Black interior interchangeability guide

[50 Proof]

EDIT 8/19/04 - see page 5 for an updated version of the article

This is only a start. It's not perfect, PLEASE correct any errors you find. Please feel free to add to it because I know I have left out some stuff. For example, I'm clueless when it comes to the sunshades. I don't know if i'm posting this in the correct forum, but i'm hoping, when this is complete enough, one of the mods or admin can put it up somewhere with other tech articles.

Seat Belts
1990 Front seat belts will mount on your 1979-1989 Fox Body mustang, however 1991-1993 Front seat belts, have different mounting tabs, and will not work on 1979-1989 mustangs without cutting new slots for the mounting tabs. 1979-1983 rear black seat belts will work on all 1979-1989 mustangs that are doing a black interior conversion. 1990-1993 mustangs have rear shoulder harness seat belts, and will not directly bolt into a 1979-1989 mustang. If 1990-1993 rear seat belts are used on 79-89 foxes, then the 90-93 rear seat needs to be used, and the seat mounting brackets will need to be welded onto the floor pan, as well as modifications for mounting the seat belts.
For 83-89 mustangs, you can use 79-83 black front and rear seat belts, or 1990 front seat belts with 79-83 rear black belts. All the black buckles are the same for 79-83 and 90-93.
If you plan on using 1990 Front seat belt retractors with a 79-89 Mustang, the 90 seat belt retractors don't have that cable that plugs into the door jam. If you use 1990 front seat belts, you will have a hole in your door jam. To fix this, you can get a rubber plug to plug up the hole. There is an oval rubber plug used on all 79-93 Mustangs under the rear bumper cover where the rear quarter panel meets the tail light panel. I've heard 79 and 80 mustangs have this plug in the door jam and that you can use this plug from those two year mustangs.

Rear ¼ Trim Panels
In 1990, ford mounted the front seat belts about an inch or so higher up. So 1990-1993 rear 1/4 trim panels will not work on a 1979-1989 mustang, without relocating the seat belt mount.
If your converting your 1979-1982 mustang to black interior, then you must use 1979-1982 rear ¼ trim panels. If you have a 1983-1986 mustang, for a direct fit without modifications, you can only use 1983 rear ¼ trim panels. 1983 ¼ trim panels are the same design as the 84-86 panels. 79-82 panels are a different design, and will not directly swap over to 83-86 mustangs. 1983 is the last year for black interior, so if your converting your 83-86 mustang to black interior, good luck locating the ¼ trim panels. If your converting your 87-89 mustang to black interior, then you have two options for ¼ trim panels, if you plan on keeping your 87-89 style interior. You can relocate the front seat belt mount hole and use 90-93 ¼ trim panels, but you’ll also need to convert your rear seat belts to the 90-93 rear shoulder harness belts as well, since 90-93 panels have cut outs for shoulder harness belts. Your other option is to have your 87-89 style panels, dyed black.

Dash
1979-1983 black dashes will swap over to 1984-86 Mustangs, however the dash frame on 79-82 is different. You’ll need to swap your 84-86 dash under frame onto the 79-82 dash, to get everything to bolt up. I believe 1983 dash frames will work on 84-86 mustangs. Do note that the radio opening is different then 84-86 dash radio openings. The glove box latch on 79-83 dashes is different, as well as the glove box. So when using a 79-83 dash, you’ll need to use your 84-86 glove box latch and glove box. 79-83 glove boxes are to large and will not work with your 84-86 mustang. They interfere with the heater core box. Your only option here is to dye your 84-86 glove box black. I know a lot of people are picky about having to dye their interior, but if done right, it will look good. Ford actually painted/dyed a lot their interior. If you look at your 79-86 dash, you’ll see overspray underneath the gauge cluster. You can actually paint/dye your 84-86 dash, if you don’t want to go through the trouble of locating and installing a 79-83 dash. If you use a 79-83 black dash, you may need to drill holes in the dash for where the fuel door/trunk release buttons go.

T-Top Specific
1983 T-Top trim panels(not the End Caps) that cover the T-Top latches, will not work on 1984-1986 Mustangs. The 1983 latch trim panels are a different size, and wont work. Dying your 84-86 T-Top latch panels black is your only option here. The 1983 black end caps will work on your 84-86 mustang, 1979-1982 end caps will work on 83-86 mustangs, but you will need to trim the end caps. The front windshield pillar trim can be had off of a 1979-1983 Mustang hard top or T-Top. It’s all the same, however for T-Tops, ford actually cut the hard top pillar trim panels, so that they wont interfere with the T-Top end cap. If you use hard top windshield Pillar trim pieces, you’ll need to cut the pillar trim pieces where it interferes with the T-Top end cap. This isn’t a big deal, as this is what Ford did as well. Also note that Ford cut the rear ¼ trim panels as well so that they wouldn’t interfere with the rear T-Top end caps. Hard top ¼ trim panels will interfere with the rear T-Top end cap, so you’ll have to cut off the part of the ¼ trim panel that interferes. If your lucky enough to find any of these pieces from a T-Top specific car, then you’ll see how Ford cut these pieces for you, and you wont have to do any cutting.

Convertible Specific
You don’t have too many options here. 1983 was the first year for convertibles, and the last year for black interior. 1983 verts did not have rear power windows. So if you are lucky enough to find black 1983 rear vert ¼ trim panels for your 84-86 convertible, then you’ll either need to convert to manual windows, or modify the panels to mount a power window switch, if your vert is equipped with rear power windows. 1990-1993 rear ¼ trim panels will not work on 83-86 convertibles, unless you convert to 1990-1993 front seat belts, and convert your power window harness to work with the 90-93 rear power window switch. If you can’t find 1983 rear ¼ trim panels for your 84-86 vert, then your only other option is to dye the panels that you already have.

Kick panels and door sills
I believe 90-93 kick panels would be a direct swap for 84-98 mustangs. The 79-83 black kick panels are slightly different. The screw hole that mounts the kick panels to the carpet, is located in a different spot.
Convertible kick panels are different then hatch/coupe kick panels. Door sills from 79-93 are all the same.

Headliner
Coupe header is different then hatchback headliner. The two are not interchangeable, so don't try. 90-92 coupe headliner will work in 79-92 coupes. In 1993, ford changed the dome light, so if you use 93 headliner, you'll have to upgrade your dome light. The same is true for hatchback headliner.

Seats
79-83 hatchback rear black seats wont work with 84-86 hatchbacks. 79-83 is not split folding like how 84-86 is. 90-93 rear seats wont work on 79-89 hatchbacks or coupes unless you upgrade your rear seat mounts to 90-93 rear seat mounts. 79-83 rear coupe black seats will work on all 79-89 coupes. I have 79-83 black rear coupe seats in my 88 coupe, everything fits great and looks OEM.

Carpet
Coupe and hatch carpet will interchange. You can use 79-83 or 90-93. If you use 79-83, you might have to cut additional holes, but the actual carpet will be the same. Convertible carpet is different then hatch/coupe carpet. There are bigger holes cut in the sill area for the seat belts. In addition, convertible carpet goes up higher into the kick panel area.

Center Console
79-83 Black Center consoles will work with all 79-86 mustangs/capris. However, if your using a 79-83 center console in an 84-86 mustang/capri, you may want to swap your stock clock/warning system into the 79-83 console. 85/86 mustangs have orange clocks mounted in their center consoles. You can remove an 85/86 clock/warning system and swap it into a 79-83 console, to keep everything displayed like how it should be for your year mustang. 90-93 black center consoles will swap into any 87-93 mustang. 90-93 black consoles will need a hole drilled for the fuel door release button.

