I am going to document the journey of a car, saved from the jaws of the crusher.

I am starting off with a 2000 Crown Victoria LX. As you may know, the owner was going to pay to have it towed to the wrecker. I asked if I could save them money by taking it off their hands for them, and they happily agreed.

The car had sat unused for a few years. Its last registration expired in June of 2011, and had been left there because it stopped working.

I brought in the Expedition, and a flat bed trailer and was planning on winching it up on the trailer to haul it home. I brought a spare battery though, and put it in. The Vic fired right up and ran very smooth. I drove it up on the trailer, much to the surprise of the former owner.




When a car sits for a few years, closed up and used for storage, filled with wet boxes and painting sheets and supplies in it, it will have developed an interesting aroma. The interior is beyond filthy, probably having never been cleaned. Fearing mold, I have decided to remove the interior, so I can get down to bare metal, and make sure nothing is growing in there.

Austin, can I get a hand with the cleaning?




Lets see, there is knee brace, a paint scraper, glasses, the title to a 2004 Cavalier, an ink cartridge, glasses, lighters, room keys, business cards to exotic tanning, cigarettes, a hacky sack, a ring with "14K" on the inside, an unused (thankfully) prophylactic, various pens, matches and a tire iron.

I didn't take pictures of the trunk, but it was worse. This thing was disgusting to say the least.

More pictures to follow.

That's dirty. Pressure wash the carpet, use a light degreaser and scrub the life out of it (I'm sure there are living things in the carpet. Kill them.). As for the seats, you'll need and extractor or you'll spend the rest of your life getting water out of the seat foam.

If you do have mold, let me know and I'll recommend a good remediation product and regimen.

As for the plastic, I'd go ahead and pull all of the lower trim pieces (you'll need to do it anyway when your carpet comes out) and clean the insides. It's amazing what that will do for odor problems. Citrus-based cleaners are the best for jobs like this. Get this, dilute it for plastics, dilute less for the carpet: http://www.autogeek.net/mg10801.html

Another tip: degrease and pressure wash the seat belts. You'll thank me later on that one.

Thanks for the tips! Question. I have heard that armor all type products are actually bad for plastics in the long run. What tips do you have for cleaning and restoring the dash and door panels?

I took this picture after I had already cleaned most of them out? How do you get gravel underneath the rear bench seat? Not the rear floor, but under the seat.


Nice and shiny, and not a spot of mold or rust.


Well, I think it looks a little better now:


Seatbelts are out, I need to get them cleaned up. I am still not sure if I like these seats or not. They are crazy heavy. Maybe a pair of Recaro racing buckets are in its future...

subscribing to see the progress.

Also subscribed - i'd guess that the gravel might have come from a burst bag of landscaping shingle on the back seat ........ or kids messing around .

I have got to see more...

Ryan

That's a huge improvement already...very nice!

It still stinks inside, though. Not the carpet, but the back seat. I may just ditch the seats entirely, and look for new ones...

Looking way better all ready.

nobodyspecial said:

It still stinks inside, though. Not the carpet, but the back seat. I may just ditch the seats entirely, and look for new ones...

Click to expand...

Febreeze....or a gross of pine air fresheners.....

Steam clean it with a good enzyme based oder eliminator. Don't forget the head liner. They hold stink like a skunk.

nobodyspecial said:

Thanks for the tips! Question. I have heard that armor all type products are actually bad for plastics in the long run. What tips do you have for cleaning and restoring the dash and door panels?

Click to expand...

ArmorAll is the devil. Let's put it this way, all super shiny 'protectants' do harm to plastics by actually drawing in the sun and its UV rays (think of how light refracts off of water) cause more harm than good. What I use is a sort of jack of all trades. It's a leather/vinyl/plastic cleaner and conditioner. Here's a link: Linky.

Here's what will work for you, just to get things started:

1. Using a scotch-brite pad (or something similar), scrub in some Tuff Stuff foam cleaner. Link here.Spray the down panel down, let it sit for a second, then get to scrubbing. Make sure all of the dirt is out - think about the places a hand would go.

2. Wipe down with a terry towel or something similar, make sure it's dry.

3. Apply the conditioning cream to a microfiber towel and work it into the plastic using circular motions. Buff it a few minutes later and you're done!



Once you get that out of your way, your regular interior cleaning can be just the conditioner. It's great for killing odors, too.

Thanks again Austin. I was pretty sure armor all had bad long term effects, thanks for explaining. I need to get some supplies...

Making any headway? What are your plans?

No real headway, I ripped out all the interior carpet, and I only have the drivers seat in it, as I am the only one that uses it.

I just can't get the stank out of it. I will find new carpet, a headliner and a new rear seat for it. I want a set of recaros, or something similar for the front.

I have been driving it all over the state, getting low 20s for MPG, and I am not easy on the throttle, at all.

I am looking at refinishing the stock steel wheels before winter, as they have a tiny bit of surface rust where the wheel covers rubbed the paint off of them.

Should get interior out of an LX. Make it NIIIIICE

Mine is an LX. I have been searching for LX Sport interior, to include the center console and floor shifter, but they are hard to come by.

Who here has put a block heater in a vehicle that never had one? The Vic is originally from a much warmer climate, and no block heater doesn't fly in ND.

The thermostat is stuck open, so I figure this will be a good time to do the thermostat and coolant flush when it is drained for the block heater.

Might do duals and a oil warmer, too.

There are universal kits out there ain't there?