Coupe Restomod

[Angel 24]

I normally don't like gold colored cars but I must admit, with the black accents, it does look attractive. This is the first gold car that I have seen that actually looks tough. Good call!

[rangerdoc 22]

Thanks! It'll look even better when I get the new wheels and exhaust, but those will have to wait while I recover from this portion of the project. Getting the stripes across the rear spoiler will help as well. I'm hoping to get it out for some pictures in the next couple weeks to get a better look at things.

[Rcodenewf 44]

Rangerdoc, I think that the colour of the car and the interior is awesome. You've done a terrific job....:thumbup:.........John

[stangme428 33]

lookin great!!:thumbup: cant wait for the pics in the sun... see that gold and black contrast..

[rangerdoc 22]

Today was more little stuff. I put in the shifter bezel and finished the weatherstrip channels. I called my local source for some OEM drip rail moldings and they are going to look. He didn't sound very upbeat about having any in decent condition.

 

I redid the instrument panel. Since my chrome rings were shot I bit the bullet and bought a complete new panel. My lenses weren't too bad but I replaced those as well along with the circuit board and voltage regulator. Turned out my voltage regulator connectors were installed backwards. When I called CJ Mustang about it they told me they knew of the problem (nice to tell their customers prior to ordering!) but the manufacturer won't change them since more cars use them in the current configuration. I had to pry the retaining tabs off and flip the thing the other way.

 

The picture is of my LED lights just to show them.

 

I also painted my new headrest retainers to match. Who knew snow would make such a good parts holder!

 

My clock is getting redone as we speak and my other dash backorder parts are on the way so hopefully I'll have it all done in another week.

[Angel 24]

I like those LED's! Thats what I was planning to do to my stock gauges. I have about 30-40 of those 194 led bulbs because I ordered them in packs of 10. I had to order many sets because none of them looked like the white color that I want. Nice to see them in a color other than green haha.

[Jayru 17]

those LED's look great! I can barely see my gauges at night. The glass is clean, so i used to think it was just poor design, but i think the factory lights are just too dim now. The LED's make them look as bright as modern gauges!

 

Can i just install the LED's without changing anything else? Where did you get them from?

[rangerdoc 22]

For what its worth, I still have the stock diffusers installed as well. The instructions tell you to remove them if you want. Mine were in good shape so I just left them in.

 

I bought the dash LED kit from NPD. I think they are actually from Mustang Project though. There are two versions...get the brighter/dimable version. I can't remember if you need anything else as I converted the entire car to LEDs and had to change both of my flashers to support that.

[Jayru 17]

For what its worth, I still have the stock diffusers installed as well. The instructions tell you to remove them if you want. Mine were in good shape so I just left them in.

 

I bought the dash LED kit from NPD. I think they are actually from Mustang Project though. There are two versions...get the brighter/dimable version. I can't remember if you need anything else as I converted the entire car to LEDs and had to change both of my flashers to support that.

 

I've never had my gauges out yet, what are the diffusers you're talking about?

[rangerdoc 22]

They are a blue cover that goes over the light bulb socket in the panel to spread out the light from the bulb. Many cars have bad diffusers from the heat of the light bulbs melting them over the years. Because the LEDs are a different type of bulb they don't require a diffuser. If I were to remove mine the color would be different and I assume they would be a little brighter.

[Pakrat 1,043]

I redid the instrument panel. Since my chrome rings were shot I bit the bullet and bought a complete new panel.

 

I have been trying everything I can to avoid biting the bullet myself, my panel is otherwise perfectly fine except for the chrome rings being yellowed now. Prior to a repop being made available I've seen many a car with it painted silver or all balck and it's just not the same as the chrome, shame to spend $125 though for a chromed item that gets covered up 99% by black paint after the vacuform, that's my struggle right now anyway. I tried all kinds of things to redo the chrome myself and all have failed or look like crap. The best option is cutting them out of chrome tape but the inner curve is so complex that it is impossible to cut from something flat without having a seam in it somewhere. My last effort I hope to put forth this winter is to combine the look of the stock and deluxe panel treatment into something custom since my car is modified now anyway. I plan to paint the entire inner part including the chrome ring with argent paint and then apply a chrome ring around the outer flat circle part of the face that is black. I have nothing to lose but some time and I think it will look pretty good, just not stock. If not then I can always pony up the cash for the repop.