Door Panels
83-86 Convertible door panels and 79-86 hatch/coupe door panels are different. Convertible door panels have more carpet on their door panels then coupe/hatch door panels. The carpet on a convertible door panel goes a little less then half way up the door panel. I've seen an 83 GT Convertible with black interior that had door panels that look very similar to the 85/86 Mustang GT door panels. IMO, for a convertible, these are the best door panels to get, but are very scarce and will be next to impossible to find. Another option is to use 1983 Mustang GLX Convertible black door panels, or convert to the newer style 90-93 door panels. If you try to use hatchback door panels on your 84-86 Mustang, you'll have to modify the drivers door panel slightly because 84-86 Convertibles had front and rear power windows and a 4 way power window control switch on the driverside door panel, where as hatchbacks only have a 2 way power window switch on the driver side door panel.
The 83 GT hatch door panels do not look the same as 85/86 GT door panels, but the 83 GT door panels do look the same as 84 GT door panels. 83 GLX door panels look closest to stock 85/86 GT door panels, but do have significant differences. IMO the 83 GT and GLX door panels are the best looking door panels for a 79-86 black interior conversion, without having to convert your doors to work with 90-93 door panels. IMO, I do not like the way 79-82 door panels look, but to each their own and they will still work. If your converting a 79-82, then you can stick with 79-82 panels or grab some 83 GT or GLX door panels. If your converting an 83-86 to black interior, i'd recommend sticking with 83 GT or GLX door panels. If your converting an 87-89 to black interior, stick with 90-93 door panels.
90-93 convertible door panels are different then 90-93 coupe/hatch door panels. The inner door felt weatherstripping that runs along the width of the window, is longer on convertibles then on hatch/coupes. You can use convertible door panels with an 87-93 hatch/coupe, but the door felt weatherstripping will need to be trimmed.
Do note that some Mustangs did not come with power windows, so if your Mustang/Capri has power windows make sure you get door panels for power windows, and vice versa if you don't have power windows. Also some model mustangs between the years 79-83, had the inside door latch mounted towards the bottom of the door panel, so pay attention to the location of the inside door latch and make sure the door latch on the donor car is located in the same spot as your door latch(the door latch that you pull to open the door).

Cargo Covers - info provided by Foxchassis
The privacy shade/cargo cover breaks down as follows:

'80-early '84 (same length as late '84-'86)
late '84-'86 (same length as '80-early '84)
'87-'89 (shorter than '80-'86 due to redesigned trim)
'90-'93 (shorter than '87-'89 due to redesigned trim to accomodate rear shoulder betls)

'80-early '84 attaches to the underside of the liftgate
late '84-'93 attaches to the rear plastic that surrounds the liftgate striker

I'd like to give credit to those have provided me with info and have corrected me. Thanks to GNVair from corral.net for telling me about the seat belt retractor plugs. Thanks to GT350R for noting the differences between convertible carpet and coupe/hatch carpet, and pointing out the seat belt retractor cable issue, and the info about T-Top end caps, and thanks to Foxchassis for providing the info on the cargo cover differences.

[Kevins89notch5.0]

Damn, looks great! If you want, I can provide a picture of the difference in a 79 Vs. a 89 kick panel.

[GT350R]

Convertible carpet is different then hatch or notch.

Big holes cut in the sill area for teh seat belts.

Also, convertible carpet goes up higher into the kick panel area. So cutting holes in hatch or notch carpet to use in a convertible will show a hole through to teh metal.

On the seatbelts, you forgot about the cable that does into the door jamb area to control the recoil. Only 79-89 has it. I dont believe the 90's have it but I can check my GT vert. So using 90 front black belts as you stated would leave a hole in the door jamb about the size of a quarter.

Using 79-82 rear quarter panels is no big deal. They just dont have the pocket next to the rear seat, and you need to trim down the backside of the holes that the mounting screws go through.

79-82 T-top trim caps are easily trimmed to fit. Took me about 4 minutes.

Convertible kick panels will not work on a hatch or notch.

[50 Proof]

If it's not to much trouble, shoot some pics of those kick panels, i'd like to add pictures to the write up.


GT350R - thanks for pointing that stuff out. I'll make updates to it. I wasn't sure what you ment by this, i can't picture it right now, maybe it's to early still...

So cutting holes in hatch or notch carpet to use in a convertible will show a hole through to teh metal.

I'm sure there are ways to get the 79-82 1/4 trim panels to work, but i'm not sure how. None of the screw holes lined up when I tried on my 86, and the seat belt mount hole was a little different, and the panels wouldn't line up right to go under the door sills. If you or anyone else has any info on how to adapt the 79-82 panels, let me know, and i'll add it to the write up. I wanted to at least provide a writeup for interchangeability with the least amount of modifications. Thanks and keep the corrections coming.

[v8only]

I'm a little confused on the vert carpet issue. I have carpet on the way now from a 90-93, but I think it is from a notch/hatch going into my 86 vert, am I going to have problems?

at one point you had a typo that said like 79-98, but now I can't find it.

The article is very good and complete, looks like you spent a lot of time on it. Perhaps you should include pics of your car as examples of the conversion process.

-on the seatbelt issue, you didn't mention it, but I'm pretty sure the 79-83 black fronts will work for 84-89 as well.

-also, on the convertible rear 1/4 pieces, it is important to mention that those pieces are actually a 2 piece design, vs the 83-89 design, which is completely different and a one piece design. For that matter, I'm not sure, but there is a good chance even if you find the 83 vert 1/4 panels, you may have fitment issues with it going into an 84-89.

-You didn't mention anything about door panels. We spent a lot of time looking at 10 thousand different door panel types. Note that the 83gt black door panels seem to be the only style completely identical to the 84-86gt style,....but you'll never find a pair.

[50 Proof]

Regarding the vert 1/4 trim panels, 87-89 don't have black 1/4 trim panels, and I doubt you'll want to use 83 vert 1/4 trim panels in a newer 87-89 mustang since the interior is different. So most likely 87-89 will have to dye their panels or adapt to the newer 90-93 black ones. With that in mind, are you saying the 83 black 1/4 trim panels are different then the 84-86 panels, other then the manual window crank on the 83 panels?
You can use 79-83 black seat belts on an 87-89 if you want, but they wont look oem in an 87-89 mustang. 1990 fronts would look more oem with an 87-89 black interior conversion, however 79-83 will work, to each their own.
i'll ad something about door panels later. I don'tknow whats involved in using 90-93 black door panels on a 79-86, so thats why I have left it out for now.

[v8only]

what about my carpet, what do you think???


the rear vert 1/4 panel are all identical from 84-89 in style. Yes, besides the window crank being manual, those rear 83 1/4 vert panels are distinctive to 1983 alone, as they unbolt in two pieces, vs the 84-89 style which are one piece design, for that reason, I haven't attempted to put the 83 pieces I have on my vert.

Next time you are over, I'll show you. If you want, we can try a trial fitment on an 83 piece into my 86 vert just to see if it fits or not

[50 Proof]

I don't know what to say about your carpet. Maybe GT350R can answer your question better? We'll have to check out your convertible carpet and compare to the carpet in my notch and see if it will interchange and still look good.

lets check out those 83 panels and see how they work. I'll have to revise the convertible section.

