Window Trim, Shifter & Hood Latch

I got off of work two hours early this Friday with pay due to the slowness associated with the end of the year so I went to work on the Mustang for a few hours before Lauren got off. I stopped by Larry's Mustang in Corona to pick up a shifter boot first since I need to install it before I can put in the carpet. I wanted to have more of an original look so I bought a 69-70 Mustang Hurst shift boot. It was a few inches longer than the 65-66 boot so I had to drill new holes in it to fit. Since the console is going to cover the boot, the extra holes won't be seen. Just as a reminder, here are the details of the Hurst shifter:

 Part number                            5388022

Shifter Stick Length (in)		12.000 in.
Shifter Stick Layback (in)		7.500 in.
Shifter Stick Offset (in)		2.000 in.
Shifter Stick Ball Thread Size		3/8-16 in.

I also installed the window trim on the front and rear glass. It didn't go in perfectly and I put a few dents in it, but nothing is perfect right? The trim still looks great.

Calvin has been helping with reinstalling the rear quarter windows since he was the one to pull them out a few months back. I'll still need to buy the weatherstrip that goes between the rear quarter window and the front window. I already have the window felts to install.

With the hood latch adjuster, I simply stripped it down to metal and coated it with clear rather than painting it. I'll probably do the same thing for the trunk latch as well. I also installed the hood bumpers that mount onto the radiator support and adjusted them so that the hood locks tightly and doesn't rattle.

Later that night I worked on creating a solution for reinstalling the wing/vent window glass into the recently re-chromed window frames since there really isn't a weatherstripping that is sold to fit it. Larry's Mustang gave me a channel run trim for a 55-56 T-Bird which I cut to in order to create a tight fit for the glass. Once the wing/vent windows and side windows are installed I can put in the carpet and seats.

Installing the Headliner

Today I was able to work on the car because Lauren had to work the day after Christmas even though most of the rest of the United States considered it an official holiday. Our mission today was to install the headliner and front/rear windows, but we were unable to get to the latter portion of the mission. I started by researching the order of the four headliner bows and which of the two holes they were supposed to mount into. After digging around on Vintage Mustang Forum I found out that the order from front to back was "natural, red, white, blue." Ford put paint on the end of each bow to know in which order to put the bows. I also found this:

"In order to maintain maximum headroom over the driver and insure wrinkle free headlinings, insert the support ends into the upper holes on the left hand roof rail except for the following: when body width variations are at maximum tolerance, use upper hole both sides or when body width variations are at minimum tolerance use lower hole both sides."

(source: 1968 Mustang Interior assembly Manual, page 48, Jim Osborn Reproductions Inc.)

Once we knew where the bows were going to mount, we slipped them through the headliner and centered them by measuring the distance from the end of the rod to the edge of the headliner.Once we knew where they were supposed to be, we cut a hole in the sleeve for the rod to come out through. We hung the headliner in the car to get started.

Next we used a lot of heavy duty clips to hold the headliner in place after we pulled it go get it where we wanted it. You're supposed to start in the middle of the front and back and work your way out pulling any wrinkles as you go.

We used some heavy upholstering glue to glue the headliner in place and even enlisted the help of some old windlace to act as a clamp on the headliner. We still haven't installed the clips the mount on the top of the front pillars which is why you see a wrinkle in the fabric. I was only able to find one of them which means that I'll probably need to buy a set of two; that seems to be the story of this project. The headliner isn't perfect, but I don't expect perfection anymore. It looks good.

I also installed the rails that hold the door weatherstrip along the roof rail. I had taken these home to polish which seems to have been pointless because 95% of of the metal is covered by rubber. At least the 5% will shine.

I also installed the wiper arms under the dash. I didn't really do much with these, but I did install new leather gaskets between them and the underside of the cowl. Unfortunately the '66 didn't have the chrome cover over the wiper arm so it looks a little weird. The actual stainless steel wiper arms will install over these once the glass is in. The last thing I took care of today was installing the window trip clips. I ordered new ones, but for the life of me I can't seem to find them! It's been very frustrating. I also can't find the rear fender extension gasket nor the engine wire loom clips. They were all in the same shipment so I must have misplaced the bag they came in. It's not the end of the world...just frustrating.

Putting the Front End Together

Although today was the day before Christmas, Lauren still had to work so I went over to my parents to work on the Mustang. My goal was to get it out of their driveway before the end of the year and I'll be close to meeting that goal although it will likely be there for a little bit past the new year.

Today I spent some more time going back over the car with some 3M rubbing compound and a finishing polish called Finesse. The car is even more glossy now than it was before! I also went over the majority of it with a coat of wax to protect its lovely new finish. I'll have to finish up the rest of it on Monday.

I also took the time to put on the lower grille support, grill, headlights, and front fender extensions. The car looks much more complete now. I still don't have the bumpers so I wasn't able to put them on.

I also put in the firewall heat shield that was left over from the portion that was used for the headliner. I had to do some measuring and cutting in order for it to fit in as one whole piece since the steering column and pedal support were in the way. It fit in quite nicely.

