Interior Installation

We didn't want to sit on the aluminum floor any more.
The interior is going to be one of the most time consuming things in the car. There are lots of mechanical and electrical systems. Not only must they work, but they must be comfortable. We probably have about 10 to 15 hours on the pedals and they still aren't right. So we plan on taking our time so that the car is comfortable

Prior to putting on the body, we test fit the drivers seat to check the pedal and wheel positions. To adjust the pedals they must be heated and bent or cut and welded. The wheel can be raised or lowered by adding or removing washers under the mounting bolts.

Here are some picture of the interior with the all the aluminum in place, seats bolted to the floor, and the seat belts in place. The seat belts don't seem to fit smaller passengers very well. We need to research some alternatives or modifications.

With the seats all they way back, there is adequate leg room for a 6 foot tall person. Even though the shift lever looks weird, it is pretty comfortable.

The emergency brake was a pain to mount. You have to cut a notch in the mounting bracket so it won't hit the seat. We messed up our first handle and had to buy a replacement.

The driver side seat is on tracks and it was tough to mount them. You have to find frame tubes under the aluminum where you can drill and tap to attach the bolts. It took us two tries to get the right side track located correctly

The gauges and dashboard will be our next big project. We plan on leaving it like this until after Thanksgiving so that we can take some family members for a ride.

This is an early test fit of the dash before we figured out where we wanted all the lights and switches.

The shifter looks a little more finished after the boot and trim ring are installed. The dashboard has come along some more after the indicator lights and turn signal switch are mounted. The hazard, turn signals and high/low beam switch have been wired to toggle switches rather than using the stock switches..
When driving a homemade car you should always have a fire extinguisher close by. The dash looks much better after being covered with vinyl.

Prior to installing the carpet the car was insulated with an insulation product purchased at Home Depot. I think it is designed for water heaters, but works will in this application.

Here are some close ups of the driver and passenger foot areas. I takes some work to get the carpet to look good. It is in lots of pieces and is attached using double sided carpet tape and screws.

Here is the carpet almost completely done. The carpet along the door edge will have to wait until the car is painted and the body is permanently installed.

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