5/6/08
Hiniker GTE Interior
I've been on the hunt for a seat pans to replace the horrible
galvanized replacements found inside Gary Hiniker's GTE seats. I wasn't
having any luck finding a set of used Series I GTE seats for donor
pans, but I kept looking for alternatives.
A friend of mine with a GTE sent me a picture of his seat pans that
were fabricated for his car when he discovered his original pans had
cracked beyond repair. The work was done by Orlando Cairo at
Eurocoachworks in Fort Lauderdale. The works was top notch, but a
little too nice to be hidden under leather and foam!
One of the seat pans they used as a template was still good enough to
copy, so Art lent me his seat pan so I could make a couple of copies in
fiberglass. Hopefully with a mold, we can make more if we ever come
across this problem again.
We'll have to to find someone who can make a mold off this original
part without destroying the original. I promised Art he would get it
back unscathed!
Looking at the details of the original part, it was a pretty flimsy
piece of injection molded plastic. I bet when Pininfarina designed this
seat, the first pan was made out of aluminum, but when the seat went
into production, they made the mass produced seat in this plastic
material which was not nearly as strong as the aluminum in the same
thickness.
I brought the seat pans down to our upholsterer to check it for fit
before having the part sent out for copies. I also had a chance to see
the progress on the rest of the interior.
They're doing a great job, and the color is very nice next to the
silver exterior color. The rear seat has not been anchored, so the gaps
in between the cushions will disappear when things are installed
permanently. As with any high end interior, things are installed and
reinstalled several times to check for a perfect fit.
The dash is out for painting, but the center console is coming along.
It's so nice to see an interior without any wrinkles. I remember how
much I worked on this piece with my car to get it to look this smooth!
With the interior coming together nicely, there are always more details
to consider. The kick panels are pretty scuffed up and the chrome
surrounds need to be repaired and replated. The raw material for these
panels come from the tail panel of a 1957 Chevrolet Belaire, but
they'll still have to be cut to fit. Now's the time to change these
out.
Just a reminder, I'm looking for a
new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration
project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car
on this website! My E-mail.
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