[cjwanner2000]

i know it may be beyond the scope of what you're trying to do here, but you should think about addding a section on how to dye the panels you have to black for the people who can't find the black replacements. anyway, great write up, hopefully the mods will make this a sticky in the future

[FoxChassis]

I think the point of this topic was to address a 'conversion' tech article that's on the burner right now (see HERE (http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7784)). That tech article would be/should be using original black panels and wouldn't be for dyeing panels. Dyeing interior panels should be in a separate topic or tech article.

[cjwanner2000]

yeah, good point. i wasn't aware there was a tech article in the works. my bad. for a tech article that's all it should be is interchangeability and possibly the mods needed to make some "almost" interchangeable parts work. in which case, dyeing would be out of the picture. :oops:

[50 Proof]

I added a section for door panels. Does anyone have any pictures of the different 79-83 door panels? I have pictures of the 83 GLX door panels and 83 GT door panels, but nothing prior to 83 GT/GLX panels. If anyone has a 79-82 with black interior and can take pics of the door panels, that would be great.
I'm also going to take pictures of the different 1/4 trim panels.

[cjwanner2000]

i have a 79 ghia coupe. my interior is red for now, but i can get a pic of the style if that will help you. it has manual windows and locks. also has the map pockets. the pockets are starting to sag though. let me know if you could use these or if you only want black
also, if you want them would you prefer in an email or posted here

[negusm]

Do note that some Mustangs did not come with power windows, so if your Mustang/Capri has power windows make sure you get door panels for power windows, and vice versa if you don't have power windows.

At least for the 85-86 door panels, door panels for non-power windows can be used easily for power windows. You just need to pop out the perforated cardboard piece out of the window crank area and install your switches.

You can go from non-power to power but not the reverse. I am not familiar with prior years so that may be different.

-Mike

[50 Proof]

negusm - thanks for that bit of info about the door panels. I will add that a little later.

[Kevins89notch5.0]

What about the hatch cargo area cover device?

[50 Proof]

What about the hatch cargo area cover device?

Thats a good question. I know the 79-83's aren't the same as the 84-86's. I've heard the 87-89 are different and the 90-93 are different? I've heard something like there are a couple of types of cargo covers for 90-93.

Does anyone have information on the cargo covers? I need to add this, and have been doing some research. I found a thread on the corral explaining some of the differences, i'm trying to find that thread again. I'll post again as soon as I find out the info.

[50 Proof]

This was posted by FoxChassis on the corral, here is the link...

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=420271

Th privacy shade/cargo cover breaks down as follows:

'80-early '84 (same length as late '84-'86)
late '84-'86 (same length as '80-early '84)
'87-'89 (shorter than '80-'86 due to redesigned trim)
'90-'93 (shorter than '87-'89 due to redesigned trim to accomodate rear shoulder betls)

'80-early '84 attaches to the underside of the liftgate
late '84-'93 attaches to the rear plastic that surrounds the liftgate striker

Does this sound correct?
FoxChassis, if your reading this, would you mind if I used this info you posted, in my write up?

[FoxChassis]

Sure man, but I want a nickel everytime somebody views this topic or any tech article your write. :lol: :D

[silver85]

I am not so sure on the accuracy of your yearly breakdown of the front seatbelts. I know 93's were different and have a different tab location. I think 90-92's are just like the older 87-89's but don't have the release button. I have no way to prove this other than I had at one time two sets of front black 90-93 seatbelts. They had different tab locations. I also don't think the seatbelts were mounted higher in 90. I am pretty sure it was 87. Try fitting an 87-89 rear 1/4 panel in an 85-86. The mount is lower on 83-86 cars for sure.

Where did you get your info on the rear 1/4 panels? I have trial fitted a 90-93 red panel in my 88 and it fits perfectly. the holes line up and everything.

Also on the door panels. In early production of 1988 they switched to lower mounted mirrors. You are correct that those door panels used on verts and some 88 t tops have longer felt weatherstripping. However the door panel itself is different because ford actually added a small piece of aluminum to the door panel in that spot because there is a cut out for the corner mounted mirrors. To make the convertible door panels work on all pre october '87 doors (early 1988 model production) and post october '87 hardtop doors (mid-late 1988 model to 1993) the felt stripping has to be trimmed and that small aluminum piece needs to be removed as well. I have personally performed that modification so I know this to be fact.

I am going to double check my references above to the seatbelt mounting hole for 90-93's and the seatbelt mounting tabs. I'll be visiting a junkyard that has over 100 mustangs from 79-93 tomorrow. I will make it a point to look at this in more detail. I used to know off the top of my head but my black interior pieces have been sitting in my garage for the better half of 3 years. I knew I should have written this stuff down. :roll:

I can document my progress with pictures and also document what the panels came from to more accurately break down the years if it is of any benefit.

[50 Proof]

I am not so sure on the accuracy of your yearly breakdown of the front seatbelts. I know 93's were different and have a different tab location. I think 90-92's are just like the older 87-89's but don't have the release button. I have no way to prove this other than I had at one time two sets of front black 90-93 seatbelts. They had different tab locations. I also don't think the seatbelts were mounted higher in 90. I am pretty sure it was 87. Try fitting an 87-89 rear 1/4 panel in an 85-86. The mount is lower on 83-86 cars for sure.

91-93 seat belts have different mounting tabs. 1990 seat belts will work with the older pre 90 Foxes, because the mounting tabs on the 1990 seat belts are have the same mounting tabs as the 79-89 seat belts. I know this because I have a set of 1990 black seat belts in my coupe. You are correct about the release button. I believe I made reference to that release button. There is a rubber grommet in the trunk of fox body mustangs, where the rear 1/4 trim panel meets the rear tail light panel. This rubber grommet will plug up the hole in your door jam where the release cable used to be.

Where did you get your info on the rear 1/4 panels? I have trial fitted a 90-93 red panel in my 88 and it fits perfectly. the holes line up and everything.

I've trial fitted and compared an 88 Coupe 1/4 trim panel to a 1990-93 coupe 1/4 trim panel. The seat belt mount next to the 1/4 window is mounted higher up. I can take pictures to show the differences if need be. Maybe ford didn't mount the seat belts higher up on the hatches? I'll have to verify that. I believe the 79-82 hatches have the top seat belt mount slightly different then the 84-86's, which is another reason I couldn't get my 79-82 panels to work on my 86.

Also on the door panels. In early production of 1988 they switched to lower mounted mirrors. You are correct that those door panels used on verts and some 88 t tops have longer felt weatherstripping. However the door panel itself is different because ford actually added a small piece of aluminum to the door panel in that spot because there is a cut out for the corner mounted mirrors. To make the convertible door panels work on all pre october '87 doors (early 1988 model production) and post october '87 hardtop doors (mid-late 1988 model to 1993) the felt stripping has to be trimmed and that small aluminum piece needs to be removed as well. I have personally performed that modification so I know this to be fact.

I have performed this modification too and you are absolutely right about that. The modification is very easy to do, however I didn't want to get into how to modify the 90-93 black convertible door panels to work with non convertible doors. That would be a different tech article write up in itself.

If it's not to much trouble, maybe you can take note of the top seat belt mount location on a 79-82 hatch, 83-86 hatch, 87-89 hatch and 90-93 hatch, and then do the same for the coupes? I guarantee you that 90-93 coupes have the top seat belt mount located higher up then the 87-89 coupes. It would be good to confirm this with the hatchbacks too. Thanks for the reply.

[50 Proof]

Sure man, but I want a nickel everytime somebody views this topic or any tech article your write. :lol: :D

hahaha, do you accept paypal? :lol:

[FoxChassis]

Sure man, but I want a nickel everytime somebody views this topic or any tech article your write. :lol: :D

hahaha, do you accept paypal? :lol:
Absolutely!

