Aside from the fuel tank work [ in my other post] lots more work has progressed.
While everything was out, I removed the gear lever housing and fitted the final new gear change bush.
Much easier on the bench.
The crack-repaired dash is back in along with the heater unit. The Isopon worked well, and after rubbing down,
a few coats of satin black finished it off nicely. It looks almost original.
I finally figured a solution for the front door cards. I cut the leather 10mm larger that the black plastic surround,
folded and glued to the exact size, then gave it one row of stitching. It was then glued into position butting up
to the plastic 'corner' all around, and then wrapped around the rear to the back. The right-hand card was quite
warped from water ingress, so I had to pack out the backing foam to make it flat.
I never liked the original window switch position. Moving them up to the console meant making a mounting block
that attempts to match the gear knob. The block was needed to let the switch wiring clear the small footwell air hoses.
It also gave room for a USB outlet.
Upon refitting the radio, the speakers wouldn't work. After much head-scratching, both speakers were dead. I still
have no idea why, they were fine before. The new pair [also Pioneer] sound much better, but I had to make 10mm blocks
to space them away, as they were a bit deeper than the old ones.
I've also been changing the colour from Silver to Grigio Finanza, a period Fiat colour. My aim is to do all the shuts and under-bonnet areas with
rattle cans, then get the exterior done properly with minimal dismantling.
