I just grabbed these pics in my shop so they're really grainy, I'll get some way better ones this weekend. But I really wanted to post some pics since I worked really hard on this interior. So for now, Two toned '59 Ranchero steering wheel with a '57 Fairlane horn ring. Original steering column adapted to TH350 trans (no tilt, key still on the dash). Original dash was repainted, radio face was cut out for a CD player, current stereo is all hidden so I made a delete plate out of a '57 Chevy quarter panel insert for the radio hole. The car had 80's velour seats in it when I got it, I tracked down original seat frames and recovered them with a blue pleated vinyl kit. I two-toned the side skirt pieces to match. I see I have some vacuuming to do! Lower door panel trims are '63 T-bird exterior door trims. Upper door panel trims are '54 Ford car front door panel trims, I had to use 3 sets so the rears would match the fronts. 55 T-bird door handles and window cranks. Has a white headliner. Package tray recovered with a '55 T-bird seat cover and dyed to match, speaker grilles are T-bird kick panel vents. The car had Pioneer 6x9 plastic covers on a plywood package tray, I ****ing HATE seeing modern speakers in old cars.
That is quite nice. No modern seat frames, no homemade console with cupholders and a tape deck, no huge plastic 80's tilt column or 11" Grant/Momo/LeCarra steering wheel, no speakers cut into the door panels or package tray, all coordinating colors and all period correct parts. Very nice.
Thanks Bob and Squablow............. I have none of that 80s **** you described Squablow and I never will.I dont know why we are even seeing all of these tilt columns drink holders etc,etc. I dont remember seeing any customs with any of that stuff when I look thru my old books.That is why I didnt post any shots of my interior on this thread because it didn't fit in the 80's & early 90's style that this thread was about.I dont understand all of the tilt columns ????
LOL you mean all the cool kids didn't use Chevy van columns back in the day. WTF??? Great Picture of your interior Jeff. It is killer!!!
^^^ Thanks K13 ..... that is what im trying to figure out.Are all these guys with tilt columns and all the other sweet stuff old van customizers ? I mean if thats the case...it would make a little bit of sense.I have an uncle who is an old Van guy and he is in his mid 50s and he loves tilt columns.In his daily driver he uses the tilt column everytime he gets in and out and his knees are nowhere near hitting the wheel.He is building a STUNNING 56 caddy custom right now and I have been guiding him and I told him don't even think about a tilt column in that car. So I ask this being 100% honest... What is with the sweet tilt columns, drink holders,etc,etc ? I would really like to know why we see so much of it ? Is it just a matter of comfort? I have to ask these questions since these type interiors are now considered traditional.
Really? I remember it tan. I have pic's of the interior when it still looked tan. Haven't seen it in a long time.
The answer appears, at first blush, obvious in that so very few people "get it" or even care. But, I think it is deeper than that...not that I am a "deep" guy by any stretch of the imagination. LOL. Mine has/had a bunch of that goofy stuff and more (semi truck wheel trim as portholes in the hood....really? LOL) and is slowly making it's way out. I drive mine LOTS (daily when it is together, rain or shine)....almost 400 miles in the last two weeks since it's been back together, 10 hours and back to Austin, etc. At 6' 2" living in not sunny socal where it gets 110 with 90% humidity, there is stuff that is necessary to make the car drivable on a daily basis that is in the end "non-traditional." There is no way to get the column at a decent angle so I can fit under the big accessory wheel and have enough room left over to steer the crazy thing, so tilt is a must unless I'm just gonna have a show ground cruiser. Gotta have AC or again, it ain't gonna get driven all summer. A cup holder has got to be some place cuz your coke is gonna get real hot real fast between your legs on a 10 hour drive. Can all that be done and look half traditional? Yup....I reference my thread on doing just that to mine and John's threads on his. The problem is that it takes a fair commitment of time, money and creative thinking to undo someone else's "build it my way" or unknowing build....and there are WAAAAAAAAY more Mercs (and other cars of course) built that way than there are ones done "right" (as defined by the very few who "get it"). That time, money and effort just isn't worth it to most. Yesterday someone asked me if mine was a Studebaker. 99.9% of the world just sees a cool old car they know nothing about, much less that the 1985 Buick seats and home made plywood console don't belong....or to them that it will be any more or less cool when the right Merc seat is back in it and the console is gone. It will be mucho better-o to me and my idea of traditional esthetic and in the end, that's all that really matters. The rest of Conway, AR, much less most of the car enthusiast world doesn't notice or care.
Dr.Dave........I really appreciate you answering my question.I know different people have different reasons, thanks.
I think it is a few things: 1) People are fat compared to back in the day and need a tilt column to get their fat ***es in and out of their cars. 2) People are soft and used to all the creature comforts of a modern car and can't do without them. In relation to this most guys build their cars as a hobby to enjoy and they feel they can't enjoy them if they are hot or can't put their drink somewhere or listen to a CD. When guys say this stuff is necessary it is because they are used to it. It wasn't necessary back in the 40's and 50's even in regular daily drivers.
K....I do agree with you but I wanted to hear it from some of the owners of these sweet interiors that we have seen in this thread. As far as the steering column goes.....I know a couple pretty big guys who solved the problem by taking a big portion out of the column instead of a tilt column.I dont know about you but I would think a cut column looks a whole lot better then tilt.Like Dr.Dave said......nobody really cares and I get that but I dont think those interiors should be refered to as old school or traditional.Thats just what I think.That is streetrod stuff plain and simple.
I also wonder if some of the ones shown if the car has been put onto a different ch***is and the column was from the donor car.