[silver85]

O.K. here are the measurements I got. These are measured from the top of the rocker panel not the floor pan to the center of the tapped hole for the seatbelt mount. They were also measured straight up. If the measurements were taken following the contour of the B pillar they would come out longer due to the curve.
The measurements are the same for coupe and hatchback. I measured both. They are within ~1/16" give or take.

79-82 - 30 1/2"

83-86 - 30 7/8"

87-89 - 31 1/4"

90-93 - 33 1/4"

Looks like the 79-82 and 83-86 panels are just soooooo close to fitting between those years it is not funny.

You were right about the 90-93's 50proof! Go figure... I took a 90-93 panel and put it in my 88 again. The hole is above the mount. I did not pay that close attention to it last time. What I plan to do is cut another hole for the mount in the proper location then get a kick panel body clip in black and then drill a hole in the pillar. Then push the body clip in to cover the old hole. This will also benefit my car since it is a T top car by holding the panel up top so the end caps don't have as much stress on them.

Another good idea for this article is taking a picture of the inside where the seatbelt mounts to show the different hole alignment changes between 90 and 91. If I would have had my digital camera today I could have done that.

[Kevins89notch5.0]

Ok, back on the subject of the caro covers, if friend had a black one from a 86, what would be a fair price for it?

[FoxChassis]

Black wasn't available in '86.

Black was only available '79-'83 and '90-'93.

[Kevins89notch5.0]

Black wasn't available in '86.

Black was only available '79-'83 and '90-'93.

Alright. Any guesses as to which this looks like?

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/151/cargo1.jpg

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/151/cargo2.jpg

Either way, any guess as to its value?

[silver85]

Looks like an 85-86 grey one that was dyed black. IMHO.

[FoxChassis]

Or it's the original Dark Charcoal ('84-'86) that over time - due to sun damage - looks like it's black.

[50 Proof]

The measurements are the same for coupe and hatchback. I measured both. They are within ~1/16" give or take.

79-82 - 30 1/2"

83-86 - 30 7/8"

87-89 - 31 1/4"

90-93 - 33 1/4"

Looks like the 79-82 and 83-86 panels are just soooooo close to fitting between those years it is not funny.

Another good idea for this article is taking a picture of the inside where the seatbelt mounts to show the different hole alignment changes between 90 and 91. If I would have had my digital camera today I could have done that.

Hey thanks for researching that info, this is good stuff to know. I'm in the process of collecting pictures for this article, so i'll add the seat belt stuff to my list too.

BTW about the cargo cover, maybe that person had an interior shop custom make a black cargo cover for their 86? Either that or i'm gonna go with what silver85 said, maybe dyed black? I'm probably going to have to have a black cargo cover custom made, since there aren't any other Mustangs with a black cargo cover that will directly swap over.

Hmm, looking at those cargo cover pics again, it doesn't look so bad. I'll give you a dollar for it? haha JFWY :lol:

[FoxChassis]

Directly swap over from what to what?

Black '81-'83 privacy shades/cargo covers will fit all '81-'86 hatchback panels.

[50 Proof]

Directly swap over from what to what?

Black '81-'83 privacy shades/cargo covers will fit all '81-'86 hatchback panels.

What do I do about the clips that hold the cover in place and keep it from retracting? Will those still clip into my 86? BTW i haven't had any luck at all finding an early black cargo cover.

[FoxChassis]

Clips are the same '81-'86.

The only difference in the whole setup, from '81-'86, is how the expanded cover hooks to either the liftgate or the trim panels, which I outlined in the above quote.

Also, the early covers (that attached to the liftgate) did not have perforations/holes for the speakers. The later covers (that attached to the trim panels) did have perforations/holes for the speakers.

[evlrs84]

Okay guys, how much more info do you feel needs to be added to this one? It's a fantastic thread.

[v8only]

Perhaps a tid bit about vert black interior conversion.

I picked up a near mint set of black 83 vert rear panels, since the 90-93 style will not work with our seat belts.

I did a 30 second drop in, and so far it's looking like these panels will not fit. I'm really bummed. I payed $81 for them. I'm going to try harder tomorrow to make them fit. If they won't, then our only option with verts in the back is to paint. I'll report back with the news.

[v8only]

Good news. The 83 black vert 1/4 panels seem to be an exact fit, along with the 83 black upper/lower seat bottom. the 83 panels are unique to their own year, though and are not like the 84-89 style. The 83 units are a fiberglass two piece, vs the 84-89 which is a plastic one piece. However, when compared to the fitting, they both seem to fit identical.

Here are the first real sneak peeks into my black interior conversion. The second shot shows how they are two pieces. NOTE, nothing is screwed in yet, I'm just placing for fitment right now. NOTE that these are in an 86 gt vert right now. The manual crank hole seems to be in an identical spot, so I should be able to cut and fit the panel for my power switches. Also, if it hasn't been mentioned, any 79-83 black seat belts, hatch/coupe/vert will work for the front belts.

http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/album_pic.php?pic_id=1610

http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/album_pic.php?pic_id=1611

[silver85]

Looks pimp man!! I love it!! I will take some pics of my 88 T-top black interior conversion. I plan on making the 87-89 HVAC controls fit in a 90-93 black dash. I also had the rear seatbelt brackets welded in for the shoulder belts in the back. I hope to be working on it late this fall. Some pics from that will help document this some more.

If FoxChassis would ever get around to his SN83 project he could give you some detailed pics too! :lol:

[FoxChassis]

If FoxChassis would ever get around to his SN83 project he could give you some detailed pics too! :lol:
That'll get started when I'm old and grey. :lol:

[50 Proof]

I plan on making the 87-89 HVAC controls fit in a 90-93 black dash.



I'm also converting my 88 coupe to black interior. I swapped in a 90-93 black dash along with the 90-93 hvac controls. It's pretty easy really. The vacume wiring and stuff is a tight fit, but it'll work. It shouldn't be too hard getting the 87-89 hvac controls to bolt up. You'll most likely have to drill holes on the black dash.

[silver85]

Yeah, I have eyeballed it and it looks like I will have to do some trimming of the plastic because the older controls are larger. I will have to drill 2 holes for sure and trim it up.

I'll take pics to document it.

[79capri396]

Just a short note on door panels. 79 panels are specific to that year. They have the door release latch in the bottom front corner, vice the top front corner of all other years. So if you are converting a later year car to black door panels, you should be searching for '80-'83 or '90-'93...

You can see what I'm talking about here:
http://home.san.rr.com/scottsweb/104-0444_IMG.JPG

[FoxChassis]

Lookie what I found elsewhere on the net:

http://www.fortesparts.com/craigsgt/interior.htm

[v8only]

Dude, jesus man. I can't believe this. Compare

http://www.50stangs.com/techarticles/foxbodyinteriorguide.html

That's my bro's article. He wrote it, everyone knows this. Hell, your name, fox chassis is even in the end where Corey thanks you for your advice.

It's got his name on our article. I'm flattered that Corey wrote such a good tech article that a professional company would put it on their site, but this is a blatent rip off. I guess we're getting good at our tech eh?

I'm talking to Corey on this, I can't thank you enough for finding this. We've got to figure what to do.

We both put a lot of hardcore trial and error finding, buying and placing parts to see what would work, as well as the contributions from this site. Amazing.

this will be intersting to see what happens.

