73 Monaco wagon

[MonacoBlue]

So. I painted/SEM coated. And the finish turned out well. But... upon closer inspection, it appears - looking at hidden pieces of the material - the colorants used on the upper “plush” portion of the door panel vinyl were originally the same beige/tan/sand color as the lower portion of the door, which is made from a flat sheet vinyl. Pretty sure it was not a two-tone door panel originally. So...I am going back to the color I used on the plastic pillar panels. I think it will look more original and cohesive with the rest of the interior. I’ll post photos as I go. The warm days are going away, so I need to prioritize finishing this.

 

[MonacoBlue]

This is what the first try looked like. “Something Just doesn’t look quite right.”

The finish turned out ok, even tones, not too flat, not too gloss, but the color was just too white.

 

[polara71]

Agree, it is supposed to be , um, not that white

 

[MonacoBlue]

Here was one panel before I painted it.

 

[polara71]

the vinyl wraps around the back of the panel right? What does that look like

 

[MonacoBlue]

I still had some of the tan paint I used on the plastic panels. SEM “Phantom White 15003”. So I used it. Here is a panel re-painted with that. I decided against painting the lower part of the panel, to see how close it matches. I think it is much, much better.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Here it is with the Monaco emblem back on. I’m satisfied with this. All four panels are now re-painted in this.

 

[MonacoBlue]

the vinyl wraps around the back of the panel right? What does that look like

It was tan. Matched the lower panel.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Now I’ll need to paint the pull straps to match.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Side by side comparison. Incorrect B. Sheet on right.

What I can read -
Line 2 - ENG 63? YES
Trim Code ?3 L3
UDF COLOR H?? HL4

Line 3 - Steering column 5? 551L58085
Steering wheel ??L5 25L5
Horn pad?5 80L5
RAD 57
Inlet Hose 5? 57
Alt 13

Line 4- vac fit 11
Engine ?53 YES 053
Carb 31
Trans 54
Axle 187(?) YES
Road 64 YES

Line 5- LT 579 RT 578
Labels VEH ?5, Tire ?3 15,93
Exhaust 848

Line 6 - time ?322. 00/22
Carpet RR 46
Eng ft 61
Pulley 82
Drive Belt P/STS ?5 00 05 82 00

Line 7 - wagon dress up 2
Rear armrest 5? 3

Line 8 - Ft Heater 52
Glass ?1
Alter 3
Battery 3
Heavy duty fleet 9- 9(?). 9-2

Line 9 -
Cigar Lighter 5
Horns 1

Line 10 - Drip Trough 1
Sill 5
Wheel Lip 6
Tail Gate Sill Plate 4
Assist Handles 5
Door Lite 1
Ign SW time delay 5
Lock Lite 1
H/L On Signal 3? 2

Line 11 - Cooling less fan 51 or 91? 51
Cooling Recycling 6
Auto SP Ctl 8
Power Items Tail Gate 5
Deck Gate release (4)? YES 4

Line 12 - Radio 11
Rear Speaker 1
Front Shocks 1
Susp 3
Rear Shocks 1
5 - 1
Power Steering 7
Strg wheel 7
Covers or delete 13
Road wheels 95

Remarks 1903 17?9 1326 1903 1789 1326

View attachment 137947

Today, Oct. 24th, 2020, I got the (yet another, hopefully the correct/accurate) Broadcast Sheet from the driver’s seat back. The upholsterer found it. Yippee!

 

[polara71]

Today, Oct. 24th, 2020, I got the (yet another, hopefully the correct/accurate) Broadcast Sheet from the driver’s seat back. The upholsterer found it. Yippee!

View attachment 410893

Please, put it back. IMHO pulling all the build sheets from a car is not good. We get excited when finding a BS but there won't be any for the next caretaker to rely on once the car is passed on.
Sure we say we will hand over all paperwork but so many times cars are missing titles let alone build sheets.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Please, put it back. IMHO pulling all the build sheets from a car is not good. We get excited when finding a BS but there won't be any for the next caretaker to rely on once the car is passed on.
Sure we say we will hand over all paperwork but so many times cars are missing titles let alone build sheets.

Thanks for your comment. I understand your sentiment. Unfortunately the document was located in an area that is inaccessible now that the seat has been reassembled and reinstalled.

 

[MonacoBlue]

A little Saturday morning fun. SEM painted the armrest, which was a little nicer one I got from Murray Park.

 

[MonacoBlue]

One down. Three to go.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Anyone have any recommendations about where to get good vintage/retro/period correct/old timey clear floormats? Those clear ones that had the big “flor de lis” pattern would be great.

 

[polara71]

Anyone have any recommendations about where to get good vintage/retro/period correct/old timey clear floormats? Those clear ones that had the big “flor de lis” pattern would be great.

EVERYONE wants those and can't find good originals . They were reproduced i believe but not anymore.

 

[MonacoBlue]

EVERYONE wants those and can't find good originals . They were reproduced i believe but not anymore.

I wonder what kind of tooling/process it takes to make them. Some kind of mould.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Rear cargo area plastic. I cleaned it up, but it was rough.

 

[MonacoBlue]

I got rid of the “dead” plastic, the outer textured portion that had been blasted by UV rays all those years. Then it looked better. Still some big scratches but not too noticeable.

I scraped off the old plastic using a metal file cleaning brush. (Kind of like a curry comb from combing a pet!) It has stiff bristles on one side and metal bristles on the flip side. It required a lot of elbow grease but you also want to be careful because the plastic can be weak in areas that have seena lot of sun and been blasted by UV radiation. I guess maybe it was good this car was from rainy Oregon!

70 Sport Suburban recommended using steel wool, but I just had Brillo pad type wool and it was too fine to do this right. The really big steel wool like you’d use to clean an outdoor gas grill would be a good tool for this job. Use a little soap and don’t work too aggressively.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Finally, the SEM coat. Phantom White, as before. Pleased. Thanks 70 Sport Suburban for the tips on how to deal with these panels.

It’s not perfect, but it’s infinitely better than it was. And for $15, I can’t complain. Maybe someday I’ll go to a swap meet and find a nicer one.