Cantedvalve

I put my cluster in today, but I couldn't remember what the "correct" screw looked like (after nearly 8 years apart). I only care because I want to be sure the screws I use aren't needed somewhere else. th one si used were Phillips head. They worked just fine, and I only had 4 of them, so they seem to fit, but if anyone has or can get pics of the right ones, that would be great. Gratuitous installed picture included.

@mustangstofear does your headliner require the removal of the A-pillar trim? If it does, i think it means I have to remove the dash pad. Hopefully not? Alao, you doing any Black Friday deals? ;-)

Yeah, I do most of my best work when I am defying the wife's wishes... just don't tell her!

Looks fairly similar. Guess that is as intended.

I have my original seats that I am putting in the car (eventually). I am concerned that the trim doesn't seem to fit well. Pics attached. Is this normal? This is passenger side

Okay, so it sounds like you both describe something more than just the jute being under your carpets. There is underlayment as well. That could be why mine doesn't quite fit correctly. I must explore this further! Any non-Cali car owners out there want to chime in?

So I stripped all the original carpeting from my car... 8 years ago. There was the carpeting, and some other stuff underneath it that the mice like to play with. What I DONT know is what layers SHOULD be under my carpeting, and what function they serve. I have heard that there is mass-backing, jute, underlayment... I would have to guess at some point at least a couple of those terms are redundant. What layers SHOULD be on the floor of my car?

Eh... had to strip the glove box door and redo it. Something fell on it last night and gouged the paint (and metal... let's call it patina). I tried to fix it, but I was just laying too much paint on it. Easy enough to strip. I used a stiff wire bristle brush and was able to get the original paint out of the pattern as well. I've got it coated in semi-flat at the moment. Need to get more metallic tomorrow. Should end up for the better... got the pattern cleaned out better this time.

I'm pretty sure that's not going to buff out.

I'll get some this weekend. They are buried right now

I'm having fun... that's what is most important. that and driving it when it is done!

Close up of trim pieces

... and proceeded to the rest of the trim pieces. Right now, the only satin black left up front is the dash, gauge cluster, and passenger panel. Oh and radio bezel and steering column plastic collar thingy.

So I've been working on the interior. Why you ask? Well because in order to go much farther, I need to get the gauge panel in, and get power to the coil. So like a good ADD-riddled Mustang owner, I went full bore into refinishing stuffs. I had originally decided on satin black for interior trim, including the lower dash and headliner trim, both of which I knew were the "black metallic" as I am calling it. I had everything painted and done... then the nagging thought in the back of my mind... "but it isn't right..." So now I had to set off on an adventure to find a black metallic that was enamel compatible - that's right you purists, I'm using enamel. Three reasons... a) enamel is prevalent, plentiful, and price effective, 2) I had read that it would lay down thinner than lacquer (right or wrong, that is what I read... not on this site), and iii) I know how to spray enamels... no experience with lacquers. Given the results, I am beyond happy. I found a Rustoleum Carbon Mist Metallic at a local Home Depot (I found a Universal Black Metallic by Rustoleum too, but that was like spraying glitter). I used semi-flat black and topped it with 2 light coats (from 12+ inches away) of the metallic. The hue matches what original I could find almost perfectly. There is more metallic to my method, but IMHO there wasn't enough from the factory, as you could only really see it when it was wet. I started with the headliner trim and the glove box door...

Here is the dash this morning. I think it looks awesome. Now I need to decide whether I want/need the gauge bezel to be metallic as well...

So the subs showed up today. I was off for a carpet cleaning in the basement (floods tend to require that after everything is dried out), and I happened to be home to get them. Initial reactions... these things will DEFINITELY fit under my stock seats without platform mods everything you need is in the box. Even speaker level to RCA adapters should you be using/splicing into stock wiring wiring harness is awesome... but will get modified so I can run one set of power lines to the rear instead of two Not terribly sold on the idea of a remote for the sub. I know I can choose not use it, but it will default to some sort of settings, and probably not the ones I want. Worse... I have TWO remotes with 2 subs. It's in my to-do list now. Looking forward to it!

When I had my driver quarter replaced, they didn't preserve the valence pocket at the back. This is a possible solution... hmmm...

Mine is satin black now. I put a dash topper on it. Those things actually look pretty good if done right. I gave it a coat of satin black ENAMEL ;-) Why cant I use forum smileys from my iPad?

Was the dash pad black metallic too? Or just black?

So I stayed home from work today (vacation) to get the carpets cleaned in the basement, and to paint the lower dash. Something I have dreaded for fear of messing it up... ended up being a pretty sweet job! I cleaned the dash with steel wool and soapy water. I then dried it with a lint free rag and a hair dryer. I used the hair dryer to dry it obviously, but also to warm the metal up. It's only 50F in the shop, so the paint needed a little help. I then burned through the Sunday newspaper masking stuff off (I seriously overdid it), and warmed the metal up some more while the paint was warming up in a bucket of warm water. I did the exact same as my glove compartment... just enough semi flat black to get good coverage, and then 2 very light coats of the metallic. Not sure you can see from the pictures, but here they are. i liked it so much I went back and did all the trim with a dusting of metallic. I also did the kickpanela (which were not painted metallic, rather the metallic was in the plastic, or at least it appears). now to decide if I want to do the gauge panel and the passenger panel... and the radio bezel... and the steering column plastic collar...

Excellent work. What is that weathered (sounded better than rusty... at least in my head) bracket about halfway down?

So I didn't paint the hinge. I did set them next to each other and compare. I thought my solution would be lighter than the original. Ends up... well look for yourself. I think it came out maybe a shade darker, but no complaints

How would that differ on a 1970 though? Didn't they dial back on the bedazzling a bit for their pinnacle year? ;-)

Why lacquer? I went with enamel. I can't see a reason for going lacquer. Enamels will go over either, seem to be more durable, and more plentiful. Lacquers seem like just asking for trouble. I tried some lacquer from NPD awhile back. Was not happy with it.

I went a little heavy on the Carbon Mist for the headliner trim. Oh well. I did the glove box door next. I went lighter on the Carbon Mist Metallic and used semi-flat black. I used the semi-flat black just enough to get full coverage, and after it was done, I hit it with a dusting of the Carbon Mist.