[85 Notchback]

At the very bottom of the article on http://www.50stangs.com/techarticles/foxbodyinteriorguide.html it say's "Written by Corey Thompson aka 50 Proof" Atleast you guys get recignition on one site... But that One supposedly (but obviously not) written by Craig Murphy is just retarded, does he think that he can get away with that....Oh well I guess if he's reading this thread, he'll give you guys some regignition pronto, or pay a price for stealing the article..

[50 Proof]

Lookie what I found elsewhere on the net:

http://www.fortesparts.com/craigsgt/interior.htm

fox, how did you find this? did you google search it?
This is a duplicate of my article, almost word for word. My article is a little inaccurate which I will be correcting soon. What can I and should I do about this? This sucks!!!

just FYI the rear guide is here...

http://www.50stangs.com/techarticles/foxbodyinteriorguide.html

[v8only]

At the very bottom of the article on http://www.50stangs.com/techarticles/foxbodyinteriorguide.html it say's "Written by Corey Thompson aka 50 Proof" Atleast you guys get recignition on one site... But that One supposedly (but obviously not) written by Craig Murphy is just retarded, does he think that he can get away with that....Oh well I guess if he's reading this thread, he'll give you guys some regignition pronto, or pay a price for stealing the article..

That link you just gave is actually Corey and My site. He gets the recognition there because it is our site, and he put that up on our site. Damn, who would have ever thought?

What kind of sucks, is he didn't mention written by 50 proof, or even mention foureyedpride.com, where he obviously stole it from. Slaps his name on the article and takes full responsibility. there are a lot of people here who contributed to that.

[negusm]

If you're serious about it. Then be calm and direct and tell him that the information he has is copyrighted and that he needs to remove the page and redirect his users to your site.

Tell, him if he wishes to reference the information, he needs to ask permission and *PROPERLY* credit the authors.

Save all correspondance. (Registered letters, Email, Phone Calls, etc).

As long as you make issue of it soon, but don't have the money to pursue it legally, you could get a judgement in your favor down the road if it is cause for real damages.

Unfortunately about all you can do is raise a stink wherever this guys article pops up. You aren't losing any money from this kind of stuff so its kind of hard to do much more than annoy him back.

A good way is to put a note about the loser and his practices on your site with a break down of his antics. Then you can post the link whenever you see somebody linking to "his" article. At least it will make you feel better.

-Mike

[negusm]

Some things that Map companies do is leave little "incosistancies" in their maps.

Like a fictitious city with no roads going to it. A lake in the middle of nowhere, etc..so that when another company rips off their maps, they have proof of plaguerism (sp?).

-Mike

[85 Notchback]

At the very bottom of the article on http://www.50stangs.com/techarticles/foxbodyinteriorguide.html it say's "Written by Corey Thompson aka 50 Proof" Atleast you guys get recignition on one site... But that One supposedly (but obviously not) written by Craig Murphy is just retarded, does he think that he can get away with that....Oh well I guess if he's reading this thread, he'll give you guys some regignition pronto, or pay a price for stealing the article..

That link you just gave is actually Corey and My site. He gets the recognition there because it is our site, and he put that up on our site. Damn, who would have ever thought?

What kind of sucks, is he didn't mention written by 50 proof, or even mention foureyedpride.com, where he obviously stole it from. Slaps his name on the article and takes full responsibility. there are a lot of people here who contributed to that.

Oops haha I totally forgot that was your guys' site...I guess the recognition makes sense then :) Yeah, do as negusm says, and if he refuses nail his ass to the wall...

[v8only]

Hey, Corey, can you start a new post perhaps in the bs section with this, just so we don't cloud up this tech sticky with all the details of this.

[FoxChassis]

Lookie what I found elsewhere on the net:

http://www.fortesparts.com/craigsgt/interior.htm

fox, how did you find this? did you google search it?
This is a duplicate of my article, almost word for word. My article is a little inaccurate which I will be correcting soon. What can I and should I do about this? This sucks!!!
Yes, I found it on a google.com search last week. It popped up as I was searching for something else and I clicked on it for *tulips* and giggles. Immediately I recognized the wording and format as being almost an exact copy of your tech article (which was started here in this thread of course).

I wouldn't fault Forte's Parts Connection though. I'm sure they weren't the ones who ripped the information off. It looks as if their (Fortes') 'site is just a host for Metrowest Mustang Club. And it looks like Craig Murphy (who takes credit for the interchangeability guide) is the founder of WMW.

[v8only]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I believe that this craig guy found Corey's article on this site (as Corey said the html doesn't match his coding from out site) and he copied and pasted the info from this site into an article. Furthermore, this could be a stretch, but the coincidence is so high that the very place that ripped Corey off would find his article. There was a thread a while back From Corey that didn't get too many hits on midwestmustang ripping him off. I'm almost willing to bet midwestmustang searched corey's ebay id, and somehow linked him to this article. That could be a stretch, but regardless, fortes parts probably does not have a clue, as I have to presume that he approached one of his suppliers (fortesparts) and said, hey, I've got this really good interior article, lets make a deal, you host, I get a kick down of some sort. there has to be some financial or some sort of business agreement between the two of them for this article, otherwise he would have posted it on his own site, which I believe is midwestmustang.net.

[50 Proof]

hmm, big correction on my part and jeremy's part. midwestmustang.net did not rip off my article. midwestmustang.net ripped me off on kick panels, but thats another store. the people who are using my article is metrowest mustangs. just wanted to clarify.

I DO have a revised copy of this interchangeability guide since some of the info in the original one(the one that was copied by metrowest mustangs) is inaccurate. I do have a more accurate revised version, but I'm going to hold off on posting it until this is settled.

[v8only]

Getting somewhere

http://www.fortesparts.com/mwmustangs/history.cfm

Is this the slime bucket who stole the article??

http://www.fortesparts.com/mwmustangs/MemberDetails.cfm?MemberID=39

Craig Murphy - Webmaster/Recruiter/Event Planning/DVD

PLEASE NOBODY SAY ANYTHING TO HIM/THEM. Let us handle this so it doesn't get out of hand, and do NOT post this link to other message boards.

[85 Notchback]

Getting somewhere

http://www.fortesparts.com/mwmustangs/history.cfm

Is this the slime bucket who stole the article??

http://www.fortesparts.com/mwmustangs/MemberDetails.cfm?MemberID=39

Craig Murphy - Webmaster/Recruiter/Event Planning/DVD

PLEASE NOBODY SAY ANYTHING TO HIM/THEM. Let us handle this so it doesn't get out of hand, and do NOT post this link to other message boards.

So he was looking for parts on ebay it says in the second link...Maybe that's how he found Corey's link to the tech article somehow, because apparently he's doing a black swap to....Yes I know it's very obvious, but im just trying to piece together this whole debacle...

[50 Proof]

Okay guys,
I'm working on compiling an updated version of this tech article. The part about seat belts contains inaccurate information. Someone from another source informed us about an issue with seat belts. The new version will contain this information. There are also other miscellaneous revisions made to improve the accuracy of this article.

Jeremy or anyone? Can you send me pictures of 1983-1989 front convertible seat belts indicating which one is passenger side and driver side, most important make sure the mounting tabs are visible in the pictures.

Does anyone have pictures of black door panels? Any 1980-1983 black door panel, coupe/hatch, and convertible pictures will work, especially 1983 GLX black door panels.

Cargo covers. If anyone has pictures of cargo covers over the different years(more specific black ones) that would be great, but any color would work so that I can reference the differences.

