In 2003-2004, the GTV got an entirely new interior, with new headliner, new upholstery of leather and MB Tex vinyl, rechromed original parts, etc. Sharp eyes will note the Suntune mini-electronic tach on the steering column. I added that in 1984, because it is accurate and I can turn it so that the self-imposed redline is straight up on the face. There’s also a factory-installed steering wheel lock, and a shift light (the silver cylinder below the steering wheel) I used for a while, then removed.
Below is a photo that shows the car in 1983, when I bought it. It had an original interior, with the exception of the early 70’s Chevy seat fabric. Jack Davis owner of Generations Upholstery, in San Jose, did the gorgeous new interior in a combination of leather and Mercedes vinyl. Generations was a place whose name matched its schedule (if you catch my drift). They had my car for about 18 months, despite my begging and pleading. At least the quality of the work was good, even if the windshield guy they hired bent the perfect original front window trim (which I finally replaced with new in 2014), and the new paint acquired a couple of dents I had to pay a paintless dent repair guy to make magically disappear. What an amazing art that is! About half an hour of the guy waving odd tools over the fender, chanting incantations, and doing a witch doctor’s dance, and you couldn’t find where the dents had been with a map.
The fake wood on my dash was shot and I could not find a good original dash anywhere. The upholstery shop solved my dilemma of what to do by reinforcing the face and back of the original dash with fiberglass and upholstering it with leather. Must say, the original never looked as good as the leather does now. The reinforced dash easily carries the weight of a modern car stereo (Sorry purists). Ironically, the engine makes such beautiful music, I never listen to the stereo or CD changer hidden in the trunk. I do kind of miss the way the original dash gave off vapor clouds that coated the interior glass with hard to remove slime when the California sun heated up the interior. Sure I do.
Below: More interior shots (I apologize for the poor quality. If the sun ever shines again in the Pacific Northwest, I’ll take more).
