Wheel well interior trim piece needed

[dhomuth]

Due to an unfortunate slip by the fellow installing the seats in my '78 Black Pearl, I am in need of the interior vinyl trim piece covering the wheel well behind the driver's seat. Please reply by e-mail if you have one available at a reasonable price. Normal wear is acceptable - I've owned the car for 31 years.

Thanks in advance.

[FastWoman]

Wow, and I thought *I* had coordination issues! How'd he manage to do that?

Consider sanding the back side and epoxying some additional material to it.

[dhomuth]

Apparently let the seat drop and it took a 90-degree tear in the vinyl. I'd as lief replace it than have a funky-looking repair, and rather than get a brand new one, I'd sooner replace it with one that looks like it might be 31 years old -- as the RH side one does.

This is a Truly beautiful trophy-winning car, and doing it right seems important.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

[J Shara]

i have two from a 73 240, theyre red, no tears or scratches, faded a little though

[dhomuth]

Won't work. Different pattern and wrong color. Need to be black and from a 280, not a 240. But appreciate the response.

[FastWoman]

I thought you meant the caps on top of the towers. You should be able to find vinyl material at almost any fabric store and cut it to shape. Know someone who sews?

You can also repair vinyl by sticking a backing to it with vinyl adhesive, and then impregnating the rip area with new vinyl under a textured mold. If done carefully, it can actually look pretty good.

Edited September 4, 2009 by FastWoman

[dhomuth]

Reasonable suggestion, but not Quite what I had in mind. I want a Real piece -- not something stitched together with vinyl that doesn't Quite match. This is a well-kept car and I've tried to save the original bits wherever I could. I'm not particularly interested in anything that isn's Just Right to my expectations. The Z Store still had the piece available. The RH side piece is n/a any longer. I ordered it this ayem. Price seems OK -- I may have to screw around with it some to make it appear appropriate for a 31-year-old interior. But it'll do -- the other side is still quite nice too. Appreciate the feedback, though.

[dhomuth]

Well -- don;t That beat all! Just now logged into my e-mail to find that the piece is n/a from Motorsports Auto as well. So the request is still out there. It's the vinyl trim that covers the wheel house behind the drivers's seat. Must be black and match the '77 and '78 Z interior. The trim piece from a 2+2 will also fit, so I'm told. Anybody got that piece?

[FastWoman]

Check with junk yards?

Failing that, there's nothing wrong with "stitched together." Isn't that what Nissan did -- stitch it together? If you want a top-notch job, find a sailmaker or someone who makes biminis and covers for boats. Either that, or find a good upholsterer. These people all do some incredibly fine work. They could even do the quilting pattern on the earliest Z's. I bet there are some good sail/bimini/cover shops in Portland.

[dhomuth]

Appreciate the suggestions. Nevertheless, what I Could do and what I Want and Choose to do differ. I want a piece that looks as though it's 31 years old but is still intact. That's what the car is. I don't wish to make a new one that will inevitably be mismatched to the rest of the interior.

It's a Personal Preference thing.

As for junk yards, pretty much anything older than 15 years old or so gets sent to the crushers. No money in them. Rarely see any early Zs any more, and even the ZXs are getting scarce.

But once again -- should anyone stumble across this piece in a junk yard near their residence, I'd appreciate getting it.

[geezer]

You should put this in the classified ads on this site under "Wanted Cars & Parts". It will get far more exposure than this thread, which not as many people will read. Most of us do read the classified ads when they first appear right on the Front Page. If I didn't have what your looking for when you made your first post on this thread if I happened to read it, I still won't have it when you bump this thread up to the top. Just a suggestion.

[dhomuth]

Thank you. I will do so straightaway. Been quite busy of late.