I will be posting the finished article in this thread as well as on my website, so if you'd like some sort of reference/recognition for the pictures you submit then let me know and we'll work something out. Thanks for your help.

Please don't be fooled by the article on fortesparts.com, as that is not the true version of the black interior interchangeability guide. So far he hasn't responded with my request I made to him. If he wants to keep that article on his website, then hopefully he's reading this and knows that the article he "borrowered" from me is not accurate.

[negusm]

Some pics...they aren't grey but they at least one pic is a comparison of a hatch belt vs vert belt.

http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9277&start=15

The image names have whether its left or right being compared.

As you, I too would like a mention of credit if you use the pics.

-Mike

[50 Proof]

Some pics...they aren't grey but they at least one pic is a comparison of a hatch belt vs vert belt.

http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9277&start=15

The image names have whether its left or right being compared.

As you, I too would like a mention of credit if you use the pics.

-Mike

Let me know how you'd like a mention of credit if I use the pics and i'll be sure to include it in the article/pictures. I'll let you know if I use them or not. Thanks very much.

[negusm]

Just at the end of your article:

Thanks to everyone for their contributions:
...
Mike Negus (www.ascmclarencoupe.com)
...

I don't really care if people copy the pictures at all. If its in an article/publication then I'd like a mention.

-Mike

[50 Proof]

Just at the end of your article:

Thanks to everyone for their contributions:
...
Mike Negus (www.ascmclarencoupe.com)
...

I don't really care if people copy the pictures at all. If its in an article/publication then I'd like a mention.

-Mike

sounds good to me. i'll put something at the end to mention everyones name/website at the end who contributed. There are some people on this site who contributed but don't frequent this board, so If I can't find peoples names, then i'll at least include usernames@foureyedpride.com

[me-chanix]

I have a black cargo cover from an '83 I'll get a pic of. How would you like the pic, open or closed? I also have 1/4 panels from the '83, not exactly in perfect condition, but I'll take pics of them too and post them. If you are looking for pics of '79 pace car quarters also, I'll get a pic of them since the ones that I have are in black also. Would you need pics of anything else besides those things?

Hows this, I'll take pics of every black piece that I have and list them on my site and you can pick and choose which ones that you want. I'll make sure that I put the car it was from above the pic.

[50 Proof]

I have a black cargo cover from an '83 I'll get a pic of. How would you like the pic, open or closed? I also have 1/4 panels from the '83, not exactly in perfect condition, but I'll take pics of them too and post them. If you are looking for pics of '79 pace car quarters also, I'll get a pic of them since the ones that I have are in black also. Would you need pics of anything else besides those things?

Hows this, I'll take pics of every black piece that I have and list them on my site and you can pick and choose which ones that you want. I'll make sure that I put the car it was from above the pic.

either open or closed, doesn't matter. Can you show the hooks used to hold the cargo cover open when installed? On my 86 I have plastic hooks that clip onto the plastic interior panel to hold the cover open, but I believe the earlier cargo covers are held open differently(metal bar going the width of the cover).
thats sounds like a lot of black stuff to take pics of, if it's too much trouble don't worry about it, maybe just the easy to get to stuff or something. Thanks very much for your help.

[me-chanix]

It's no problem to me as I have all of the black parts laying around out of the car right now while I put in a couple new parts (carpet and dash, the fun stuff that everything has to be removed...). Then the fun part of relaying the whole interior then screwing it in place comes.

You are right that the earlier models have a different mounting position for the hatch. The clips are connected to the hatch instead of right behind the taillights. I can take a pic of the underside of the hatch for the mounting locations, but it will be a little while before I can take a pic of the hatch cover in place.

I will see if I can get the pictures tomarrow as it just rained (and is still drizzling) and don't want to get the pieces wet. If I can't get around to taking the pictures tomarrow, I will definately take them Friday as that is my day off form work.

It's my pleasure to help out as before I found this board, I didn't have the slightest idea of what I was doing. Now it's my turn to give back.

[50 Proof]

Alright guys, here is a more updated version of the guide. I'm sure it still has some mistakes, so if you notice something, don't be shy. Thanks!!! You can also view it on my website if you'd like...
http://www.50stangs.com/techarticles/foxbodyinteriorguide.html
A printer friendly version can be found here if you'd like to print a copy out for your personal use, but I warn you it's about 5 pages long...
http://www.50stangs.com/techarticles/foxbodyinteriorguideprintable.html
Also, I will be adding pictures as soon as I can gather them all together.


1979-1989 Fox Body Black Interior Interchangeability Guide

Seat Belts
If you have a coupe or hatchback you have a couple of options to work with. 1990 coupe/hatchback front seat belts will mount on your 1979-1989 Fox Body Mustang coupe/hatchback; however 1991-1993 coupe/hatchback front seat belts have different mounting tabs and will not work on 1979-1989 Mustangs without cutting new slots inside your car for the mounting tabs. 1979-1983 coupe/hatchback black seat belts will work on all 1979-1990 coupe/hatchback Mustangs. 1990 coupe/hatchback front seat belts and 1979-1983 coupe/hatchback front seat belts will not work on 1983-1986 Convertibles, so you will need to find black seat belts from a 1983 Convertible only. 1990-1993 Convertible front seat belts will not directly work on any body style Mustang from 1979-1989.

1979-1983 rear black seat belts will work on all 1979-1989 coupe/hatchback Mustangs and 1983-1989 convertibles. 1990-1993 Mustangs have rear shoulder harness seat belts and will not directly bolt into a 1979-1989 Mustang. If 1990-1993 rear seat belts are used on 1979-1989 foxes, then the 1990-1993 rear seat should be used. 1990-1993 rear seats are designed to have the seat belt buckles come up through the seat bottom to accommodate the differences in the way the 1990-1993 rear seat belts are mounted. To install 1990-1993 rear seats and seat belts, the seat mounting brackets will need to be welded onto the floor pan, as well as modifications for mounting the seat belts. It is also advised to use 1990-1993 rear ¼ trim panels if 1990-1993 rear seats and seat belts are used since these panels have cut-outs to accommodate the mounting of the rear shoulder harness seat belts.

If you plan on using 1990 Front seat belt retractors with a 1979-1989 Mustang, the 1990 seat belt retractors don't have the release cable that plugs into the door jam. If you use 1990 front seat belts you will have a hole in your door jam. To fix this you can get a rubber plug to plug up the hole. There is an oval rubber plug used on all 1979-1993 Mustangs inside the trunk where the rear quarter panel meets the tail light panel. I've also heard 1979 and 1980 Mustangs came with a rubber plug in the door jam and that you can use this plug from those two year Mustangs if you find one in the wrecking yards.

Rear ¼ Trim Panels
If you are converting your 1979-1982 Coupe/Hatchback Mustang to black interior, then you must use 1979-1982 rear ¼ trim panels. If you have a 1983-1986 Mustang, for a direct fit without modifications you can only use 1983 rear ¼ trim panels. 1983 ¼ trim panels are the same design as the 1984-1986 panels. 1979-1982 panels are a different design and will not directly swap over to 1983-1986 Mustangs. 1983 is the last year for black interior, so if you're converting your 1983-1986 Mustang to black interior good luck locating the ¼ trim panels.

