My car had somewhat of a musty smell when I purchased it and the previous owner was heavy on cologne to try to cover it up. I've since removed the entire interior and sound deadening material from the car.

Then I hired a mobile detailer to come take care of all of the seat while they were out of the car. He went a little crazy on the "odor neutralizer" which I learned later was degreaser I believe (the green stuff). I had him come back out to mess with them again and it got better, but still not acceptable.

I've hit the seats two more times myself with odor-x stuff purchased at Advance. The smell is still not completely gone. I have just the driver seat in the car now and when I got to work the other day my clothes smelled like the seat.

Looking for any suggestions that may help. He sprayed in my vents and stuff too...

Oh, I did try something I read online about using baking powder and letting it sit over night and then vacuum it out.

 

Have you replaced the cabin filter?

 

Did they have cabin filters in 1988??

 

I don't think it has a cabin air filter...anyone know otherwise?

I did notice that there is some sound deadening material still in the car in the driver and passenger footwells. I am thinking of pulling that out too.

 

Cabin air filters are newer than 1988.

It's probably coming from your air ducts and AC system.

Justice Brothers has AC-Clean -- it's a spray that neutralizes odors in the AC system ducts and evaporator, and that would be worth a try.

There are also services that many shops provide that use a system which forces a foam through the ducts and evaporator and cleans it out. I think that usually runs upwards to $50-100.

 

Start with a good interior cleaning... and I mean REALLY GOOD!

Shampoo the carpets, the seats, etc. Even use a little baking soda sprinkled on the carpet, allow it to sit for about an hour, then vacuum it out.

If you can use long skinny brushes or anything that will fit and clean into the HVAC vents. Even spraying an odor neutralizer like Febreeze directly into the vents will help.

Lastly, and this is the only way to achieve 100% odor elimination, is rent or buy an ozone generator. They are the absolutely only choice when it comes to completely removing an odor that keeps coming back. I've used them to completely deodorize cars owned for years by smokers.

This is the brand and model I personally prefer for deodorizing a car:

http://www.rainbowaire.net/product/R...01-II-Auto.cfm

 

Good call on the hvac ducts...the a/c was completely removed before I purchased the car. The engine is not stock. I don't see where to buy the justice bros. stuff, but I just purchased this fogger:

http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Air-Geni...5310175&sr=8-1

I'll go ahead and purchase a comparable spray for the ducts as well like you recommended.

The interior is completely out of the car except the dash and driver seat. All down to the metal, still smells. Hopefully this will do the trick and then I can put my new carpet, etc. in the car.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'll let ya know how this stuff works out.

 

I recommend ozium. It gets rid of any smell. You will need to clean the carpets first though, because they are the source of the odor.

 

I took a picture of a piece of the hvac under the passenger dash. I will try to upload to this thread but can't figure it out. If it does not upload, please check my garage for a photo.

Does anyone know what it is and can I clean or replace it? It looks pretty nasty to me...