The best way to enjoy a musclecar is to drive it. That's right--plant your butt in the driver's seat, twist the ignition key to bring life to the healthy street/strip engine, and then drive to your cruise spot in style. But if your butt is resting on a torn-up seat with springs poking out, then the journey to the local cruise-in will be less than enjoyable. Moreover, a musclecar with a shabby-looking headliner and filthy carpet will do nothing to impress fellow gearheads as they check out your car.
Cheap Street Chevelle was shabby from the day CC purchased it in 1994. But over the last few years, it's been fitted with a new engine, transmission, and suspension. Outside, the car received the full make-over, including some new body panels and a fresh paint job. Yet the Chevelle still had a ratty interior, complete with torn-up seats, no headliner, and trashed-out door panels. We wanted to make the interior look as good as the exterior, but we didn't want to install a custom-stitched interior. Moreover, we were working on a budget, so the interior redo needed to be as low-buck as possible. Thus, we turned to Original Parts Group, which offers presewn interior kits for a variety of GM cars, including Chevelles, El Caminos, Monte Carlos, GTOs, Tempests, and LeMans. The OPG kits (ours was the basic Stage I kit that costs about $470) can be custom-tailored to fit the needs of your musclecar. Whether you only need a new carpet set and door panels or an entire interior kit, OPG is your one-stop shop for the goods you need to restore your musclecar's interior. Follow along as Mike Ambrose Custom Interiors installs the new OPG interior kit for Project Cheap Street Chevelle.
 Project Cheap Street Chevelle's...  Project Cheap Street Chevelle's interior was totally trashed, so we ordered a complete, new interior kit (PN IK02BK) from Original Parts Group. Our OPG kit included new presewn seat covers for the Chevelle's front and rear bench seats, new front and rear door panels, new carpet, a headliner, and a rear package tray. All of the OPG interior parts match the original specs exactly, so they look great and fit perfectly. Although we opted for black, the interior items can be ordered in a variety of colors and styles (such as for bucket seats) to fit almost any demand. |  Begin your interior restoration...  Begin your interior restoration by removing the torn-up seats, the old door panels, the ratty carpet, and the faded rear package tray. Because our Chevelle had a six-point rollbar, we needed to remove the seatbacks from the front seats first to be able to remove the bench seat from the car. |  The seat cover is held in...  The seat cover is held in place with dozens of small hog-ring clips. From the underside of the seat, pry off the hog rings using a pair of needle-nose pliers. Afterward, the seat cover can be pulled off. Our old seat cover was so tattered that it came off in pieces. |
 The original seat-cushion...  The original seat-cushion material was in decent shape overall, but it was tattered on the top and side edges. Thus, a new layer of foam padding was added to the top of the seat cushion to restore the cushy feel to the seat. Position the padding, trim it to size, and then stick it to the top side of the old seat cushion using spray-on adhesive. |  Position the new seat cover...  Position the new seat cover on the seat, making sure it is properly aligned with the outer edges of the seat. Once aligned, stretch the edges of the cover over the edges of the seat. The new material will be a tight fit as compared to the stretched and tattered seat cover that was removed. |  After the new seat cover is...  After the new seat cover is on and properly aligned, flip the seat over and begin installing the hog-ring retaining clips. Along the outer edges of the seat track are dozens of oval tangs to which the hog rings fasten. Poke one end of the hog ring through the outer edge of the seat-cover material, and position the other end of the hog ring at the outer edge of the tang. Use a pair of pliers to crimp the ring together. With the dozens of hog rings in place, the new seat cover will be securely held to the seat frame. |
 The seatbacks for the front...  The seatbacks for the front bench seat (as well as the upper and lower parts of the rear seat) are installed just like the front-seat bottom. Simply remove the old cover(s), slip on the new seat cover(s), and fasten the material in place with the crimp-on hog rings. |  The carpet kit from OPG is...  The carpet kit from OPG is super easy to install, thanks to it being molded to fit the floorboard of your musclecar. Align the carpet so that the molded portions fit over the driveshaft tunnel in the center of the car. Notice that the OPG carpet has new padding added to its backside, which not only adds cushion but quells road noise and exhaust heat as well. |  In some instances, the outer...  In some instances, the outer edges of the carpet kit need to be slightly trimmed for a perfect fit. In our case, we needed to trim the carpet so that it fit around the tubing ends of the six-point rollbar. |
 After the carpet has been...  After the carpet has been aligned and trimmed as needed, pull back the outer edges, and apply a coating of spray-on adhesive. |  Cheap Street Chevelle's door...  Cheap Street Chevelle's door panels were tattered and faded, so they were replaced. To remove the panels, remove the window regulator cranks, the armrest pads, and a series of small screws at the base of the door panel. In addition, use a flat-blade screwdriver to pry out the small push-in retaining clips located at the front and rear door-panel edges (arrows). |  Cheap Street Chevelle's door...  Cheap Street Chevelle's door panels were tattered and faded, so they were replaced. To remove the panels, remove the window regulator cranks, the armrest pads, and a series of small screws at the base of the door panel. In addition, use a flat-blade screwdriver to pry out the small push-in retaining clips located at the front and rear door-panel edges (arrows). |