In 1990 Ford mounted the front seat belts about an inch or so higher up on coupes/hatchbacks. The 1990-1993 rear 1/4 trim panels will not work on a 1979-1989 Mustang coupe/hatchback without relocating the seat belt mount. If you are converting your 1987-1989 Mustang coupe/hatchback to black interior, than you have two options for ¼ trim panels: you can relocate the front seat belt mount hole and use 1990-1993 ¼ trim panels, but you’ll also need to convert your rear seat belts to the 1990-1993 rear shoulder harness belts as well since 1990-1993 panels have cut outs for shoulder harness belts. Your other option is to dye your 1987-1989 style panels black. 50 Resto sells the interior dye and prepping agents needed to dye your interior using the exact same shade of black that Ford used when dying various interior parts in the factory.

Convertible Specific
You don’t have too many options here. 1983 was the first year for convertibles and the last year for black interior. 1983 convertibles did not have rear power windows. So if you are lucky enough to find black 1983 rear vert ¼ trim panels for your 1984-1989 convertible, than you’ll either need to convert to manual windows or modify the 1/4 trim panels to mount a power window switch, if your convertible is equipped with rear power windows. 1990-1993 rear ¼ trim panels will not work on 1983-1989 convertibles unless you convert to 1990-1993 front seat belts and convert your rear power window harness to work with the 1990-1993 rear power window switch. If you can’t find 1983 rear ¼ trim panels for your 1984-1989 vert, than your only other option is to dye the panels that you already have or have them recovered with new black vinyl and black carpet. The A-Pillar trim for convertibles is different too. You can use 1983 Convertible A-Pillar trim for 1983-1986 Mustangs or you can modify and cut down 1979-1983 hard top A-Pillar trim. If you have a 1987-1989 Mustang, than you can use 1990-1993 A-Pillar trim from a convertible, or modify and cut down 1990-1993 hard top A-Pillar trim.

T-Top Specific
1983 T-Top latch trim panels(not the End Caps) that cover the locking T-Top latches will not work on 1984-1986 Mustangs with locking T-Top latches. The 1983 locking latch trim panels are a different size and won't work. Dying your 1984-1986 locking T-Top latch panels black is your only option here. Non-locking 1983 black T-Top latch trim panels should also work on 1984-1986 non-locking T-Tops.The 1983 black end caps will work on your 1984-1986 Mustang, 1979-1982 end caps will work on 1983-1986 Mustangs, but you will need to trim the end caps.

The front windshield A-Pillar trim can be had off of a 1979-1983 Mustang hard top or T-Top. It’s all the same, however for T-Tops, Ford actually cut the hard top A-Pillar trim panels so that they wont interfere with the T-Top end cap. If you use hard top A-Pillar trim pieces you’ll need to cut the A-Pillar trim pieces where it interferes with the T-Top end cap. This isn’t a big deal since this is what Ford did as well. Also note that Ford cut the rear ¼ trim panels as well so that they wouldn’t interfere with the rear T-Top end caps. Hard top ¼ trim panels will interfere with the rear T-Top end cap, so you’ll have to cut off the part of the ¼ trim panel that interferes. If you are lucky enough to find any of these pieces from a T-Top specific car, than you’ll see how Ford cut these pieces for you, and you won't have to do any cutting.

Dash
1979-1983 black dashes will work on all 1979-1986 Mustangs; however, the metal frame underneath the dash from 1979-1982 is different than the dash frames on 1983-1986 dashes. A 1983 Black dash will directly swap over to any 1983-1986 Mustang without changing the metal frame underneath the dash. A 1983 dash going into a 1979-1982 Mustang will need a 1979-1982 frame. A 1979-1982 black dash will directly swap over to any 1979-1982 Mustang. A 1979-1982 Dash going into a 1983-1986 Mustang will need a 1983-1986 frame. Do note that the radio opening on 1979-1983 dashes are different than 1984-1986 dash radio openings.

The glove box on 1979-1983 dashes is different than the glove box 1984-1986 dashes. So when using a 1979-1983 dash, you’ll need to use your 1984-1986 glove box. 1979-1983 glove boxes are too large and will not work with your 1984-1986 Mustang because they interfere with the heater core box. Your only option here is to dye your 1984-1986 glove box black. I know a lot of people are picky about having to dye their interior, but if done right it will look good. Ford actually painted/dyed a lot of their interior items. If you look at your 1979-1986 dash, you’ll see overspray underneath the gauge cluster. You can actually paint/dye your 1984-1986 dash if you don’t want to go through the trouble of locating and installing a 1979-1983 dash. If you use a 1979-1983 black dash you may need to drill holes in the dash where the fuel door/trunk release buttons go.

If you are converting a 1987-1989 Mustang to black interior, than use the 1990-1993 dashes. When using a 1990-1993 black dash in an 1987-1989 make sure you grab the mounting hardware for the fuse block since the fuse block is mounted differently in 1990-1993 Mustangs. You might need to drill a couple of holes in the dash frame when bolting up a 1990-1993 dash in an 1987-1989 Mustang, but overall it's pretty much a direct swap and is very easy to do.

Kick panels, door sills, and A-Pillar Trim
1990-1993 kick panels would be a direct swap for 1984-1989 Mustangs. The 1979-1983 black kick panels are slightly different. The screw hole that mounts the kick panels to the carpet is located in a different spot. Convertible kick panels are different than hatch/coupe kick panels. Door sills from 1979-1993 are all the same. If you have a 1979-1986 Mustang, use 1979-1983 A-Pillar trim. If you have a 1987-1989 Mustang, use 1990-1993 A-Pillar Trim.

Headliner and Sunvisors
Coupe header is different than hatchback headliner. The two are not interchangeable so don't try. 1990-1992 coupe headliner will work in 1979-1992 coupes. In 1993 Ford changed the dome light, so if you use 1993 headliner you'll have to upgrade your dome light. The same is true for hatchback headliner.

Coupe, Hatchback, and T-Top sunvisors are not the same as convertible sunvisors. 1983 and 1990-1993 black convertible sunvisors need to be used with 1983-1989 Convertibles. 1983 black hatch/coupe sunvisors do not secure into any clips on the headliner the way the 1984+ Mustang sunvisors do. If you're converting a 1979-1983 Mustang to black interior, I'd stick with 1979-1983 sunvisors. If you're converting a 1984-1989 Mustang to black interior, I'd stick with the 1990-1993 cloth sunvisors. The 1990-1993 cloth visors also come with vanity lights on them, so you may need to splice some wiring to get the vanity lights to work.

Seats
1979-1983 hatchback rear black seats won't work with 1984-1986 hatchbacks. 1979-1983 rear seat backs are not split folding the way the 1984-1986 rear seats are. The 1979-1982 rear seat back folds down as one piece. The 1984-1986 passenger side and driver side rear seat back both fold down separately from each other. 1990-1993 rear seats won't work on 1979-1989 hatchbacks or coupes unless you upgrade your rear seat mounts to 1990-1993 rear seat mounts. 1979-1983 rear coupe black seats will work on all 1979-1989 coupes. I have 1979-1983 black rear coupe seats in my 1988 coupe, and everything fits great and looks OEM.

Carpet
Coupe and hatch carpet will interchange. You can use carpet from a 1979-1983 or 1990-1993 coupe/hatchback Mustang. If you use 1979-1983 carpet you might have to cut additional holes, but the actual carpet will be the same. 1990-1993 Convertible carpet is different than 1979-1983 and 1990-1993 hatch/coupe carpet. There are bigger holes cut in the sill area for the seat belts and the carpet goes up higher into the kick panel area.

