Ok, there is an old saying, "Poverty is the mother of invention." If it's not a saying, it is now. I don't have a lot of money to put into my T Bucket and I never did from the get go. I did, however, know what I wanted it to be when it was finished. I wanted a basic, no frills hot rod, that would be safe, run good and make me smile. So far, it has done all those things and more.
My original plan, even though I almost changed it, was to have a black exierior and a red & black interior. Now, I know what would look GREAT. A nice, plush red vinyl seat and door panels and a black carpet. The problem is, I can't afford that right now. I also want a Dodge color called "black pearl" on the exterior. I can't afford that either. I do, however, want to drive my T Bucket and have it look presentable. A lot of advice was given about going without paint or an interior till it can be done. Well, that is what I am going to do for now. The white gelcoat on the body is in fairly good shape. It is also strong enough that wooding isn't needed. Only a few scrapes, but I just couldn't see myself rolling with no interior. It's just not me. So, this weekend, I got the same vinyl I had found at WalMart and used it for my side panels. I was going to make a thin foam backing so it would be nice and smooth and have a little plushness to it. Then, I thought, why not just apply the vinyl to the panel directly? I really wasn't going to gain anything as far as plushness with an 1/8" of foam anyway. So, that's what I did. I used upholstery spray adhesive and applyed as per the instructions. I think it looks great. It has a nice texture due to the semi-smoothness of the fiberglass. The faux grain in the vinyl helps the look quite a bit. What I'm REALLY proud of is the shifter boot I sewed last night. *pats self on back* It really looks good next to the black carpet. The chrome frame piece is from a shifter boot assembly that I found at AutoZone.
The black carpet was a universal type I at O' Reilly auto parts. I had to glue it to the trans hump, but the driver and passenger sides are held in place with velcro. I still need my steering column and emergency brake handle to be installed and the ability to remove the carpet for them will be needed. Plus, if I decide to keep it, and I probably will, they will be easy to remove and clean.
All said, it's about as 'low buck" as you can get, but it looks better than nothing at all. I'm happy with it and in the end, that's whats really important. Down the road, I'll have the bucks for a REAL interior and I may get one done or not. I kinda like the way this works. If something really yucky gets spilled on it, it's a snap to replace. So, the utility and practcality work out great. I'm building a driver and that's what she'll always be. I want to be able to have fun and not sweat ruining anything that will cost a lot to replace.
Pure, no frills funmobile.
(click photo to enlarge)
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