GTO Upholstery Resto

We've already covered several aspects of the "restification" of this particular '65 Pontiac GTO, from suspension mods to bodywork; but, before we get into the interior (literally), we should step back a bit and explain what that term means, relative to this particular project vehicle.

The Goal
The car's owner is Larry Weiner of Performance West Group, a prominent developer of image vehicles (show cars) for all of the Big Three automakers in Detroit. How does he define "restification"? "It's taking an original vehicle and enhancing it with modern components for better performance and handling, while maintaining the car's original demeanor and appearance," he explains. In other words, you incorporate improvements in technology to improve the vehicle without sacrificing its spirit or essential character. "All of the changes we've made on this car could be undone, so it could easily be brought back to original standards if I wanted to."


But Weiner isn't concerned about restoring his GTO to a numbers matching, factory-spec car. "I wanted the car to look better than original, with my own personal touches." As part of that goal, he was very particular about matching the interior with the new Tiger Gold Pearl paint (covered in a previous installment). "It's very important to maintain the continuity of the car, to look at the design as a whole," he adds.

The Components
Since this brilliant hue also covers the dash and other interior components, Weiner spent hours scouring through books of upholstery color swatches to find the right color. Frustrated, he finally lugged the books to the car to hold them up against the paint. That did the trick, so he decided upon a particular gold carpeting that is also found in Porsches. Fortunately, the interior doesn't require all that many yards of material, so the expense was not as high as you might expect. Later on, Weiner plans to reupholster the seats with Katzkin hand-sewn Parchment Pearl Leather with stitching that remains true to the original pattern.


Before installing the new underlayment, padding and carpet, however, Weiner refurbished the heater core and heater box, checking for leaks and making sure everything functioned properly. "I learned the hard way from another restoration that sometimes older heaters leak radiator fluid. I didn't want that to happen to my nice new interior."