Center Console
1979-1983 Black Center consoles will work with all 1979-1986 Mustangs. However, if you are using a 1979-1983 center console in a 1984-1986 Mustang, you may want to swap your stock clock/warning system into the 1979-1983 console. 1984-1986 Mustangs have clocks with an orange/amber display mounted in their center consoles. You can remove a 1984-1986 clock/warning system and swap it into a 1979-1983 console to keep everything displayed as how it should be for your year Mustang. 1990-1993 black center consoles will swap into any 1987-1993 Mustang. 1990-1993 black consoles will need a hole drilled for the fuel door release button.

Door Panels
1983-1986 Convertible door panels are different than 1980-1986 hatch/coupe door panels. 1979 Door panels cannot be used on any body style 1980-1986 Mustang because the door latch is in the bottom front corner of the door panel. If you are converting a 1979 Mustang to black interior, you must use 1979 door panels.

Convertible door panels have more carpet on their door panels than coupe/hatch door panels. The carpet on a convertible door panel goes a little less than half way up the door panel. I've seen a 1983 GT Convertible with black door panels that look very similar to the 1985/86 Mustang GT convertible door panels. In my opinion, for a 1983-1986 convertible, these are the best door panels to get but are very scarce and will be next to impossible to find. Another option is to use 1983 Mustang GLX Convertible black door panels, 1980-1983 coupe/hatchback door panels, or convert to the newer style 1990-1993 door panels. If you try to use coupe/hatchback door panels on your 1984-1986 Mustang Convertible, you'll have to modify the driver side door panel slightly because 1984-1986 Convertibles had front and rear power windows and a 4 way power window control switch on the driverside door panel, whereas hatchbacks only have a 2 way power window switch on the driver side door panel.

The 1983 GT hatchback door panels do not look the same as 1985/86 GT door panels, but the 1983 GT door panels do look the same as 1984 GT door panels. 1983 GLX door panels look closest to stock 1985/86 GT door panels but do have significant differences. I think the 1983 GT and GLX door panels are the best looking door panels for a 1980-1986 black interior conversion without having to convert your doors to work with 1990-1993 door panels. In my opinion I do not like the way 1980-1982 door panels look, but to each their own and they will still work. If you are converting a 1980-1982, than you can stick with 1980-1982 panels or grab some 1983 GT or GLX door panels, or convert to 1990-1993 black door panels. If you are converting a 1983-1986 to black interior, I'd recommend sticking with 1983 GT or GLX door panels.

If you are converting a 1987-1989 to black interior, stick with 1990-1993 door panels. 1990-1993 convertible door panels are different than 1990-1993 coupe/hatch door panels. The inner door felt weatherstripping that runs along the width of the window is longer on convertibles than on hatch/coupes. You can use convertible door panels with a 1987-1993 hatch/coupe, but the door felt weatherstripping and aluminum extention underneath the felt weatherstripping will need to be trimmed; this is very easy to do.

Do note that some Mustangs did not come with power windows and door locks. Some came with power windows but without power door locks and some came without power windows and power doorlocks. If your Mustang has power windows/locks make sure you get door panels for power windows/locks, and vice versa if you don't have power windows/locks. If you find a set of door panels for manual windows/locks and want to use them with your Mustang that has power windows/locks, than you can cut out along the perforations on the back of the manual door panels. In other words, the 1980-1986 door panels were all modified by Ford to work with a Mustang that has power windows/locks, so don't be afraid to modify your manual door panels.



Cargo Cover - provided by Foxchassis on corral.net
The privacy shade/cargo cover breaks down as follows:
'80-early '84 (same length as late '84-'86)
late '84-'86 (same length as '80-early '84)
'87-'89 (shorter than '80-'86 due to redesigned trim)
'90-'93 (shorter than '87-'89 due to redesigned trim to accomodate rear shoulder betls)
'80-early '84 attaches to the underside of the liftgate.
late '84-'93 attaches to the rear plastic that surrounds the liftgate striker.

[me-chanix]

Seats
1979-1983 hatchback rear black seats won't work with 1984-1986 hatchbacks. 1979-1983 rear seat backs are not split folding the way the 1984-1986 rear seats are. The 1979-1982 rear seat back folds down as one piece. The 1984-1986 passenger side and driver side rear seat back both fold down separately from each other. 1990-1993 rear seats won't work on 1979-1989 hatchbacks or coupes unless you upgrade your rear seat mounts to 1990-1993 rear seat mounts. 1979-1983 rear coupe black seats will work on all 1979-1989 coupes. I have 1979-1983 black rear coupe seats in my 1988 coupe, and everything fits great and looks OEM.
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It says in there "The 1979-1982 rear seat back folds down as one piece." It should say "The 1979-1983 rear seat back folds down as one piece."

I have loaded most of the pics of the black items that I have here:
http://edwardsautoscrapyard.coms.ph/BlackItems.html

Take as many as you need but please just mention my name in it for helping out. Also give some credit to Philly5.0girl for helping me get some of these great looking black pieces.[/b]

[50 Proof]

excellent pictures. Thank you for taking those. I'll be sure to reference the pictures I use, to you and Philly5.0girl.

[me-chanix]

Is there any other black items that you need pics of? I have a lot of black items laying around that are going to go back into the stang. If you need any specifically, just name the item and I will do what I can.

[84stang]

The article was a trememdous help to me. I am just starting restoring an 84 vert and need all the direction I can find. My main area is trim as the car was a Florida car and the sun has crystalized most of the ABS plastic in and out. Any body that can direct me to rear quater window outer trim (L&R) as well as driver outside rear view morror and passenger head light plastic framing is greatly needed.

Great article.

Garry

[v8only]

are you looking to put black interior into your 84, or restore the original color? for the interior 1/4 panels, on a vert, if you want black, then 83 is you're only true way to go for oem black. 83 was the ONLY year for 4 eyed black interior in a vert. The 83 pieces are slightly different, though and are a two piece 1/4 panel, unlike the 84-89 one piece units. They will go right in, however, and look factory. Also, the 83's didn't have power windows, so you'll have to cut back there for pw's, no biggie. The 90-93 rear 1/4 panels won't work on 83-89 verts. They are completely redesigned for a different seatbelt design. Don't even think about those panels unless you update your seatbelt design too.

the easiest route would be to get good condition 84-89 vert rear 1/4's and use the 50 resto paint and spray them black. that's easiest.

if you're restoring, say grey rear panels, get the 84-86 grey stuff.

as far as seatbelts, you're kinda screwed for black front belts. NOTHING is a direct fit onto fox 83-89 verts, front belt wise for black. So far, the closest i've found is 79-83 black front belts from a notch/hatch/vert. the problem is, that the verts have different mounting angles, and therefore the coupe/hatch belts won't retract right.

I have an unproven theory, that I haven't had time to prove. the 83 verts had front seatbelt brackets (bottom under the rear 1/4 panels on the side of the car where it bolts to the floorpan) these brackets are unique and special to 83. I "believe" obtaining a set of 83 front vert seatbelt brackets will allow the use of black front 79-83 hatch/notch belts. Even the 83 vert belts won't work without those brackets, as they mount at a different angle than the 84-89 brackets. 83 was such a beginning year for verts, that I believe ford used modified hatch/notch belts for that year only and just made a bracket that would allow retraction at the proper angle.

Hope this helps. Ask for more questions.

as for your exterior trim parts, it's gonna be a matter of searching :)_

[50 Proof]

83 vert seat belts are the same as 83 coupe/hatch seat belts. 83 verts have a very specific front seat belt bracket that is different than the 84+ vert seat belt brackets. Jeremy I know you haven't tried the 83 brackets and 83 seat belts in your vert yet but I know it'll work.