very unconventional interior

[RICH MUISE]

Hey guys...please check out photos I posted in gallery/under construction and let me know what you think. It's still in progress, and since this is my first car build, it's also my first interior. I can't sew so I had to come up with a design that could be done without sewing (note the padded dash and console are all one piece stretched..no seams) thanks, Rich

[Dlandau]

Awesome job Rich,  the dash and seats are very cool,  question on the  Stop and drops , how many inches did you drop?  will that affect your turning radius?  I can't wait till I get to that stage for my Skyliner, I'm still taking it apart,,,, still going through the mental battle of restoring to original or custom...in your opinion would you consider the custom route more economical than the restore to original?
So many questions......


Thanks for the ideas!

[tarheel57]

Great job Rich,this is going to be nice when your done.I like seeing people put their mind to work and come uo with different ideas to make their car a little different from the next one.Are you running a rear swaybar,and if so what type?Tarheel 

[RICH MUISE]

Diandau, I opted for the 2 1/2 drop> I like the look we had in the 60's with a little rake, although we most often did it back then by hiking up the back, but that screws up your handling. I will be leaving height in the back pretty much stock, and the tire difference between front and back should add another 1" or so of difference. I like a dropped front as long as it's not slammed. The dropped spindles won't affect the turning radius, at least that's my understanding,but the rack and pinion set up it will have I think will change the turning radius a little, however to me that is way better than having to turn the steering wheel 9 times to make that turn
Tarheel 57, The front sway bar in the pic. is from Thunderbirds Southwest. They have them made for them. You can order them thru Concourse, but they'll be dropped shipped to you from Swt-birds. I will be ordering the rear from them when time comes. I sent a post to jim Nolan asking the same question on his car(his pics are in under constr. also), but he hasn't replied yet. Thanks for checking out my pics. I've been working on this thing off and on for 5 years and no one has seen it yet, so it's nice to have a board like this.

[RICH MUISE]

Diandau, I forgot to answer your question in custom vs original. My guess would be if you were doing an all out restoration to original specs to meet show point judging standards, that would be the most expensive way to go. Other than that it's probably a toss up...but it all depends on how custom and how original. To me the major factor was what I wanted from a car and what it's intended use will be. With a custom, or resto-mod (restoration with modifications), you have tons of options that you don't have with original equipment, such as drivetrain, braking, etc. Building a restomod in my opinion is building a safer, more dependable vehicle,simply because automotive standards have changed a lot over the last 54 years. A lot of consideration is weighed by the vehicle also, meaning that if I had a very rare car from the factory I would be more likely to restore it original than custom. Anyone else want to weigh in on this one?

[Frankenstein57]

What he said, I think the end result should be a car you can daily drive if you want, and should turn heads. As far as being all original, I think that could be expensive trying to locate numbers matching pieces. It would depend on what you have to start with. Seems like there is alot of these cars being parted out. There is a guy in California parting out two wagons on ebay, they look like they should have been restored. His parts are not selling for very much money. My 58 should be done soon, I'm keeping it stock with exception to power disc on the front, and some updates like newer AC and alternator. My 57 on the other hand is a full blown restomod,with all kinds of changes. Both cars have been alot of fun, the 57 lets me experiment and use the racecar stuff. Like rich said, if you are a good fabricator you can blend in some used parts, newer technology. On the 58,I'm keeping the original brakes, generator,AC, in case I sell it and someone wants to put it back to stock. Go for it! Mark

[JPotter57]

Thats pretty cool work, Rich.  I really like the way you made the rear int panels to make the smaller seats work, looks like it came that way.  Very nice...

[canadian_ranchero]

i am in the same dilemma about if i should restore my ranchero or modify it.they only made about 300 meteor rancheros.this one has a 289 in it and a non stock interior,floor shift,non stock wiring ect.maybe i will flip a coin.

[Thor]

Rich,
I love the way your interior is coming around! It does look great! I mentioned to you before, I am going to do a resto mod rod with my 58 Fairlane. My interior strating point will be a 1999 Chrysler 300.

[RICH MUISE]

Thats pretty cool work, Rich.  I really like the way you made the rear int panels to make the smaller seats work, looks like it came that way.  Very nice...

Late reply...actually my thought process was reverse on that. My first priority was wanting the armrests with cup holders, etc. for comfort, so it was a matter of finding a seat that would work with  the panel idea, rather than coming up with a panel that would make the seat work.A nice side benifit to the back seat is that they fold down to give me complete access to the trunk. You should see the looks you get when you go to the lumber yard in a 2dr sedan, open the trunk and put in a couple of 8 foot 2x4's without them sticking out!

[57AGIN]

Rich:

It is even more fun when you go to the beach and load or unload your 10 ft. surfboard from the back of the 57.  I get lots of comments on my 57 about why I don't just use surfboard racks.  I reply, because I hate surfboard racks and what they do to the paint.

Bob
57 AGIN

[RICH MUISE]

That's pretty cool. Also makes me miss Calif. ..lived in Huntinton Beach for 16 years... Did you rig your stock back seat to fold down or do you just remove it?

[57AGIN]

Rich:

That was rigged up by the upholster.  I searched a variety of wrecking yards for a fold down rear seat that would work and finally gave up.  When I was a kid I just lifted the rear seat up and laid it forward to allow the surfboard through from the trunk.  When I was interviewing upholsters, developing a fold down rear seat was a requirement.

To ensure flexibility in the seating I decided to go with Glide Engineering front seats, with individual seat backs a solid lower bench seat and fold down arm rest with cup holder.

I've attached a couple of shots of what he did.

Bob
57 AGIN

[Ford Blue blood]

VERY NICE!

[RICH MUISE]

They did a great job. Looks sharp and practical. Your trunk looks great too. I'm thinking of using Pickup truck front door junk holders worked into my side panels in the trunk. Bob Drake makes a repop '70's ford with a chrome ring, Zippered vinyl cover, over  a plastic housing but is a little pricey.It's about a foot tall and 2 feet wide so should be a good size for the area.