Vicfreg

Hey Mike. I think I did, it's been a while since I got it. It is a Ford tooling piece. I have a lot of lessons learned from this adventure. Let me know when you are going to do it and we can talk on the phone. Vic

I finally finished installing the dash pad. A chore for me. I would rather take my engine out.... But, think it looks good, especially with the color matched dash panels. I also finished my console top plate. I put black Di-Noc on it, and it came out pretty well. Next mini-project is to install the rear quarter window power window actuators. That requires a little cutting. Thanks to the Forum members for helping with hints on that.

Hi Ersin, yes, thanks for that, that’s why I went back and looked and realized I had the wrong switch. Lol.

My car was originally a FMX and it was on the shifter, not the trans. My shifter base has a hole in the side for the wiring to pass through. I realize now I have the wrong switch…..

Thanks, I knew you would know that!!

Yeah, or you can call Tommy Tutone......

It was not clear to me from looking at the wiring diagrams, which wires were for the backup lights, and which are for the Neutral Safety Switch. Also, any tips on installing this switch? It looks like I need to remove my shift handle, which I am not sure I can do from inside the car..... Vic

Hope they bring some Vodka.....

Thanks for the tip on cutting near the sills. I will let it settle. I was wondering if anyone had used a steamer to help mold the carpet. I have never done that, not sure where to get one, but thought it would be interesting to try.

Thanks. The soldering iron sounds like a perfect solution!

Thanks everyone for the input. I will install the panel and then drill the holes in the door. I have all the other mounting hardware (door cups, etc)

Looking ahead to next month or so, where I will need to install my carpet. So, requesting suggestions/lessons learned/advice on 3 items: 1. Door panels My car did not come from the factory with deluxe door panels. So, there are no holes drilled in the lower part of the door to attach the carpeted area of the door panel to. Looking for a template, pictures, type of fasteners, etc so I can drill some holes and use the proper hardware to attach the panels to the doors. 2. Carpet I have not purchased my carpet yet. I have been told Rock Auto has the best product for the price. Looking for some recommendations there for where to get the carpet from, and which type of carpet backing to use. I am not that concerned about a Concours look, much more concerned with the fit, especially for my Convertible. I will be using Dynamat under the carpet. Any lessons learned with trimming the carpet, installing the carpet, molding/steaming the carpet, would be appreciated. Also techniques for installing the sill plates and kick panels. Thanks!!! Vic

Catching up on the latest mini-project. Got the power door locks and remote trunk release working. Getting close to the finish line with testing out all my "gadgets", preparing to button up the dash. IMG_2256.MOV

Wow, that’s interesting. Maybe they found that these calipers were twisting or something, and they had to add a bracket to Stiffen them up. I’ll have to look in the 1970 shop manual to see if it’s in there also. I had a 1968 factory S code, big block car, it had brake calipers like that, I don’t recall the bracket being on there

Orientation looks right to me. Bleed screw on top is always preferable. Not sure why that bracket is there, looks like a caliper guard of some type.

If it sounds like a shady deal, probably is. Also you will probably need the ECU and other computers and wiring harnesses out of the car to make it all work. Last comment is that a Coyote swap is a major undertaking, and requires significant structural and other modifications. There are members here that have done that, so search the forum and contact them for their experience.

Maxum, I have a couple of these originals, and they are black plastic, unpainted. You can soak them in Evapo-rust as well, to remove any road dirt/grime, etc. I used the SEM plastic paint process to re-coat them, and they came out fine. Just a caution....Your car in this picture looks good, everything is nice and aligned. You would need to take the grill, stone shield, moldings, front valence, inner fender splash shield, and front fenders off to get at these to paint them. So, if you are taking your car apart, have fun. If not, I personally would not go through all that trouble to paint them. Not sure if you can mask off and paint them with everything installed. If you take them off, keep the screws. They are kind of unique and install at a weird angle. Good luck! Vic

Ok, correction required. The doors had body work and were primed off of the car. After the alignment of all the body panels when the car was in primer, we left the doors on the car, and they were final coat painted mounted on the car. The first picture shows the final door to fender gaps when the car was in final prep prior to being dis-assembled and put int the booth.

Some items to pass along from my multi-month experience with my body shop, and my own initial alignment: Rebuilt the door hinges. Mustang Steve or equivalent kit that has new bushings and zerk fittings. You will never win the alignment battle with old hinges. My advice is to NOT buy reproduction hinges. I will let others comment on that. Make sure your door latch post and mounting screws are in good shape and don't move around Make sure your door locks (in the door) are in good shape, and the mounting screws are not ovaled or loose Agree with Ed and keep your fenders either hanging, or standing vertically, not laying flat on the ground. Inspect your hood hinges and make sure they are not worn out or move around too much Install the doors first, get them aligned best you can Install the cowl, hood and fenders. The captive nut is a pain in the neck. I had one missing. We got the fenders aligned, and then tack welded a nut in the captive nut hole to fix that issue. Get some help and get the fenders aligned to get a good door gap on each side. Then work the hood to match the fenders. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Have a beer. Repeat.... Once you get the alignment you want, tighten down all the bolts. Next step is recommended, but optional if you are doing something concours, etc Get some very small flat head trim nails about 3/4" inch long. Next to each fender bolt on top, drill a tiny hole that will just fit (interference fit) the finish nail. These will serve as "alignment pins" when you re-install the fenders and hood. Do this also with the hood hinge to hood bolts. I had all of my body panels and doors painted off of the car. These were reinstalled by the body shop using the alignment pins. The doors were installed first and aligned without any pins, based on the rearward facing gap between the doors and the rear fenders, and the lower gap between the doors and the rockers. You may have to use shims on your door hinges. When I took my car apart, I found some factory installed shims under my hinges on the body mount side. Also, ,my doors did not have any window glass or window actuators installed, so the body shop used small sandbags/weights when aligning the doors in that condition. Otherwise, your doors will be sag when you load them up with the glass and window actuators. In the end it came out good, but his is a lot of work. Totally agree with doing as much as possible with the car in primer. Don't worry about scratching the primer, if your body shop knows what they are doing, they will sand most of that off anyway. I will post some pics shortly. Vic

I have the Global West (+) 3 UCAs on my '70 Convertible. It let me put a bunch of Caster into my alignment (more than 5 degrees). I have the MNR 733s. I will post some pictures shortly. Highly advise doing the Shelby drop while you are at it, and also doing the shock tower "dogbone" reinforcements while you are in there. Will post some pics shortly. Vic

I’m nearly ready to install my console, it has the Shelby gauge pod installed on it. I have an automatic transmission, and I would like to install the console fully assembled. It’s a pretty tight fit trying to get the console over the automatic shifter. Any lessons learned or suggestions would be helpful!! Vic

Neat fix! For sure would not leave it that way