1979 Coupe-The Tangerine Machine

[Mike1157]

You should've tried the cassette. It would've just got eaten and jammed in there, effectively blocking his friends from trying to stick their pop tarts in there in the future.

[84StangSVT]

Flash back...Car was originally a no radio car. Dealer installed AM radio and single center speaker. Teenager=

It DID work, just not a lot of selection

The speakers above were salvaged and installed with a purpose. A couple of months before that even, I had picked up a factory AM/FM cassette deck out of an '82 GLX in the JY

And we have sound! Jackson was inside and didn't know what I was doing that day. I asked him to come out and I turned it on. Talk about a smile! Not the best sound ever of course but all four speakers, the fade and tone worked! (Yes, I was too chicken to try the cassette yet)

LOL! If I tried to pass my kids any of that old technology, they would probably walk away from the car because they couldn't sync their phones or something else technological to it.....even though there is no need for a teenager that needs to focus solely on the road to have all of the goodies that have come with technology. I sure think my kids may be brats and I applaud you for keeping what seems like a good level head on your son where he appears to appreciate the fact that even though it may be a factory radio setup.....at least he has the luxury of tunes while he drives!

[82GTforME]

You should've tried the cassette. It would've just got eaten and jammed in there, effectively blocking his friends from trying to stick their pop tarts in there in the future.

Hopefully I can still find an iPod cassette adaptor. Funny I threw onw away a coupleof years ago thinking I would never need it again after upgrading my wife's car to a DVD. Actually, I think I may have to get one of those FM transmitter ones to avoid anything going in there!

LOL! If I tried to pass my kids any of that old technology, they would probably walk away from the car because they couldn't sync their phones or something else technological to it.....even though there is no need for a teenager that needs to focus solely on the road to have all of the goodies that have come with technology. I sure think my kids may be brats and I applaud you for keeping what seems like a good level head on your son where he appears to appreciate the fact that even though it may be a factory radio setup.....at least he has the luxury of tunes while he drives!

I guess I could have tried to talked to him about making it original again! Radio delete plate!

[82GTforME]

I spliced in a different connector to adapt the power supply to the head unit as the connectors changed after 79 from what Travis tells me. For whatever purist reason, I didn't cut the old connector off the AM and replace the one on this.

The AM radio was actually quite small and came out with no problems previously. I had heard that two post radios were a real pain to wiggle in. One dash brace on the drivers side was taken off and the radio went in like a breeze! I even had a black radio bezel saved just for this! I decided to not put the nuts on the back of the bezel yet. Murphy's Law would say that when I power it up next I need to have to remove it to fix it!


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Then I finished splicing the new speaker wires to the radio harness. You can also see the new power supply hanging there. Kind of nice having the carpet in for a bit to lay or sit on!


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Now the crappy part. Feeling blindly and like a moron, I thought I had the plug started in the back and tried turning and pressing the antenna in and ended bending the plug I thought it was bent but when I went to straighten it, it hinged and actually pulled out of the plastic. It was basically hanging by the wire


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I gently tried to persuade it back in but it was all for naught and I had to declare it dead. I pulled the crimped end off to see how it was on there but it looks like it will need to be replaced.


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[82GTforME]

Found the part number in the master book. I see most of the Mustang places offer a replacement. Most say 79-93 but NPD lists 80-93. Now I think I see why I think.

Up to 1979 looks to be a two piece antenna lead. There is a break at the firewall. Inside the front kick panel. This will make install a breeze...if I can find just that part! PIA to replace the whole thing by the looks! Now to find one...Green Sales has one. Guy said $20+$10-$15 shipping to Canada. Could be a costly mistake...I have one possibility here. There was a pretty much all stock 302 '78 Mustang Ghia I spotted in the local pick and pull a few weeks ago and it should have the right part according to the parts book. Wish me luck.



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[Mike1157]

You should try Google. The jumper that comes from the fender bulkhead is nothing special. You can get an antenna extension that will have the male/female end relationship on it, and avoid grubbing around in the JY for what will probably amount to the same fragile situation. Or you could just get another end from any old antenna, and solder the center conductor, and the braid together (respectively) and be done. Just like coax cable from TV, even the crudest of connections will allow signal to path through.

[Travis T]

My dad and I had parted several used up Mustangs years ago, and he kept everything, and I mean everything. We just sold all that stuff off a couple of years ago and I know there were a few of those antennae leads in there. Should have held on to that stuff. If that cassette doesn't work for some reason, you're probably looking at a stretched or broken belt in it, and that is a fairly easy fix.

[82GTforME]

You should try Google. The jumper that comes from the fender bulkhead is nothing special. You can get an antenna extension that will have the male/female end relationship on it, and avoid grubbing around in the JY for what will probably amount to the same fragile situation. Or you could just get another end from any old antenna, and solder the center conductor, and the braid together (respectively) and be done. Just like coax cable from TV, even the crudest of connections will allow signal to path through.

Ah, something else to learn (I've never actually soldered wiring before; copper water piping yes). I wasn't sure about reconnecting the end and how it would happen or whether it could be done. Thanks for the ideas...

My dad and I had parted several used up Mustangs years ago, and he kept everything, and I mean everything. We just sold all that stuff off a couple of years ago and I know there were a few of those antennae leads in there. Should have held on to that stuff. If that cassette doesn't work for some reason, you're probably looking at a stretched or broken belt in it, and that is a fairly easy fix.

Hoping it will work when the time comes Travis. You know better than most that you should never get rid of extra parts!

[Travis T]

Most of the stuff he had was for 79s and wouldn't fit an 84, but the thing I hate he got rid of the most was the bolt, clip and fastener collection! How often do you lose a bolt? We had enough stuff that we could have built two 79s if we had two bare body shells and another engine/transmission if that tells you anything.

[bridgener]

It's refreshing to see you give this car the attention to detail it deserves. I'm sure that with time, and more builds like this one, more people will start to appreciate the "plain-jane" foxes and follow suit!

Where did you get the backing board for your head liner? I've found some plastic sheeting at Home Depot, but it's not solid like yours appears to be. The one I found has corrugated plastic sandwiched between two layers of thin plastic sheet. It might work, but it's thicker than the original cardboard, and has a slightly wavy surface that would probably look weird.

[82GTforME]

It's refreshing to see you give this car the attention to detail it deserves. I'm sure that with time, and more builds like this one, more people will start to appreciate the "plain-jane" foxes and follow suit!

Where did you get the backing board for your head liner? I've found some plastic sheeting at Home Depot, but it's not solid like yours appears to be. The one I found has corrugated plastic sandwiched between two layers of thin plastic sheet. It might work, but it's thicker than the original cardboard, and has a slightly wavy surface that would probably look weird.

I was going to go with ABS because that is what the NPD ones say they use but they talked me into a new product called Sintra- Komobrite (PVC based) at an industrial plastic supplier here: http://ippnet.com/ Great people btw. I bought a 4X8' sheet for around $50 plus they offer cutting services and would cut it (with a jig saw he said) for $50. Not bad, if they screw it up its on them.


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NPD states their headliner boards to be ABS. I got the PVC based one on the recommendation of the people in the store I went to after originally asking for ABS (see link above). I had to heat the thermoplastic to form it as I figured it would look bad "bent" to fit the shape of the roof. This stuff is actually slightly brittle in that is you bend it too far by hand it will break.

By the way the spray adhesive appears to stand up good for affixing to after scuffing. Too bad I screwed up cutting the fabric. I noticed as I was readying to permanently sticking it on I shouldn't have cut it to match the board where it folds in the corners!

[Hitman247]

I love this thread! My first mustang was a 79 Ghia coupe with a 2.8 four speed. I loved that car sadly i wrecked it as I was only 21 years old. This thread has me really thinking hard about making a clone of it or trying to find another one! Big congrats on all the hard work you are doing

[IDMooseMan]

Excellent progress, Darron. I wish I had more room in my garage, so I could get my Ghia inside before the cold weather arrives.

[82GTforME]

I love this thread! My first mustang was a 79 Ghia coupe with a 2.8 four speed. I loved that car sadly i wrecked it as I was only 21 years old. This thread has me really thinking hard about making a clone of it or trying to find another one! Big congrats on all the hard work you are doing

Thanks for the encouragement! I am actually looking for a bell housing to eventually swap it over to an SROD. Most of us regret something when we were younger. I wished I still had my '85 TBird TC that I wrecked...but then I wouldn't have bought my '82... I think there is a paradox there

Excellent progress, Darran. I wish I had more room in my garage, so I could get my Ghia inside before the cold weather arrives.

Thanks Craig! I am blessed with a (somewhat clean and spacious) garage but have no room for winter parking of my own vehicle; for a while yet at least!

We've had cooler weather (and freaking snow!) and I'm still waiting on slow contractors quoting to get my heater in the garage finally. The motivation isn't the best right now (I think I'm really becoming a fair weather person!). We have a couple more filler and glazing putty applications and block sanding still yet to do. In reality we are getting pretty close to prime

[84StangSVT]

Thanks Craig! I am blessed with a (somewhat clean and spacious) garage but have no room for winter parking of my own vehicle; for a while yet at least!

I seem to have the same problem....while mine is not as spacious as I really want, the Mustang has been a permanent fixture in it for a few years now causing me to park out in the weather.

What I did to make myself feel better about having to park out in the weather is buy a truck that wont even fit in that side of the garage! Problem Solved! LOL

[82GTforME]

I seem to have the same problem....while mine is not as spacious as I really want, the Mustang has been a permanent fixture in it for a few years now causing me to park out in the weather.

What I did to make myself feel better about having to park out in the weather is buy a truck that wont even fit in that side of the garage! Problem Solved! LOL

That's funny and a good excuse. If I ever upgrade my wife's car, she may change her tune about a parking spot!

You should try Google. The jumper that comes from the fender bulkhead is nothing special. You can get an antenna extension that will have the male/female end relationship on it, and avoid grubbing around in the JY for what will probably amount to the same fragile situation. Or you could just get another end from any old antenna, and solder the center conductor, and the braid together (respectively) and be done. Just like coax cable from TV, even the crudest of connections will allow signal to path through.

Well, the '78 in the JY didn't have the cable I needed; it was "upgraded" and one piece. I '83 I've already picked at had the one piece cable cut by someone who took the fenders: me I didn't need an antenna cable a few weeks ago... I did grab it and a couple of others "remnants" off other cars so I can try repairs. We'll see how crude of a connection a signal will like!

[82GTforME]

I had picked up a spare dash hull a while ago and it had a PC passenger side dash cover bezel in what I thought was usable shape. There had been a decal f some sort stuck on there. I searched and bought a nice driver's side bezel off Matt (onetrackrider) with an even rougher passenger side included.

I put them in to test and see how it looked. I love it other than that spot on the passenger side where the glue wrecked the finish. Kind of sticks out...



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I put the old center speaker in also. I think the dash pad will need the support there. I could imagine wiping the dash off and your hand going right through!


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[Blainer]

Ther decal would have been the pace car decal with the wings.

[82GTforME]

Ther decal would have been the pace car decal with the wings.

I figured as much. Personally, after all of the effort I couldn't look at that spot all the time I am in the car. Either I put a decal back on to hide it or just go with the wood panel plates for now. I wonder what the chances of finding an unblemished passenger side replacement?

[onetrackrider]

Nice looking driver's side bezel Glad it went to good use......

[Mike1157]

I figured as much. Personally, after all of the effort I couldn't look at that spot all the time I am in the car. Either I put a decal back on to hide it or just go with the wood panel plates for now. I wonder what the chances of finding an unblemished passenger side replacement?

How about just repainting the pass side w/ a satin interior Vinyl dye?

[82GTforME]

How about just repainting the pass side w/ a satin interior Vinyl dye?

Not familiar with that product Mike. Is it an over the counter aerosol? Do you have a link to an example?

I saw this on eBay for a radio. The one I put on is the plain black, not turned. Too bad it couldn't have been a passenger side piece! Too pricey at almost $100 to get it to me.

[82GTforME]

Well, the weather is cooling off, fall chores and work are keeping me preoccupied. Plus a still to be installed heater in the garage haven't had me out as much but on the nice days I have still been plugging away at the fill and block sanding. I have realized I am not the most efficient at this, whether it's the application or the sanding but perseverance is paying off and things are slowly coming together. The trunk lid gave me some extra grief.

Seeing as we had snow once already, I put my truck in here one more time and put the winter rims and tires on it. Now I can take up the whole garage and not need to worry about it.




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[82GTforME]

I am confident I have finally filled and sanded enough that all of the loose components are ready The car has to be 95%. I still am going to remove the doors to get in the hinge and jamb area properly to clean and prep. I hope to do the loose pieces first and then the car. I don't think I have the room to lay it all out and do it at once.


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I spent a little time wrapping and masking in the engine compartment, plus I finally got to the tunnel. There was an enormous amount of work to remove the caked on oil crud from the leaks the engine had plus multiple layers of undercoating. I scraped and scraped and then gave it all a good soaking with brake clean. I'm not sure how far I want to go back with paint under there though


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Uphill all the way!

[STL79Coupe]

You have room! Look at my build thread and you should see the garage we painted all my parts and car in with minimal problems. Yes, it is tight but with some planning you can do it.