Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Spring Cleaning

Last Sunday I took Nell to her first car show of the year.  It is a fun, informal show in a quaint coastal beach town... this was her 3rd year at the show.  It was good to get her out, and I was once again impressed by the number of people who were attracted to her story!  She continues to be a real conversation starter.

I am gradually preparing Nell for the CTCI convention in September.  This should be a fun convention with large attendance, and I'd like Nell to look her best.  Toward that end I have replaced the rusty grille with a reproduction chrome steel one.  I have not re-installed the F100 V8 emblem on the grille, since I no longer need it to cover the rust spots!

Other minor tweaks include replacing the non-standard screws in the dash behind the steering column, applying a matte finish to the lower dash, refreshing the rear-window rubber so it fits better, and cleaning the carpets.  

Woolite carpet cleaner does a good job, but the carpet still has subtle dark areas and a few spots.  Even when I do get it clean, the light colored carpet seems to soil quickly.  I've been considering getting dark-colored floor mats that might compliment the interior color scheme.  Hopefully they would preserve the carpet, or at least cover the spots I can't get out.  Stock interiors was willing to send me a few carpet samples, and I think one of them matches the dash color pretty well.

Artificial light... the center sample on the bottom row is my choice.
Natural light.  The center sample on the bottom row matches nicely.

 
The same sample in in upper left, below the seatbelt in these shots on the floor.

I have ordered carpets of this "dark teal" material, embroidered with Thunderbird logos.  I'll post again when I get them.