Sandy's 63 Jetfire 4 spd manual

[graytoad]

The kick panels are only pressed board and had seen a fair bit of water damage on one side and physical ‘foot’ damage too. Apparently, you can get ABS replacements and you certainly could not tell they were not factory once carpeted and installed. Instead, I decided to use my paper-mache skills and used thinned wood glue and newspaper scraps to fix the splits and reinforce the spongy spots of my original ones. I recovered them with the extra carpet I purchased but instead of just a straight stitch along that edge as from the factory: I hand sewed with an overlap stitch along the edge to stop the separation when removing and re-installing the panel and you cant see the stitches on the carpet side.

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[Jim Noel]

Very resourceful, nice work!

[graytoad]

One thing that our cars are lacking is stuff we take for granted these days. A place to put a bottle of water or cup of coffee plus a safe spot for your cell phone. Since my car is a 4 speed, I need to have something out of the way of shifting: so something ‘off the shelf’ from the automotive aisle will not work. I decided to design a small console that would fit between the bucket seats – yes that tiny gap! It is just 3 ¾ inches between the seat frames and the cushions squish wider when you sit on them: but it can be done! I also designed it to have a power port too but went old school with a classic 12 v port that I can use a USB adapter in for cell phones or what ever gadget the grand kids may have in the back seat. The unit is easily removable with a quick disconnect on the power feed that tucks in under the carpet so I can be ‘stock’ at a show if I desire.
I had planned on covering it with original seat vinyl but realized it was too bulky and busy looking with the pleats, so I reverted to using some of the non-woven type of all-purpose ‘carpeting’ sold at swap meets. I decided the console would look nicer with a kicked out front. Lower photo: since we installed a factory clock – I had a factory F-85 logo from the filler plate that I could repurpose so I routed and recess section in the console face to accommodate that so it would recess in instead of just sitting on top of the carpeting. It is so narrow I actually had to thin out the sides to accommodate the square center pocket for the cell phone and there is no room for a coolie on your can in the ‘cup holder’ so I insulated that inside the console. If the phone needs charging the power cord does not need to be draped from the dash past the shifter this way!

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[Jim Noel]

I might just copy your cool console design for my Jetfire conv’t! Thanks…..

[bcroe@juno.com]

Very nice following the restoration. Reminds me of so many adventures
driving 1/3 million miles behind those aluminum V8s, more than 4 decades
ago. I would have liked it so much better with a 4 speed stick.

One problem I had was a bad leak at the rear of that 5 bolt rocker cover,
the gasket would slip out of place. inside, and it became another (dirty)
breather. My fix was to bolt a piece metal inside at the same level as the
edge, a rail to keep the gasket in place. It was very easy to convert the
alternator to the later internally regulated type, which got rid of the reg
under the hood, and eliminated radio interference in my HAM radio.

Opening the hood on that turbo was like opening an oven, but with the
big radiator and proper overflow tank/pressure cap, it never overheated.

The trunk release on the big Olds was vacuum powered, and I managed
to adapt one to the Cutlass body by mounting it on the opposite edge.

Bruce Roe

[tbirdz12]

I put those same dog dish caps on mine (kept the originals) and put the redlines on it.. Your car is absolutely gorgeous.. you should be very proud.

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[graytoad]

Thanks for the kind words tbirdz12!

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