Re: Charlotte - A Stock 1970 K10 Build
After taking the vinyl off, I separated the top from the bottom. There are four big countersunk head bolts that you need a large phillips head bit to remove. Kind of odd, specialized bolts. I didn't have anything to fit, so bought the correct size bit hard mounted in a 1/2" drive socket. Let the bolts soak overnight with some PB blaster and used a breaker bar so I could slowly apply torque without stripping the phillips on the bolt heads. The top foam was still in great shape. I cut a carpet remnant to the correct size and attached it to the frame using zip ties. I encased the foam in clear plastic garbage bags. So glad I found that tip on this forum! Slid on the new vinyl, inserted the old hem wires and used zip ties to secure. Poked a small hole with an awl and fed them through. It was awesome to get them just snug enough to still be able to move things around and still make adjustments before final cinching. No one will ever see the back, but I love how clean the backing of the carpet looks compared to the old burlap that was glued to the foam and falling apart. Last picture was taken before I nipped-off all the excess on the zip ties. Used a pair of channel locks on the long ties as I was cinching them and had plenty of leverage. No wrinkles at all in the vinyl due to the extra volume taken up by the carpet and all seams and edging placed right where they needed to go.
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