6th Jul 2014, 16:58
Well, American car makers did continue using drum brakes much longer than most European makes. I once owned a Renault R10 with four wheel disc brakes, built in 1968 when disc brakes, if they were available at all, were usually an extra-cost option on American cars and then only on the front wheels!
8th Sep 2017, 05:43
The foam backed material has to be replaced, that is common with 1980s cars, the foam breaks down. I took out the headliner and all the interior parts, and removed the old material, and then scraped all the old foam off and cleaned the parts real good.
Next, piece by piece, cut the new same color material to fit each piece with overlapped the piece.
Next, sprayed the part and material with the upholstery headliner adhesive and carefully fit the new material piece, and trimmed the excess material and put it all back together.
It is a big job. The job can be done in about four to five days. There are many upholstery suppliers online that carry that. You will need about five-six yards and four large cans of spray adhesive. There is a trick to it. Check on YouTube and online, how to replace a headliner. Do the same with each part. The sun visors will need to be done at a shop. There is nothing like a new interior.
The Fifth Avenues are worth restoring. They are a lot nicer and will cost far less than then buying a new car and in time they will go up in value for there are fewer and fewer around in nice condition. All the new cars today are shaped like a bar of soap, and all have snap in parts with little to almost no metal. The only overall difference is their identity/brand logos.
8th Sep 2017, 23:56
I did a Bonneville for only 300. Seems time consuming. These guys are fast and efficient as they do it everyday.
5th Jul 2014, 18:27
Just curious as to what this is supposed to mean? "Brakes are very good for an American car"... Does that somehow infer that American cars do not have brakes on par with imports? I've owned a number of imports as well as a number of domestics, and I don't feel that my domestic vehicles brakes were any less effective than my imports. Granted, most of my domestics were heavier than most of my imports, but the brakes were excellent on both (well with the exception of my old cars that were equipped with drum brakes with no power assist). ;)