June '04 - Wiring, Cockpit, and Finishing

6/01/04

Here's the dash wiring finished up and bundled. I put quick disconnects to make it easy to remove the dash to work on later. I'll also need to rig up some kind of permanent mounting that doesn't have any screws showing. They may not be very accessible under the body lip anyway.

And the footbox wiring, bundled up as much as possible and ziptied up away from the pedals. If I was starting over from this point, I'd have cut all the factory ziptie bundles so I could bundle wire groups together my own way. Maybe on the next build!

Back to the cockpit after working on several other items for the last several weeks. Seems like only yesterday the wiring harness was just the coils you see in the above photo...how time flies!

Got the rear cockpit aluminum in after cutting speaker holes. The black pieces are the steel Breeze seat mounting plates the provide some measure of adjustability using the Street Performer seats I'm using . Still have to put in the tranny top cover and the Tristates center console, which will provide a spot for a CD player and possibly a mini-glovebox.

And, after checking all my circuits, I riveted the top of the driver's footbox in place.

6/07/04

We decided it was going to be too hot this summer to leave the cockpit in bare aluminum, so we decided to get the thing carpeted before dropping the body on. FFR provides a lightweight carpet precut in black. We opted to pick up some gray carpet from Home Depot instead, $2.97 per linear foot. Same stuff we put in the trunk just before mounting the amp and subwoofer (which I just realized I didn't get pictures of. I'll get some posted soon.

Rena took charge of the upholstering, tracing the FFR-precut pieces onto the gray tweed-looking stuff. Mikey helps out by holding down the loose corner.

Then it is just a painstaking process of trimming the foam insulation to fit and sticking it in place. Easier said than done...the foil likes to peel off of the foam backing, especially in the confines of the footboxes and pedals. Then we use 3M 77 All-Purpose Spray Adhesive to stick the carpet on. No matter how careful we've been about measuring, marking holes and slots for things like the seatbelt mounts, it never seems to end up right on, but we get it as close as possible.

Carpet down on the floors, trimmed back away from the seat mounting plate studs.

Center console from Tristates in place under the dash, with the hole cut for an Alpine head unit. The little gray circle next to it is a screw-in mount for my Digital Jukebox bracket. I picked a head unit that has an auxiliary input so I can plug the MP3 player directly in, rather than use the radio broadcast thingy. You can see the carpet in the footboxes, as well as the front speakers.

Below the stereo you can see a hinged door for my mini-glovebox. I snagged a suitable box-shaped chunk of plastic from a wrecked Grand Am (I think) at a local wrecking yard, modified it, and riveted it into the console piece, then attached the hinged door with a cabinet lock....kinda nifty if I do say so myself. Had to have some place to stash the registration, insurance and miscellaneous stuff. I also wimped out and stuck a cupholder in front of the console.

Then I pulled the dash off and unhooked it, and used a couple of vacuum-cleaner attachment ends for my heater outlets. Hook 'em up with generic 1 1/2-inch hose, and the heater is done.

While Rena was working hard on the upholstery, I took the dash downstairs and removed all the wiring, guages and switches, and used the spray adhesive to attach the FFR-provided black textured vinyl cover. It has a thin layer of foam padding, which made it interesting to get the switches in place and tightened without marring it. It was just a matter of being very careful with the pliers, and using a tiny smidgen of WD-40 around the switch as I tighten the retaining nut so it doesn't catch.

I also found a use for the cans of food that seem to always end up at the back of the pantry unused - it holds the vinyl covering flaps down nicely to the back of the dash piece while the adhesive sets up.

And the finished product. Things aren't lined up quite as perfectly as I hoped, but still came out looking pretty good, I think. The red-covered switch above the ignition switch controls the electric fuel pump relay. For some reason I just to be able to flip up a safety cover when I fire this beast up!

6/09/04

I worked on other little things while Rena finished up the carpet on the cockpit rear and tranny tunnel. The 3M 77 All-Purpose spray adhesive works like a dream, but you have to be careful to mask areas off you don't want to become permanently sticky. She did a really good job!

Tranny tunnel, console, floors done. Adhesive curing on cockpit rear, with clothespins holding things in place.

And with the dash in place, stereo attached, and MP3 player hooked up. Nice sound you can't hear at all with the motor running!

And the cockpit rear wall with one of the Simpson harnesses partially in.

6/11/04

After getting the interior carpet in place and putting on the bulb-seal and weatherstripping, it was finally time to drop the body on. With help from my bro and paw-in-law, we got 'er done. We dragged the body buck out front, and made sure the 2x4 brace was still secured so the body didn't fold in on itself when we lifted it off the buck.

Lift...

Lower...

Line things up...

Nudge here, pull there...

And it drops into place. A good time to fire it up and listen to the music...

With the body it, it was just a matter of installing the windshield, doors, trunk, hood and trim items. I could finally cut the zipties supporting the bottom of the radiator and get the aluminum supports in like so:

Bolting the windshield to the frame took some serious contortion. I'm still sore.

Drilling mounting holes in the body for the LeMans roller gas cap.

And the trunk in place, with lighting, handle, quickjack bumpers and the plate bracket.

6/17/04

Finally, enough pieces were in place to take the beast in for title inspection. Things seemed to go reasonably well. Coughed up sales tax on the kit price before I could get my VIN number assigned. Riveted a VIN plaque onto the frame, and I'm good to go. Several people in the area warned me the inspector for the counties in the area is very difficult to deal with. Musta caught the inspector on a good day.

From the title inspector, straight to the county for registration and plates, then to the alignment rack. Initial settings are -.5 degrees negative camber, 4 degrees positive caster, and 1/16 inch toe-in. Steering wheel sits straight when the wheels are straight. Cruises nice and easy. The Mustang steering setup is very responsive on such a light car.

6/18/04

Got the first runs in with a nearly-completed car. People go ga-ga at stoplights and gas stations trying to get a closer look. Old folks, little kids, you name it. Mikey even likes to go for rides in it, as long as I don't goose the throttle too hard.

We might have to get him a pair of doggles, though.

And with one of my adopted nephews...went for a quick spin around the block.

6/19/04:

She's done! Well, 90% done, anyway. Titled, registered, and on the road. Still have the under-door aluminum and the splash panels to put in place, but there's nothing to stop me from enjoying the nice weather. Getting a nice tan already from cruising around. Already put 100 miles on 'er. Paint will have to wait...I need to just enjoy it for a while. Even in just the unfinished gelcoat, she gets all kinds of attention. I think this is the first one on this side of the state. It's been a frantic couple of weeks getting it ready for the summer cruisin' season. We were supposed to have it in a parade with some relatives who have a couple of antique cars, but a last-minute brake gremlin had to get solved.