The Interior / Front Floor
With the installation of all the windows and window regulators we ground off the regulator mounting screws and completely cleaned the inside of the car. From this point on the focus is on the restoration of the interior panels, seats, floor, and headliner. My wife and I will be doing all the interior upholstery including the creation of the headliner. I do want the exterior roof surface to be professionally installed but before this can be accomplished the headliner will have to be set in place.
The picture above is our canvas. A quick note; I have reproduction handles being made that were cast from originals. The few handles in the picture above are just temporary for ease of access. While we source materials I will start by installing the front floor rubber. The rear area will be carpeted. In order to ensure I cut this rubber correctly I will use brown paper to make a pattern for the floor rubber.
The picture above and to the left shows how I created the mat template. I taped pieces of brown paper to complete the toe board template. I attached the template to the rubber mat and carefully cut out the floor mat pictured above and to the right. I dropped it into the car for a quick check of my work and it fit perfectly. I decided to paint the floor. The two reasons for this are one the bright light color of the wood highlighted some small points at the edges of the floor mat. The other reason was to preserve the wood.
Before I painted the floor I chiseled out an indent in the wood floor so that my recently found body plate could reside without any additional damage from being compressed by pressure to the floor. Of course originally it was just tacked to the floor. I left the battery cover unpainted so that I could glue the rubber mat to the battery cover. After the glue dries I will use a razor blade to cut around the wood cover so that the cover can be removed to access the battery without removing the mat. This will also ensure that the mat's pattern will line up perfectly when the cover is closed. Since my battery cover is as large as the battery itself, the battery can be removed from inside the car. Originally you would remove the battery from underneath the car. Very impractical. I don't feel that slight improvements like this, a flasher system, and installing safety glass detract from the historic value of the car but make ownership safer and more practical.
The picture below is the result of my work.
I have the door saddles except for the driver's side. I will have to fabricate something that is reasonably close that serves the purpose.