The interior of the car was filthy, with a lot of stuff left laying around from its last drive. The carpets were removed and found to be badly worn, dirty and faded. A decision was made to replace the whole lot.
Then it was onto the seating. The rear seats are basically a bench with matts. These had various areas of dirt and damaged stitching. They were also flat and hard. Again, it looked like the best option would be to get new ones made from the originals.
The two front seats are very simple aluminium frames that fold forward. They are bolted through the floor onto the chassis. First inspection shows a seat from another Regal has been used for the driver. Both seats are tatty with the rubber strapping having perished and broken years ago.
Removing the seats proved a real task. The underside fittings had rusted solid. Some bolts were so corroded that when turned the heads snapped clean off. This was fine as the rest could be pushed through to fall out under the car. The passenger side seat required partially dismantling in order to get an angle grinder to some bolt heads. Then when the seat was removed it became clear the lightweight tubing had suffered.
I was lucky enough to know someone willing to repair this and the original broken drivers seat with a sleeve and rivets. However, I was presented with the opportunity to buy two newer frames, which are incredibly rare. Having got these the plan was to have all the upholstery done at a local trimmers.
March 2015 & I take delivery of the new upholstery. The trouble is that what was left of the tunnel carpet went missing so I have the material to make my own. Making a template out of paper didn't work so I hit upon the idea of using parcel tape to make a peel able pattern!