When I first got my car in 2002 it was nothing to look at. It did not even go down the road straight. The paint was fried and the interior was ripped up and dirty. Since then I have done both mechanical and cosmetic upgrades to the inside and outside of the car. Like most of us, I have a limited budget to work with. This is the best I could do with what I had.

This is the way it was when I got it. (Top Left) ------- Mr. Mike's seat covers began the interior evolution. (Top Right)

Last year's project was getting rid of the four-spoke steering wheel in favor of a Grant wheel. It was starting to look pretty good at this point. (Bottom Left)

Yesterday I finished installing the new black carpet. (Bottom Right)

The next step will be Mr. Mike's black leather for the lower part of the door panels. I will finally be rid of the salt and pepper carpet forever. I wish Mr. Mike still did black leather map pockets for the doors.

Updated June 14, 2005

Mr. Mike's leather door panels installed.

------------------
87 Fiero SE

[This message has been edited by RACE (edited 06-14-2005).]

Great Job Dude!

That definitely gives me hope for "The Hottie's" interior. LOL

I'd been trying to decide what to do with the interior---mine needs an overhaul badly---and your color scheme looks really nice. Congrats on the new look and I hope you're getting alot of enjoyment from it.

BTW, how long did it take to do everything? I didn't think about redoing the carpet in a different color until I saw your pics. I like the contrast on the seats too.

Thumbs up!

--Tress

------------------

I may not know alot about cars...but I make a Fiero look good!
"The Hottie" Coming Soon!

Looks awesome, I really love the black carpet! Where do you get it from and are you satisfied with the quality? This is one of my goals this summer. The black just gives it a great look and feel.

------------------

http://www.download.com/IESpell/3000-2378_4-10357976.html?tag=lst-6-4

[This message has been edited by F-I-E-R-O (edited 04-18-2005).]

The seats took 10.5 hours to recover.
Steering wheel about 4 hours. (10 if you include steering column tightening). - I had to custom make a plate for the horn.
The carpet took about 12 hours total. (By far the most difficult of the three to get right).
Working extra hours to get the funds to pay for it all ??? I don't even want to know.

The carpet came from JC Whitney. The quality is good. It does not have the heavy rubber backing that the stock carpet has though. This may not be the best way to do it but I wanted to keep the water proof nature of the original so I actually installed it over the old carpet. It also dropped the sound level by about 15 decibels. Quiet is good! It makes the car feel like it is more expensive without all of the noise.

I plan on doing the lower door panels in black leather.

[This message has been edited by RACE (edited 04-19-2005).]

Nice job! It's nice to have a nice, fresh interior.

Becky

I took a look at their site and found it somewhat confusing. I came up with this
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000215094/mediaCode-ZX/appId-10340741/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:10000021509410340741
and I was hoping to get some feedback about whether this was what I should go with or something else. BTW, if your looking for parts for your '89 Fiero, this is one place you can find 'em.

quote Originally posted by RACE: This may not be the best way to do it but I wanted to keep the water proof nature of the original so I actually installed it over the old carpet. It also dropped the sound level by about 15 decibels. Quiet is good! It makes the car feel like it is more expensive without all of the noise.

This actually is the best way to do it. Mr Mike suggested to me to install the new carpet over the old, and it does make the car more like a Lexus inside compared to stock. And it's WAY cheaper than Dynamat. The only drawback is getting the seat bolts started. I had a heck of a time getting them started but once they are on, they are on.

- Jonathan

quote Originally posted by jscott1: The only drawback is getting the seat bolts started. I had a heck of a time getting them started but once they are on, they are on. - Jonathan

Amen to that brother. It was a *****! On the passenger's side and cut the old carpet away where the seat sat and the new one bolted down very easily. I did the driver's side earlier and did not think of it and ended up fighting it for about an hour and a half. I actually put 50 lbs of weight in the seat before getting someone else to help push it down. Even then I could barely get the nuts started.

Helpful hints: New sheet metal cutters work very well at trimming carpet. Cut your old carpet away where the seat rails had compressed it. Paint your seat rails while they are out of the car. You will have to take all of the trim out of your car including what is just below your rear window. I used a T45 torx bit to remove the seatbelt mounts but a 46 would have fit a little better, maybe even a 47. Fortunately they do not require a lot of force to remove or install. The speaker covers above your head do not pop off. You will break them if you try to remove them separately. Once the upper seatbelt mount has been removed and the screw from inside the doorframe is out the panel can be removed. There is just sticky stuff that holds it all in after that Pull slowly. The seat bolts may have become rusty. Use a wire wheel and a drill or Dremmel to clean them up. You will be glad that you did.

really sharp! thats one thing I thought I'd never touch is the interior, sure makes for a new car feeling

again looks great!

------------------
http://formula.cryptnix.com

Black interiors are beautiful. I'm planning on having everything except for the headliner (want it carbon fiber) in black. Great job and thanks for the pics, + for you.

quote Originally posted by LoW_KeY: really sharp! thats one thing I thought I'd never touch is the interior, sure makes for a new car feeling again looks great!

Thanks!

The exterior of the Fiero is dramatic but the interior is where you spend your time while driving. We finalize our opinions of a car by how it feels. In my opinion the interior should be as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. It should be a place where you want to be.

(See the update to the first message in this thread).

This was today's project. I like Skitime's, "stock but not" approach. Basically I am making the car the way it should have been from the factory to fit my personality.

Installing the leather lower door panels only took a few hours. I was going to reinstall the door pockets but somehow it seemed like a sin to punch holes in the panel to put back those old cloth ones. I will do it after I find someone who will recover them in matching black leather.

I will eventually get a better photo posted.

[This message has been edited by RACE (edited 06-14-2005).]