[rangerdoc 22]

Pak-I'm with you. I didn't want to replace the panel just for the rings as nothing else is wrong with mine as well. It seems like such a waste. I read all over about various fixes and like you said, nothing really works. When CJ Pony had their sale before x-mas and since I was replacing everything but the actual guages I decided to go for it. Luckily, everything fit pretty good considering its a repop item. I only had to trim some extra plastic off a couple tabs.

[Jayru 17]

Last question - My gauge bezel doesn't look like yours, it has a flat surface over the front of all the gauges which seems to have been wood grain but painted black by the PO. What bezel do i have??

 

I like the look of yours better though! looks tougher with all the raised circles around the gauges!

[Pakrat 1,043]

You must have the deluxe wood grain bezel that someone painted black then.

[rangerdoc 22]

That's a shame someone would paint over the wood grain.

 

For today's excitement I have a video!! Get out your popcorn. Naa...just a short clip of the hood scoop and tail light sequentials. I discovered I was having a grounding problem with the hood scoop lights even though I followed the directions, but it is an easy fix.

 

[69shelbycoupe 11]

sequentials are nice but they seem to be flashing to fast. Are they adjustable to slow them down a little bit?

[rangerdoc 22]

They are not adjustable. These are the hazard flashers, so they might be a little different than the actual turn signals. They seem ok to me. Now you have me curious if there is a difference in the speed between hazards and turn signals. I'll have to check it out for the heck of it.

[69shelbycoupe 11]

They are not adjustable. These are the hazard flashers, so they might be a little different than the actual turn signals. They seem ok to me. Now you have me curious if there is a difference in the speed between hazards and turn signals. I'll have to check it out for the heck of it.

 

lol, island they just seemed fast but that might just be new technology compared to the 60's

[70mstang 11]

Dang those sequentials are freakin SWEET! I've got the set up for the tail lights but this almost makes me want to add lights to my hood scoop! Love it =)

[Pakrat 1,043]

Sequential tail lights are on my list for the rears at some point, way down though compared to the other stuff I need to do first but some day. I'm kind of mixed on the hood scoop ones, definitly cool though. When I was watching the vid a little KITT voice was going off in my head with the Cylon sound. I never really found the scoop lights in general something necessary and almost distracting, I removed mine and modified the underside of the scoop and added screens to extract some extra cold air off the windshield into the air cleaner, my whole scoop is functional though too so I guess if the whole scoop is cosmetic like originally designed then it makes more sense to add a cool factor like the signals, I'm sure in 69' that wowed a lot of folks.

[rangerdoc 22]

I was hesitant to add the hood LEDs as well. I finally decided to do it only because every other light (except the headlights) are LED and to match the rear sequentials. There certainly is no need for them and most people will never see them operate. But this was one of those "why not" things.

 

Thanks for the KITT comment. Now I'm going to think of that every time I drive! :)

[Pakrat 1,043]

[rangerdoc 22]

Ah man...that's just wrong! I guess its a good thing I don't have a black car!

[rangerdoc 22]

Not much today. Finished the wiring for the hood lights and put in the seat backs after putting in the new head rest guides (whatever they're called).

 

Question for today:

 

The cable that goes down the shifter that allows the selector to move is about 1/4 inch too long. This prevents the button from popping back out after being depressed. Is there a way to make this cable shorter? I tried moving the little ball but it won't budge. I tried to squeeze a fishing weight on there but it was too big and wouldn't allow the cable to engage the locking mechanism.

 

Also, I'm in desperate need of 2 clips for the top rear window molding. They simply do not exist from my research.

[Angel 24]

Are you talking about the metal clips that simply pop into place? Or the plastic parts that slide into the molding? I have bought the metal clips before and they are used on many different cars. Is this what you are talking about?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Rear-Window-Molding-Clips-18pc-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZYearQ3a1969QQhashZitem5ade41b84bQQitemZ390275905611QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories