Mvice8489 Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 the dash looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadrian Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 This is a great thread. Thanks for letting us all come along for this awesome project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted September 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 (edited) On the Miami Vice Car the middle dash vent is from 1979 - 1985 Fiat spider. The plastic used in making the vent is inferior to the earlyer year vents. The plastic feels and looks really worn and would have to be painted. So I opted to use 3 of the earlyer vents instead. The older vents clean up and look brand new Edited September 28, 2016 by Bigsarg 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 You guys are welcome. Thxs for all the comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I've always worried that the latch for the trunk would fail and I would not be able to open the trunk again. So I had an emergency pull cable installed. Problem solved 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 Console with black insert. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 (edited) Dash with the black lever cluster. The MVC / corvette has gages in this location. So I wanted to do something that would break up the tan and to help with the Ferrari with a touch of Vice look Edited September 29, 2016 by Bigsarg Add pic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 WOW, totally a different car. I'm liking the wooden steering wheel. But, I've got a lead on a steering wheel like the MVC. I guess I'll have to wait on the seats to be installed before I will make a decision. Pic: 1- when I bought the car 2007 2- after painting the car to black 3- 2008 until present 4- the black gage cluster really rocks 5- Ferrari interior with a touch of Vice 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 The subtle modifications to the dash change the character of the interior completely 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 What color is the grill on the Miami Vice Car? My grill is the same color as my car. It is virtually invisible. Is the grill flat black? Satan black? Gun medal grey? All help will be greatly appreciated. Thxs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 (edited) Greyish Edited October 6, 2016 by Bigsarg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 The car is finally going back to the upholstery shop tomorrow. All panels are finished. Seat covers and heated seat elements need to be put on the seats and the top needs to be made. Hopefully that won't take too long. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mvice8489 Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Looking good !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Thxs Mvice. Well, it's back at upholstery shop and looks like maybe they will get it done. I'm thinking Christmas is right around the corner, maybe they want the car done before then. I'm hopeing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicegirl85 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 Thxs Vicegirl85. Well it's a bit closer today. The driver side fiberglass support bottom was cracked from the accident, so it's on order and holding up putting the seats together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger390X Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) On 9/29/2016 at 4:46 PM, Bigsarg said: I've always worried that the latch for the trunk would fail and I would not be able to open the trunk again. So I had an emergency pull cable installed. Problem solved Why don't you go to the auto wreckers and get a solenoid off a Lincoln or caddy for the trunk? That's what I would do... Don't like cables as many fail and snap etc. Seen it a hundred times on hood releases on GM's and Chryslers. Changed quite a few under warranty when I worked at the dealership years ago. I have3 done many custom jobs over the years and always went to solenoids. |I have the manual from Lincoln to explain how to even re-program the key fob to work with your vehicle. It gets a bit complex but do-able and is cool when you can just grab your key fob and press a button. I have all the details on a pdf and would be glad to send it to you if you want. Give me a shout if your interested. By the way... Seats look awesome! Edited October 20, 2016 by Stinger390X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Stinger, I guess Imy post was confusing. I have an electric trunk release and my alarm fob has a button that opens the trunk too. The cable was installed for emergencys: dead battery or electric lock mechanism goes bad. If the locking mechanism went bad it would be impossible to get the trunk open. So the cable was just a thought I had. But, I do appreciate the offer. Thxs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavinsky Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) On 9/10/2016 at 6:21 PM, Bigsarg said: I'm amazed at just how little Damage there was. The car hit the deer and just bent the bumper bracket down about an inch. The nose took a good hit but just had gelcoat cracks. The body shop took it all the way down as deep as the cracks were to insure there was no delaminating. There wasn't. The fiberglass is thick on these cars. JN, classic car insurance (CCI) is the only way to go. It's an agreed value and really isn't that expensive compared to regular car insurance. CCI is a lot cheaper. The only problem I have ran into is the adjusters boss couldn't understand why they couldn't match 30 yr old Uphalstery. So the adjuster had to come and take pictures for her, to show it couldn't be matched. So they had to upholster all the tan. Which was everything except the dash. That was on my dime. Yes Vicegirl85, I think everyone working on the car was a vice fan, or likes it now. The younger guy never watched it before. But really thinks it's cool to have a Ferrari tuxedo on an old Corvette. The body shop has commented many times how well it was built and they have done an excellent job. The shop has built cars for SEMA. So I'm sure it is in great hands. The Uphalstery kind of looked at me funny when I said I wanted pipping on the edge of the seats. I smiled and said "I know, it's an 80's thing". When he finished making the seat covers, he remarked how the pipping really completed the seats. Tony D, you had better believe I'm going to have that song playing a lot while I'm cruising. in the Tom Falconer book here https://www.amazon.com/Original-Corvette-1953-62-Restorers-Guide/dp/1870979907 it mentioned that they had a crash with one of the first C1's, as they were testing it with different materials at the time, not with the intention of doing so and the fiberglass came out remarkably unscathed from the crash, and your car isnt the only one that survived a hell of a wreck and came back looking better than ever: as I've been following this just to see what goes into fiberglass construction and the reconstruction of the last of the old school sports cars, as this car is built exactly like they used to build the old contaches and performance cars back in the day before the germans got involved, as the italians arent exactly good at accounting lol and the only main weakness of the corvette is that the steel ladder chassis frame and steel doors are really quite heavy compared to the other cars in its targeted class and thus it needs more bracing and torque to get the best out of it. however unlike those said cars, its still around too lol as how many fiats just simply just dissolved over the years lol and we have all these modern enhancements in the intake and transmission side of things to make them so much faster than they used to be on the same old materials and bases. and with the weight of the car they deleted 300 pounds of weight from the C1 to the C2 just by removing a key X brace underneath the car, and even then its still a 3500 pound car so if there's one place I would focus on, its anti roll bars and extra bracing in the front and the midpoint of the car to make up for that removed X brace. and I must apologize for my tardyness, but I really needed a break to recharge abit. plus their are people who have apparently modernized the rear suspension of the C3 to make it more of a fully independant rear than a split axel. and also rack and pinion steering, although the rolwey GTC literature seems to suggest that it might be possible to retrofit a C4 rack to it with minimal modification, however outside of the GTC and the literature behind it, I really dont know how much of that's really been done. Edited October 26, 2016 by Kavinsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Mcburnie put an extra steel plate in his early builds. I guess the plate was for more side impact protection. My car has one of these plates and you can clearly see it's not factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger390X Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 On 10/27/2016 at 8:41 AM, Bigsarg said: Mcburnie put an extra steel plate in his early builds. I guess the plate was for more side impact protection. My car has one of these plates and you can clearly see it's not factory. Are you sure it's aftermarket? I'll have to go back and research my old books in storage, but I know GM started to put side impact HSS (high strength steel) crossbars in all their cars but I can't remember what year???possibly 79 or early 80's? Sorry forgot what year your doner car is and possibly could have newer doors like 83 perhaps? Those crossbars where spot welded in by robots on the steel frame. Is this plate a sort of corrugated type of deal attached to the front and rear section mid section of the door?? See if you can take a pic of one. this sounds intriguing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 I know what medal piece along the top of the door you are talking about. I have that and another medal piece. I really would have never noticed it, if not while I was replacing the rubber grommet on my Ferrari style door handle my wrench dropped behind it (still there to this day). Still at the time I didn't think much about the medal piece; until I was watching a show called Car Chaser and Mcburnie was looking at a Daytona trying to verify if it was one of the original MV cars. He asked Jeff if there was a medal plate behind the door panel? Jeff replied yes. Mcburnie stated he put an extra plate in his earlyer cars. I thought Waite a minute, I went and looked at my car again. Yes, I had the factory plate and the other plate was definitely not factory. It's actually just an ugly piece of medal that is wielded in. You can see the edges are cut with a blow torch and They are not even sanded clean. It's just there incase of a side impact. With the documents I have for my car. I know it was built by Mcburnie in 1986-87. I don't know what Mcburnie meant by his earlyer cars. As to what number he stopped putting the plate in and so on. So, I guess it just adds one more bit of mystery to the my car's heritage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadrian Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 I'm trying to visualize this..."medal" or metal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsarg Posted October 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 My mistake. It is a piece of metal about eleven inches wide and 3/4 inches thick. Rune midway down the door from front to back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger390X Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 Pretty sure that sounds like a factory HSS door guard for side impact protection, but I could be wrong as I'm not sure what year they started this program. GM, Ford and Chrysler all had collision impact reducing and safety stuff installed on frame rails, rocker panels and bumper impact "energy absorbers" It was rolled out over quite a few years in the late 70's early80's Would love to see a pic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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