It's great to hear from you. Look to me for help with your interior, because I've made every mistake there is to make. Here's a couple of things I've learned. First, the interior coloring won't peel if you properly prepare the surface before you start painting. That means cleaning it thoroughly with soap and water, then wiping it down with mineral spirits (paint thinner) before painting. Don't paint unless the air temperature is at least 70 degrees (another mistake I made). After you've painted the part, put it away for at least 48 hours and let it cure. Once it has cured, put several coats of car wax on it to protect it. For pieces that take a lot of abuse, like the door sills, go buy some clear bra and cover them with that after you have painted them. That will protect them and your interior won't be so fragile. For all of the soft vinyl pieces (dash, console box lid, etc.), I used shoe dye. It's not something you can wax to protect, but it's the only thing I could find that would truly penetrate the vinyl. The jury's still out on whether or not that dye job will stand the test of time. Oh yeah, one more thing on the shoe dye...WEAR GLOVES!!!
As for my car, I kinda got ripped off by a shop that charged me $30,000 to put a Cobra motor in with twin-turbos, and a bunch of other work. I drove the car home from Michigan and within 100 miles, the motor spun a bearing. Then the rear-end seized up, then the T-56 tranny did the grenade thing on me. Turns out I didn't get the quality parts or work that I paid for. So I had to pay to have the whole thing completely redone. It's almost there. I should be able to pick it up in about a week. I'll let you know. I was able to show it one time and out of 650 cars I won best in class. That raised my spirits, but honey, that was one expensive trophy!
I had a great Christmas and I'm very glad to hear that you did too. I'm sorry you damaged your baby. If there's anything I can do to help with your project, let me know. I hope you have a FUN New Years Eve and a wonderful 2009.
