Interior Replacement Project - Day 5

Day 5 (Small Start)

As I said in the “Day 0” installment, I ordered all new front seat belts
and shoulder harness retractors from Chief along with the Airtex
interior. The belts arrived and I proceeded to put them in. Since they
are relatively easy to take out again, they did not have to be installed
in any order. I called the guys at Chief to get the right size belts.

When I opened the box it was like looking at jewels. The hardware is all
new chrome. The manufacture date was January 2005, so this was not some
“new old stock” as is sometimes the case. The new webbing was like silk
compared to the old belts. Once I got to the plane, I noticed just how
shabby the original (Circa 1973) belts and hardware were. The hardware
was not chrome in the original plane, but painted silver. Both sets of
hardware were badly chipped, scratched, and dulled. They would have
definitely stuck out once the new interior was installed.

After doing a couple of auto interior refurbs, I can tell you that
whatever you don't replace or refinish will instantly stick out. So,
plan on replacing everything you can afford to or your eye will
instantly go to the original stuff and bum you out whenever you look at
it. Of course, almost nobody else notices the small stuff, but it will
drive YOU crazy.

The new belts come with an added adjustment on the latch side so that
the belts can be somewhat “universal”. This did not detract from
anything and offered an option to adjust the belt latch side to be VERY
long. This would be useful when taking a small child along perched atop
of several cushions. Also, your more “robust” passenger might appreciate
the added inches.

Since I will be stripping the seats to the frames I wanted to search for
a height adjusting (articulating) frame on the used market. I got a
quote on a frame from one recycler. $875 in “as removed” condition.
Yikes! Another “airplane” price. I have another fellow who promises to
be “well under the $500 - $700 the recyclers charge”. Not sure exactly
where this will end up, but I have my hopes up that I can land it for
the $250 mark. I will know in about 10 days when he gets it.

Also received the windshield post “T” molding. Wrong part. Figures. The
parts manual listed the part number that I bought. The picture did not
match the one I had but their site had a note on every picture saying
the picture may not exactly match the part. So, back to the Internet to
try to find the right one. I talked to the delightful folks at Heinol
and I am confident I now have the correct part on order. At least the
picture matches the original this time!

Waiting for the first shipment of the Airtex stuff. Carpeting should
arrive within the next week if their estimates were correct.

End of Day 5

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