Restoration of Thema IE interior advice needed + workshop guide anyone???

[tom1]

Hello!

Me and a friend are restoring a thema i was wondering if anyone had a workshop guide for one, 1989 model, +

Any advice on how to take of interior pannels easily to remove carpet + general trim, all the fabric needs removing including roof

one more thing any advice on how to fix the sun rood leaking

Thankyou for reading,all advice appreciated as first car we are restoring, Tom

[ncundy]

I've been a little lax over the last couple of weeks, but Fay66 gave me one to upload. I'll try and get it done tomorrow.
Neil

[77_scorp]

Most modern Italian passenger cars are assembled to never be taken apart, that doesn't mean you can't do it of course. It's a game of hidden screws, panels and subtle little connections and clips that will break once you remove them. I guarantee that you'll break something even if you are handling the interior like a newborn baby, so be in mind. Take every screw, handle, clip and plastic grommet etc. and bag them up with labels. Look for things that hold on with clips carefully, usually undoing on section of the interior will give you access to other parts as well, go slow. I just did an interior restore myself so I know about the process. I also would pull the carpet up, look for rust and water damage. Ger some Dynamat, replace old foam and sound deadening stuff with that, and you'll have a much cabin comfort. I used it in my car, works perfect. Use anti rust treatment on anything questionable, seal up anything that is loose once the interior is stripped and so on. This is your chance to replace interior lights, fuses and wires while you have a nice open workspace.

If you want to save money, take all the panels out, buy your own material to recover the seats and deliver to the upholstery shop with everything bagged and ready. It will take about 4-5 leather hides to do a car like the Thema, carpet kits need to be made up of the old pattern, don't throw them away! Make sure to by carpet foam padding in the same quantity as the carpet itself.

Ebay is a great source for leather hides, I used Kyson Leather on Ebay. Look them up. Don't even dare to make your own seat covers unless you're a pro, they will be a dissaster, but door panels you might be able to do if you're relatively inclined.

Weather stripping is hard to find for old cars in the proper width, find it in a roll, or reuse the original but don't go throwing away anything, you will be sitting around wondering "What the hell is this thing?" and believe that "this thing" is really the one thing you'll have not wanted to discard.

Good luck and see some pics here of the one I had done, it's really worth it!

Of my Lancia Scorp:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vigilantefilm/4345817890/in/photostream/

[fay66]

Hello!

Me and a friend are restoring a thema i was wondering if anyone had a workshop guide for one, 1989 model, +

Any advice on how to take of interior pannels easily to remove carpet + general trim, all the fabric needs removing including roof

one more thing any advice on how to fix the sun rood leaking

Thankyou for reading,all advice appreciated as first car we are restoring, Tom


Hi Tom,
As Neil said, he has a CD of Thema Workshop Manual that he is kindly going to upload to the download Library for me (if you see what I mean!) as I was having trouble uploading it.
Carpet is never going to be easy to remove as you literally have to remove everything that's sitting on it.

Removing panels shouldn't be a problem once you can download the Manual from the library as that is well covered, however do make sure that the watersheets inside the doors behind the trim are sealed correctly on refitting otherwise you'll get water leaking into the interior,
Sun Roof leaking, can you tell from where or are the drain hoses not taking the water away, there has been quite a discussion on this and how to solve it on the Lancia Motor Club Forum in the UK, so I suggest you have a look there as well if you don't already do so.
If you need a hand drop me a PM as I'm the Dedra Technical Adviser for the LMC and I've also owned 2 Themas.

Brian

[tom1]

cheers guys i'll keep u informed thanks a lot! wish us luck we'll need it ha ha

[ncundy]

Well, apologies for the delay to Brian and those who have waited, but hopefully you should now find what you were looking for in the downloads.
Neil

[fay66]

Well, apologies for the delay to Brian and those who have waited, but hopefully you should now find what you were looking for in the downloads.
Neil

Many Thanks Neil.

Brian