‘67 Caliente RestoMod in New Mexico
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 10:17 am
Hello folks, I joined this forum to hopefully learn a few things and maybe share a few things. I love looking at all the pictures of the beautiful Comets you guys post. I will introduce myself, my Comet, share what the goal is, and hopefully figure out how to share some of my own pictures.
I bought my ‘67 Caliente in the fall of 2018. I’ve been saving most the bodywork until I got the mechanicals mostly complete. And I am about to tackle that paint job soon (Covid quarantine has treated the car nicely with all the free time to work on her).
So far I have replaced the tires 289 with a late model 351W and added FiTech EFI. Completely replaced the exhaust. Added late model Mustang wheels. Front disc brake conversion. Replaced the rotted-through roof (vinyl top car) with a Fairlane 500 roof. And all the other normal tune-up items; ball joints, bushings, leaks, wiring, vacuum lines, etc.
My goal for the car is a driveable RestoMod... eventually a Power Tour trip with my wife.
My current challenge, that brought me to this page, is the dash pad. The original was completely trashed and warped from years of direct sunlight. It mostly disintegrated as I practically chiseled it off the dash. I know I can send it off to JustDashes in California (for and arm & a leg $$) and wait their 4-5 month turn around. If. I am forced to do that I will, but I had another idea that I was hoping to get some clarification from you experts that are smarter on the car than I. What if I purchased a brand new Fairlane dash, then had one of my local custom upholstery shops change the instrument bezel section to a Comet? Most the shops around here (ABQ NM) aren’t willing to tackle the remnants of my dash to build from scratch.
I bought my ‘67 Caliente in the fall of 2018. I’ve been saving most the bodywork until I got the mechanicals mostly complete. And I am about to tackle that paint job soon (Covid quarantine has treated the car nicely with all the free time to work on her).
So far I have replaced the tires 289 with a late model 351W and added FiTech EFI. Completely replaced the exhaust. Added late model Mustang wheels. Front disc brake conversion. Replaced the rotted-through roof (vinyl top car) with a Fairlane 500 roof. And all the other normal tune-up items; ball joints, bushings, leaks, wiring, vacuum lines, etc.
My goal for the car is a driveable RestoMod... eventually a Power Tour trip with my wife.
My current challenge, that brought me to this page, is the dash pad. The original was completely trashed and warped from years of direct sunlight. It mostly disintegrated as I practically chiseled it off the dash. I know I can send it off to JustDashes in California (for and arm & a leg $$) and wait their 4-5 month turn around. If. I am forced to do that I will, but I had another idea that I was hoping to get some clarification from you experts that are smarter on the car than I. What if I purchased a brand new Fairlane dash, then had one of my local custom upholstery shops change the instrument bezel section to a Comet? Most the shops around here (ABQ NM) aren’t willing to tackle the remnants of my dash to build from scratch.
Keep us posted with pics as you progress.