Interior Mustang Mods

Made some headway on the dash harness. Found some cracked and corroded connectors and replaced them, not just soldered new ends, pulled them out from one end to the other, and the Fairmont wires went in perfectly. Mustang/Capri courtesy light switches (pillar mounted) only have the door warning buzzer. The Squire has wiring for the Seatbelt 'comfort' solenoids on both doors, so I had to add them in. (Did I mention that I'm a stickler on wiring? )

I like the sound of that 'ding-ding-ding 'buzzer' too, not just the key warning buzzer. Mine had both, so...

Anyway, I'm almost ready for the dash. Rain permitting. :banghead3:

 

Almost forgot my Liftgate Ajar warning light! I have to take it from the black Mustang panel and bond it into the Capri burled maple panel. Anyway, finally got the HVAC box and ducts all sorted out and cleaned and got it positioned into the firewall. It got too dark at 9:30 to finish installing though.

The Capri stereo radio is really nice. It's got Left/Right AND Front/Rear faders. No cassette though. So I had to rewire the connections for the 1984 Cougar Premium Sound radio (AM/FM/Cassette). Details take time.

Back at it tomorrow.

 

Norm, I know you're on to your interior, but I wanted to show you the 6 cyl motor in this old (restored) Bronco...has an aluminum cyl head and a 4 barrel carb...check it out....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170516117840&viewitem=

 

Aah the Classic Inlines cylinder head. A thing of beauty!

 

Looks like he had it for a coffee table or an altar, for a while.

Andy knows more about them, but I think they're a high perf version of the Aussie head. Like Andy says, a thing of beauty (and raw power).

Thanks KK, never saw one all set up.

 

The head was designed by Mike Winterboer, the creator of the fordsix forum and Classic Inlines performance parts.

There are probably only a few dozen in existence, until such time as he nails down a U.S. foundry.

 

Aha! So we have hard evidence here, that it not only exists, but looks downright purty!

 

HVAC finally in! The nylon spacer rings kept popping off, but I got her. The Capri firewall sound deadener panel fits very well, but after sitting in the hot sun for a few days, it deformed a bit and needed a bit of coaxing. I used wooden blocks to hold up the HVAC while I used a 4 foot lever to press it into the firewall and line it all up. Even 2 guys wouldn't have helped. It just needed pressure, not brute force.

Did the Liftgate Ajar swap to the Capri Instrument Panel overlay. The chrome edging is like new!

As limited as the Haynes manuals are, they do have better wiring diagrams than Chilton's. Mine's a 1979. From 1979 & up, Fairmonts got one buzzer with Key-In and Seatbelt warning. In 1978, they had 2 different units. The Key-in is a buzzer - bzzzzz. The seatbelt/ door ajar warning is a ding-ding-ding, mini-speaker device.

The 1981 Capri gets even less. The buzzer does both on a timer for 8 seconds and that means only one wire, not 5. That won't take long because I have it all, wiring and the 2 devices.

What's a guy supposed to do without at least one ding-a-ling.

 

Rained, thundered and light show all day! Mother nature had a bladder issue, a huge one. Sunshine and humanely cooler this coming week. I basically DOGGED it. Movie day, homemade Mexican dining and rested up.

 

Dash harness complete! Andy had the fuse block that the windows came from (1981 Fairmont Squire) and my 1981 Capri harness needed the special adapter for the Ford bayonet-type fuse for the Power Windows. I'll just run extra wire for the voltage regulator and vacuum gauge light connections. The dash frame is in place, at the two sides, and just needs some ducts installed and harness clis.

Major obstacle done.

 

Great job Norm but I wouldn't want to buy your car unless I had personal knowledge of what the heck you've done.

Ok what do I need now? Wiring diagrams for Capri, Zephyr, Fairmont and and and.

 

I've done this a few times to this wagon, but its one of my least favourite tasks, after removing the dash. Dropping the steering column on these Fox cars is an ordeal. I'd rather hoist a transmission. For those who've had the pleasure :banghead3:, you get so happy pushing the column back up, and locating the two yokes, that you forget the shaker brace bracket.

By itself, with no heavy wiring harness and dash in your face, its a piece of cake. With all that stuff hiding the bolts, grabbing the nut, forgetting where the wrench is, pushing up on the column and at least one side of one yoke, while the other jams... well even Paul the Soccer Octupus would find it challenging.

There is a solution!

Install the shaker brace up-tight to the brake bracket first! This sounds obvious, BUT!

You have to compensate for the extra 3/32" of thickness on the other side of the yokes (they hold the column up). AND only the rear yoke studs are long enough for double nutting - one above the yoke and one self-locking nut below. The front studs can only receive one locknut.

The solution is too obvious that I'm almost embarrassed to write this. When you first install the shaker brace to the brake support bracket, every other bolt (brake booster (4 nuts) and the two top cowl adjustment bolts, should be left loose, but not even snug.

Place the shaker brace bracket (tubular triangular bracket) on the two LH studs, pull toward the A-pillar, and put the bolt into the A-pillar bracket - just finger snug. Tighten ALL of the others, then tighten the bolt at the A-pillar end.

You're not done! Next you need to find a couple of thick washers of approximately the same thickness as the different ends of the shaker brace, to compensate for the thickness on the other side of the column yoke studs. If you can find thin course-thread nuts (3/32" thick?), that would be the ideal solution. If you don't mind that your column shifter isn't quite lined up with the PRND2L indicator, then don't bother. Without the column shifter (as in floor shifter models), the instrument panel and plastic column covers don't line up properly either. Just find some washers and torque them into place, above the yokes.

One more reason that you can't double-nut the two nearest the driver is that the hood release will always be a PITA to grab and pull back - knuckle-dusting against the bottom of the dash.

 

That's why I followed the EVTM and merged the wiring, rather than chop and solder. More work for me now, but my Ford dealer would be able to trace the wiring or I could fix it on the roadside with a cheap Haynes manual. Besides, I won't sell this baby. She owes me a couple pints of knuckle scrapes.

If she rotted real bad, I'd go to Mexico and get another one and transfer my goodies into the next one. Method to my madness.

 

In fact, Tbird, I could take the wiring harness from a 1981 Fox I6 wagon and replace it, if it had Power Windows, Door Locks, Premium Sound, Trailer wiring and optional visor vanity and rear liftgate wiper. Nothing off the option list except the voltmeter and vacuum gauge.

EDIT: And the bulb out display panel, and the Elapsed time clock setup (which were optional on the 1981 Fairmont Futura and Squire wagons.) Even the console/floor shifter was optional.

E-Brake on the floor and interior are the only major physical change. I'm biding my time for a Turbo unit to play with under the hood. That would be awesome!

 

The dash is IN! Console and E-brakes next. I'll take pics tomorrow. The batteries died. Awesome, if I do say so myself!