Triumph TR3A interior installation

When we got this car in late 2010, the interior was shot. This poor thing had been sitting out in the elements in Bodega Bay, Ca for years unprotected. That's why everything was so shot on it. There were barely remnants of carpeting. The seat upholstery was 1/2 missing, 1/2 crunchy. The seat frames were rusted away with the floors, the seat tracks were un-identifiable from rust deterioration. I had to cut the floor fasteners away because the heads of the bolts were misshapen from rust. The door panels were warped almost beyond suitability for taking patterns. The cockpit cappings were torn and the metal sub-structures of the door cappings were rotted beyond reuse. There was no option but to purchase a complete replacement interior and some replacement capping frames for the doors. I got a nice set of reproduction door capping frames from Moss, and the rest of the interior was ordered from 2Tall Interiors and Fabrication out of Ohio. 

 My garage looking like a production upholstery shop. Seats, panels, carpet and cappings strewn about. Also note the freshly powder coated 60 spoke wheels shod in new Firestone f560 tires!

Tim of 2Tall makes his own reproduction TR3 seat frames and complete interior packages for a relatively reasonable price. I phoned in my specific wants and about a month later it all showed up on my door step, nicely packaged and ready to install- exactly as I had ordered it too. I chose black leather because it's awesome.

I laid down some sound deadening material at various places in the cockpit. Then came the carpeting, then the rear seat, cockpit cappings, dog leg panels, front seats, then door panels. The carpeting was a hassle as the kit I used was a basic Victoria British-sourced package. The main floor pieces were good, but the details over the rear floor area required a lot of trimming and finesse. I am glad there is a rear seat covering that portion. The transmission tunnel was more of the same, only worse as I had to contend with the relocated shifter. Not just that, but the carpet for the tunnel is cut and stitched to follow the contours for the tunnel and it is a little off. I had to cut seams and stretch, trim, and glue in a number of spots. 

 A little sound deadening here and there. The trans tunnel and front floors are completely covered but there wasn't enough to cover the floor under the seats. Carpet goes down on the drive shaft hump and the transmission tunnel first.

 My car didn't come with a rear seat or brackets, but the kit I ordered did come with the seat. I made some simple brackets in the style of the originals...I think...

 Gluing on the wheel well covers is a hassle, But I discovered that a light coat of spray glue on only the metal allows one to position, hold, and re-position the covering easily to achieve a nice fit. Then, once the fit is right, you peel back a little at a time and final glue into place one section at a time. Worked really well for me.

 Dog leg panel in place. Also note I added some vinyl to the sill along the bottom of the door edge opening.

 Rear floor carpeting. I had to trim a lot to get this part of the kit to fit. It was all "close" but not quite a good fit. I'm not sure I did it in the correct order. No instruction were included with the kit.

 Here you can see the eyelet for the seat belt secured in the corner. The rear suspension leaf spring eyes are right below, so this had to be positioned very carefully.

 Finished rear carpet with new seat bottom brackets installed.

 Rear seat installed. Wow, what a difference a little upholstery makes!

 Front carpets and new seat tracks. I used a sharp razor blade to make slits for the seat belt anchors and used a red hot poker to cleanly bore through the carpet for the seat track bolts.

Interior completed. Also note my relocated shifter cover-up strategy- a fitted aluminum plate/bezel. I'm on the fence whether or not I should paint it black to blend it, paint it to match the body, or just leave as-is...Also note I chose to finish the dash in body color instead of covering it with the original black vinyl.