I agree with you Jeff in the definition of old school/traditional. I am/was in no way happy with the plastic '84 cad tilt/tele column, flamed billet wheel, console, late buckets and the rest of the wrongness in mine. I had to have a tilt, though, just to get the wheel at a decent angle. I never adjust it up and down every time I get in and out, but for me, I needed a few clicks off center just to get it to a comfortable angle. The plastic one had to go and there are lots of columns around from the 50's/60's and brand new aftermarket non billet that don't have a key in the column and look half traditional that solve the problem and still look half right, but most folks I don't think ever work that hard to figure it out. Same with the AC. It doesn't have to be huge plastic late model looking vents cut right in the middle of the dash. There are decent looking options that solve the problem and look good....I point to Ether's new dash bottom. Man, does that look good...and "right." Most would never even start trying to solve a problem with fresh eyes like that...and that's a shame. Other than replacing my "street rod" dash and getting the vents out of the dash, I have not really solved my AC vent aesthetic problem, but it's coming and Ether's is my gold standard. Cup holders same thing. It is more than possible to have what you and I would consider a traditional looking interior (and I agree, many of these posted are not it...mine included ) and have some compromise for any necessary comforts(or just want to comforts). Unfortunately, so many just never even start to think outside the box and try to come up with any creative solutions. Thank goodness for a place like this to show examples of what you and I would consider "right" so that the uninformed can have something to spark their imagination for what could be and the previously uncaring can be inspired to step out of the mediocre or just plain wrong. The more folks that see interiors like Jeff's and save those pics to study and inspire, the more cars can be saved from ****land.
Dr.Dave...once again thanks for your honesty.When I asked this stuff I wasn't trying to be a smart***.
I'm right there with you Jeff. You have one of the top tier mercs out there and something for everyone to shoot for in style. I can appreciate that mine has some stuff that just doesn't jive with right down the line traditional but is necessary to the way I use and enjoy the car. But, man, stuff doesn't have to be just down right wrong. To me, I think there is a fair amount of leeway in "getting away" with some non-traditional things if you do them in a traditional looking way. Ether's new AC vent set up as a case in point. I think in the end, most folks don't know and would have done "better" had they had any idea at all. Then there are those who just don't care...those folks we have no hope in "rehabilitating." LOL Keeping examples like yours and the original icons up front for folks to see goes a long way to inspiring those that would do different with some "education" resulting in more cars you and I can poke our heads in the window and not leave our breakfast on the seat. LOL
We've got a good conversation going now. And I couldn't agree more with what's been said. My interior isn't as nice as some of the excellent examples that have been posted, but I was still very careful to not have any modern parts visible, it only takes one thing to spoil it for me. My guess as to why we see so many ugly columns, headrest seats and obvious stereo installs is that (in addition to the reasons already given) a lot of these cars were originally built in the 80's-revival-of-the-50's period when some of this stuff was considered "trick". Over the years, those same cars lost their hot pink heartbeat pinstripes and conversion van continental kits but stuff like the steering columns and c***ette decks stayed because it'd take some real effort to swap those things out. And putting a fuzzy cover over the steering wheel doesn't help. I'm really glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way.
Absolutely, Squablow. I'd hate to tell you what I spent undoing some of that once upon a time "trick" stuff. I probably could have done it for less, but I spread the investment out over a several year span collecting parts for a few years before I made the plunge and started gutting. Granted, the several hundred hours I have in my recent redo includes things like wiring and the brake system that needed redoing, but swapping out a dash and redoing someone's goofy cad column install and making it right is no small undertaking. And, I still have a long, long way to go with the interior alone...much last ridding the world of one more set of hagans and weird hood portholes. Sadly, there are too many cars still out there with all that stuff in them and not enough guys can see past it and take on the task of fixing it. I guess it just boils down to most guys wanna drive an old car and just don't care about most of that goofy stuff and there is only a small circle of us who do and desire to make things right and set the earth back on it's axis.
I find your edgy comments to be a drag Jeff. Sure I dig your car, I am one of the few people in Chicago who can really appreciate all the work, money, and research you've done to make your car so nice. Now walk in someone else's shoes... Like mine. I've wanted a chopped Mercury for about 25 years (45 now) and I got one in 2008. I threw out most of my interior right when I took it to my buddy's body shop: NOW We all work with what we have. Sure I dig all the cool stuff you've done with your dash, and I also know how much it costs. Wait til you paint your car, that's not cheap. Add in the extra $ I had to spend to fix old body ****, buying replacement sheetmetal and it tapped me out for doing any big projects. I'm on here to learn, but not to develop some sort of inferiority complex because I don't have all the cool stuff done yet. Furthermore, I live in Chicago... in the city. All the car events are 20-40 miles from here. Accessible by highway. My car with it's lame SBC will not only keep up with traffic I can actually p*** cars. How many 110 hp flathead + 3 spd guys can keep up with traffic, and sit in bumper to bumper baseball traffic like I do. I don't have it all figured out, and I've gotten great help from folks. Sure my tilt column looks ****ty as does my wood steering wheel but it's realistically going to take me as a not-handy-welder-fab guy about another 3-4 years to finish the car. Don't ride us so hard it's de motivating broh. Keep sharing good examples, show us the dream, but don't be riding us if can't change everything at the drop of a hat. /rant off
John...im sorry and like I said I wasn't trying to be a ***** about it.Im not talking about cars that are still being worked on,I was talking about finished cars that were posted on this thread.You have never said your interior was finished and you were going to leave it like that right? Believe me I know nothing is cheap on these cars.Also........I was not riding anybody,I dont think I could of asked it any nicer then I did.I didnt just come out of the gate talking **** did I ? I asked my questions in a honest manner.Besides there were a couple of guys who seem to be " riding" and my comments upset you? Lastly.......there isnt much done to my dash like you mentioned,it is almost 100% stock and I never called your SBC lame.
The Jalopy Journal
