[mgarblik]

Small update. Finally have the interior finished on the car. The door and windows were the final area that needed attention. As the F-body guys know, getting the doors to fit just right and the windows to seal properly is a huge challenge. They fit horribly from the factory and I can attest personally to that. When I worked at the dealer as a technician from 1979-1981 I performed new car prep on many Firebirds. I can't remember a single car we didn't have to take the door panels off of to refit the windows. Some had 1/4"-1/2" gaps between the glass and the seals in the door cavities. Most doors needed striker adjustment and many needed the door hinges loosened, shims added, door shells jacked up with blocks of wood and re-fitted. This was on brand new cars!. T-top cars were the most difficult. The Cincinnati Zone allowed us an extra flat rate hour to fit these cars when new over the regular dealer prep because you just could not get them right in the tiny time allowed. Anyway, back to my 73 car. I had a friend who specializes in 2nd. gen F-bodies come to my shop on a Saturday to fit my car. He spent about 3 hours perfectly fitting the doors and glass. They both open and close perfectly with 1 finger closure. One door lock, passenger side, would not turn with the key. I had to take it to 3 locksmiths to find an old gray hair guy who knew anything about the old Briggs and Stratton locks these cars use. He took it apart quickly, cleaned it up and put it back together. It works perfectly now. It's all a matter of finding a person with actual skill.
I applied power to the dash harness and checked some circuits. AM-FM stereo works in all modes, front and rear speakers, even the 8-track player works great. The best of the Grass Roots 8-track sounds like 1970! Even the OE clock wound up and began working again.
So now I finally get to move on to things I enjoy. I have some final detail work to do in the engine bay and then the engine will be installed. Hope to have it in place by early November. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Here are a few pics of the interior finished. I left the driver seat out for best access temporarily.