Man that is looking awesome. Great job you are doing on this project.

 

Thanks... A little Mustang on the inside but the design theme is exactly the one that the Mustang borrowed from 1958-63 Tbirds so it all worked together well with this bodystyle.

 

New chrome gauge surround trim.

Also power switch locations adapted for use in the Mustang console. I used a Ford power mirror joystick that went into the cigarette lighter hole perfectly. For the power window switches I simply bonded the originl Tbird switches to the underside of the Mustang fog lamp switch opening. I took a coin holder/switch delete plug and trimmed out the top ring to make a perfect bezel to trim out the power window switches. And what is normally the Mustang's convertible top switch is now the power antenna switch.

Next work ahead:

I stripped the improved 1987-88 style Tbird door panels of vinyl and lower carpeting and I will soon be recovering in black vinyl with all the plastic exposed areas of the door panel painted black including the armrest pads, armrest supports, map pockets, speaker grilles and door pull straps. New black carpet will trim out the lower part of the door.

I also have to fill the gaping unused ebrake handle slot with some vinyl. I will likely make it a lined funtional slot to hold stuff like a magazine, a map or mail. Or maybe I will just get lazy and put a solid piece of flush fitting vinyl. I don't really care to change the original foot operated parking brake.

 

Your creativity is a great asset. And those trim rings look fantastic with the silver bezel.

On my old Sentra I adapted 84 Volvo 240 power mirrors to it, and the switches were placed on the center console too. I also put inside trunk & gas door openers out of old power lock motors from that same Volvo.

 

Pretty slick use of the center console openings there. A map holder/pocket for the unused e-brake handle location is a nice solution.

 

Those rings are a PIA to put in. They are irregular and do not snap into the gauge openings as they should. A 10 minute job for me to "snap in" the rings took a couple of hours. I had to trim the ridge on the back opening of the cluster face around each gauge opening so the snap tab on the rings would clear. Even with that they would not stay in place on their own. I made the mistake of using super glue to try to secure one of the rings and the one next to it got away and fell inside the cluster face next to the lens. You can see the big black mark on the left that left damage plus there is some damage to the clear lens. I had to order a brand new cluster lens assembly. I am going to try to secure the rings into the new lens with some clear art and crafts glue that is water solible. Hopefully this time it will be a perfect look. I needed a new lens anyway since the gauge cluster was used and had a few scratches that just never looked good even after polishing.

 

Yeah it is just not worth it to me to change the parking brake configuration since it would require so many parts to swap and make it work. So a map pocket the slot will be.

I thought about using dual convertible top switches for the left and right windows in that place and just locating the power antenna switch somewhere else. This will require four relays and some custom wiring. I already have two relays so the convertible top switch will activate the power antenna. This is because the convertible top switch is only a three wire hookup and a power antenna needs a switch that can reverse polarity to the motor while isolating grounds without shorting and blowing fuses. The same goes for power window switches, so I thought it was much simpler to use the existing old school original factory switches in the console location instead. I really did not want to relocate switches to the doors since there is so much wiring involved.

As for my power seat, the wiring originally goes to the console area, but it was easy to pull the wire over to the left side of the set where I will install a earlier Crown Vic style set switch on the side of the seat bottom which is the same location on new Mustangs and most Ford cars anyway.

 

Coming along very nicely! I liked your Mustang steering wheel better though...matched the curvy dash.

 

I have debated for myself the steering wheel issue to death! I even tried a 89-93 Tbird wheel which looked great but sit about 2" too close to my chest due to the fact the that MN-12 Birds have a steeply sloped windshield with the dash set back.

I like the 1980-83 Tbird four spoke wheel center emblem cap so much that for me it just looks right. Ever since I completed the black and silver dash theme, the Tbird emblem cap is perfect. I have to use a Fox wheel no matter what to have the reach right. Plus I have cruise control. I want a factory wheel to make it look like it came that way. Sure the Bird emblem is now incorrect with the exterior ones I need to use since the nose is from a 87-88 and taillamps from 85-86. However Ford was famous for using mismatched emblems, for instance the 1977-79 Tbird used the 1975-76 bird emblem with folded up wings on the steering wheel and the emblem was a different design that the ones used on the exterior.

Fox bodied Fords and Panther cars up to 1983 used a horn switch on the end of the turn signal stalk. When the four spoke wheel was discontinued for use on the Tbird but carried over to use on Crown Victorias, they developed a vinyl horm pad to take place of the switchless emblem. I had a need to modify my Tbird emblem cap because I switched to a 1986-88 Taurus all in one combo switch with a single stalk and I no longer had a turn switch with the horn switch on the end.

So, I simply took the vinyl covering off of a Crown Vic hornpad and bonded the horn switch base to the back of my Tbird emblem cap. Now the horn works when I press on the Tbird emblem cap.

 

I found a two-toned black and gray steering wheel cover and painted all the gray to silver to match the dash trim. I wanted this two tone look for a more classic feel. The steering wheel cover will soon be permanently stiched into place. Yes, stiched into place!

I also updated the centerstack trim to the later model SN95 double-din radio opening which will give me potential later to add an LCD touch screen audio bluetooth navigation system. For now I will procure a used late model Ford double-din audio unit and use that until the time is right to change it out. I gotta prioritize mechanical restorations at this point.


The roof console is also installed.

I will be progressing to recovering the door panels soon. The result will be an interesting unexpected look.

 

"Waiting for pics of the finished door panels".

 

I am going to start on the upper part where it was covered in vinyl. I will have to wait for when I get my new carpeting to finish the lower half because I need to buy extra bulk yardage to cover the rear deck under the back window and the lower door panels.

 

Here is the surprise...

Silver painted pull straps and armrest pads... I sorta wanted the illusion of billet aluminum to tie in with the silver dash trim...

I am not all the way done yet but here it is sans the lower carpeting and the speaker grilles...

I almost left out the fact that I purposely covered over the flush mounted door lock buttons just below the front edge of the armrest pads. All I have to do is press the vinyl and ka-klick!

Also the newer 2003 double-din Ford radio is installed. Pics later...

 

 

slick dude, slick

 

A couple more things updated...

Double din Ford audio and electrochromatic dimming rearview mirror...

 

Any new exterior work?

 

No I am at a standstill for a while until finances get better. I really don't have any additional exterior mods planned. I am pretty much set with the 87-88 nose now in place. It is awaiting the install of a brand new grille I purchased to use later. The body is in great shape and it will simply be refinished and eventually receive a nice set of wheels and tires. I have a lot of work to do on the drivetrain and mechanicals for it to be roadworthy. New paint will come after it is mechanically sound. Last will be finishing up the interior with recovered sets, new carpeting and headliner. I have to install new side window channels and dew wipes as well.

 

Looking good!

 

looks great, nice job!