this post, EV West uploaded the March addition of their EV Show. While not quite as technical as EVTV, they feature actual builds and finished conversions. Actually the show is very professionally put together and is quite enjoyable to watch. I can see a Discovery or History channel show on the horizon.
The steering wheel was tightened down and when putting the wheel back on, the horn honked. This is rather strange as since the car was delivered to my driveway, the horn has not worked. After with messing with the plunger, spring and carrier bushing, it appears the plunger is too short. I have a bid on one on EBAY, and sure enough, the plunger appears to be longer.
Until next time,
Randy
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