Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Will my Mark VII ever look like this?

Obviously this car was treated to a full restoration.
I bet it smells good in here!

Yeah, maybe not so much.

Actually this is the worst panel of all the seats.
If I blindfolded you, wouldn't think that you were sitting in a new car.

For some unknown reason, no matter how bad the car looked when I bought it, I've never felt disgust towards it.

Besides starting some mechanical repairs I've been just playing around with the Mark since I brought it home. My plan is to clean it up and see what I've got. I rubbed out and waxed the paint and found that some areas would respond with a little shine. It looks like the fight fender has been repainted some time in the past.

I got out some Simichrome and steel wool and went over some of the brightwork, such as the door window frames which are chrome plated. They have responded with a brilliant shine.

I think that this is fun and challenging, trying to improve on and preserve what is here.


The veneer on the dash is in pretty bad shape. As you can see it is flaking off in large pieces. There is no way to smooth and reattach it. The veneer on the main instrument panel is cracked and dry but is still intact. I decided to try and save it.

There are a lot of uses for this as I will demonstrate.

The first step was to clean it with Goop hand cleaner. This non abrasive formula can dissolve years of layered on grease and dirt. It also contains lanolin which can help to add some moisture back into the surface. I learned about using Goop on the ARF, the Antique Radio Forums. The first step with an intact cabinet was to clean it up carefully.

Then I applied some dark walnut wood stain which will penetrate the cracks and add a little color. Remember that "Old English" brand  scratch remover for furniture? Same idea, just dab some on, then wipe off.

Finally I applied some Howard's Feed and Wax. This is a blend of carnauba wax, bees wax, and orange oil. It is a thick waxy slush that is rubbed into the surface of the wood, where it can penetrate the finish. It is allowed to dry, then gently polished. The thinned wax penetrates the surface and remains after the distillate evaporates. Repeated applications will build up a thicker surface layer. It also smells really good!

Here's how it looked before staining.

There was no way to save the failing veneer on the upper dash, so I just decided to remove it. I used a scraper on the more stubborn spots but was careful not to damage the base wood. I then used some steel wool to remove traces of glue and smooth the surface. Then I applied a couple of coats of stain which darkened the wood considerably.  A couple of  applications of Howard's followed. It's not glossy but has a mellow glow.

I learned about Howard's wood restoration products from the ARF and they are usually for sale at antique stores and many hardware stores.

I was pretty satisfied with the results. Most of the wood trim will lose it's flaking veneer but I think that staining and waxing it will help bring the interior up to a presentable level.

Now I'm not pretending that this stained wood is the end product, perhaps someday I will be in a position to apply new veneer. But that is a long way down the road.

It wouldn't fool anyone into thinking that I had redone the woodwork
but that's not not what I'm going for.

I'm just looking for an improvement over this.

The front carpets have worn out and deteriorated. I vacuumed the floors then laid down a large rubber floormat that I had used in my '66 F250. I wont say that it looks great, but at least it looks cleaner.

The back seat and door panels still look pretty good.
They just needed a little cleaning.

Goop or other water less hand cleaners can also be used on the vinyl seats and door panels. Cleaning is always the first step. The seats and door panels have been redone in blue vinyl, the seller told me that this was done in the 1970's. While it is not original it is still in pretty good shape. Would I ever have this interior redone in the proper leather? I don't think it will ever be a possibility for me. I've read some comments where I've been mildly chastised for not wanting to do a proper, complete restoration. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think that it is better for me to bring this car back to life. Someday, if a future buyer wants to invest the money I will have saved and preserved the car as best as I could. I find no shame in this.

One of the areas in the poorest  condition are the front seat bottom cushions. The headliner is pretty old looking, but the majority is still intact. But again, I'm not going to mess with it for now. The headliner of the sunroof panel is hanging down. I hoping that this is just some sound deadening that has flaked off the underside of the panel.

I plan on going to the fabric store, JoAnns, to look for some matching blue vinyl material. I'll buy a couple of yards to do the seat bottoms and have some to use for carpet welting, I'll be looking for  some carpeting in a similar blue color. The interior is not really that bad.

Is any of this cleaning and polishing an improvement? I think so. This car is in the worst deteriorated condition of any car that I've ever bought. But, it is straight and complete and I believe it will run again without tearing down the motor. Hopefully this car will allow me to experience some of that Jaguar magic from the 1950's

Someday.