The plan now is to install the headliner and the front/rear glass on Monday only to leave the side windows to install before I can put in the carpet, gauges and seats. Mustang Monthly did a good article on installing a headliner which can be viewed HERE. Once that is done. I'll pretty much be able to drive it if the need should arise. I'll still need to have mufflers and pipe installed and I'll need to install the 22-gallon gas tank, but it's just about there. I'll have another "on-call" checking coming my way in about a month or so which will cover the exhaust as well as some other parts (maybe the bumpers, reverse lights and turn signals.)

The 'Stang is Polished

I went over the my parents house to work on the 'Stang for most of the day before going to a Christmas party. My mission today was to polish the car and bring it from a dull and lifeless to shiny and full of life. I want to polish the trunk lid again, but the rest of the car turned out great! I used a Meguires polish on the car in case you were wondering. I'd also like to note that the tires fit perfectly on the car with the tires and rims that I bought. The front tires are pretty close to the upper control arms, but they're not touching which is all that matters. The rears have plenty of space which is good considering I'm using a rearend that sticks out 1" further on each side.

I was even able to put on one of the door handles, but couldn't put the other one on because I'm missing the required clip to install it. I'm also missing the clips I need to install the new locks. I was bummed out because I had everything ready to put on too. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to work on it once its closer to my house. The next step is to install the headliner and then the glass so that I can then put in the carpet, dash, and seats. Its all coming together!

Rims Mounted on the 'Stang

I got my other two rims back this afternoon once I got off of work so I swung by my parents house to mount the rims on the car and set it back on the ground for the first time with its shoes on.

I think that it still sits a little too high in the front. I rolled it back and forth about five times and bounced the front end up and down to see if I could get it to settle a little more. I don't know that it will settle much more.I may have to cut 1/2 - 3/4 of a ring off of the springs, but we'll see after I drive it for a few once its put together.

I started polishing the car tonight, but didn't have much time before I had to head back home. I'll have most of the day tomorrow (Saturday) to polish the car while Lauren works. I'll post more pictures once I've got more of it polished.

Tires Mounted on my TTII's

I got back at least two of my rims with the tires mounted on them. Now I'm just waiting to get back my other two. The tires are Hankook Ventus V4 and the fronts are 235/45-17 while the rears are 245/45-17. They are speed rated at "Z" (149mph and over), traction rated at "A" (second best), and temperature rated at "A" (coolest running). I just picked them up last night so I haven't had the opportunity to mount them on the car to see how they look, but I would imagine that they will look just fine.

They must be a highly sought after tire because they were on back order for months and once they came in five other stores in the same chain called the store that ordered them for me to try and get them. I'll probably have a chance to test fit them on Saturday when I work on the car. The tread looks pretty cool and I'm sure it will do a great job deflecting water.

Final Coat of Clear on Interior & Heat Wave Installed

I had the opportunity to get some work done on the Mustang yesterday before mens group so I decided to install the Second Skin Heat Wave Pro along the roof of the car to help keep it cool. First I wanted to get some pictures of the interior since it was wet sanded and resprayed with a second coat of clear. It turned out great and I'm looking forward to installing the headliner, glass and interior.

'66 Mustang Driver Door

'66 Mustang Painted Dash

'66 Mustang Painted Dash

I also installed more Damplifier along the firewall and under the cowl to help keep the heat and noise to a minimum, but I didn't get any pictures of that. I'll be installing some of the heat shield along the firewall once I have some time to patiently sit and cut it to fit all of the various holes and items that are coming through the firewall. I measured and cut the firewall section at 55" x 21" and set it aside.

The front piece of the roof measured at about 23.5" while the sides measured around 22.5" so I had to cut it with a bit of an arch to match the front roof line. I used Second Skin's Contact Adhesive which seemed to tack up very well. It seems like it won't let go and is formulated to withstand heat.

I didn't need to measure the rear section because the product I had left barely filled it out. There was one section that had to be pieced in , but it wasn't very big. I even had a little left over to fit in the sail panels where there were sections that had nothing between the outer body and the interior.

Roof View from Rear of Mustang Looking Forward

Roof View from Front of Mustang Looking Back

Sound Deadener (Part II)

I only spent a small amount of time working on the Mustang today because I was in L.A. last night visiting Lauren's grandma and then taste testing wedding food for Marianne's wedding in March so I didn't get back into town until 11:30 or so. The past few days we've had hurricane strength winds blowing through southern California which is weird because we never have hurricanes. Needless to say, the last coat of clear hasn't been sprayed on the dash of the car yet so the outside hasn't been polished yet, but we're getting there. I'm sure that both of those things will happen sometime this week.

Today I spent a few hours laying down the Second Skin sound deadener on the floorboard of the car. I'm not going to cover every square inch, but I am trying to cover the important areas. I've still got to finish the firewall and I'm also going to cover some areas in the trunk since the back tires and exhaust will make a good amount of noise in that area.

Second Skin From the Rear

Second Skin From the Front

While I wait for my rims to come back with tires on them and for the car to be polished, I'm going to be working on the center console. I bought the rear light since the original one was plastic for some reason. I didn't know they came as plastic parts from the factory since my first Mustang had a metal chrome one. At any rate, I'll be putting it together so that once the carpet is laid, I'll be ready to put in the console and then the seats.