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  1. #426
    Mike1157
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    Hmmm....seems I remember something about doing body work. All of the monotony, sore muscles, dust everywhere, application, sanding, more sanding, followed by more application and even more sanding.........What was it?...........


    Oh, I remember.

    I FREAKIN' HATE IT!

    I guess this is just a teaser of what's in store for me when I move onto the body, but that'll happen only when, (and after) I get the dash done.

    As you read, you're thinking surely you must've made some progress, lest why would you update?

    Firstly, I did in fact make "progress". Secondly,.. Don't call me Shirley.

    I intimated earlier that I had solved the dilemma of having to blend the turns that start at the end of the dash, and move onto the doors. I said the solution to the problem literally bitch-slapped me off my rolly-creepy thing.

    That solution was in fact so clear to me, I set right out and welded the hell out of the dash, cutting the turn radius' of the door bar right in the middle, and welding that little stumpy-dude onto the dash. No easy task I tell ya, as those stupid little half bends want to get all kinds of wonky when you try to set them up prior to sticking them permanently.

    As I always do in the end, I just take my best stab at it, and weld the piss out of it.

    Fortunately this time, it worked out.



    For the last several days, I've slaved away on multiple fronts. The welding, followed by a buttload of grinding. Modifying all of the insert mesh, and trim to match the new dash shape.


    Finishing (or at least getting them close enough) the "three amigos" that are the cover panels that make up the bottom of the dash, and THAT is where all of the bodywork has come into play.



    You can't necessarily see it in the pic, but the sheetmetal follows the drop for the column. Sanding a small, piece of rolled 20 ga. sheet metal that has compound curves that run in two different directions can only be described as hell on earth. Getting it close enough to put in a coat of epoxy primer took a bagillion minutes.

    All of those pieces have to be removable, so they also had to have the requisite (say it,........you know you're thinkin' it.....SAY IT!)

    Never mind,...I'll say it for you.

    Bagillion holes.

    All drilled, and tapped w/ another one of those weanie assed little "break off if you look at it wrong" 4-40 taps.

    I broke one off in the bend radius. Took an hour to fracture it out of the crater that I caused trying to get it out.

    Yet,....I persevered. Like Clint Eastwood playing Gunnery SGT Highway on Heartbreak ridge,....I Improvised,......I adapted,......I overcame.

    Now that I had the three pieces in place under the dash, It left me just enough time to work on the end caps. I got one done.



    Now I know that this looks kinda goofy from this angle, but remember the door will hide this when it's open for the most part. They'll be black, so they should look less like a malocclusion after that.

    As for the new flat spots that cap off the bend radius' I think I got a solution for that as well.



    The tweeter portion of my component door speakers. It'll need a place to live, I guess this is just as good a place as any.

    So,......I still have the other side to do. maybeee....a half day ? After that it all comes back out, and the dash bars get several coats of filler primer, another buttload of sanding,...and about 3 coats of satin black acrylic urethane. After that...... this bitch is done.

  2. #427

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    Looking great. really love this build.

  3. #428
    Mike1157
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    Imagine.

    Imagine going to work, and having to scale a 30' high wall everytime you went. I'd guess you'd agree with me that it would be a real pain in the ass, and you'd avoid going if you could. When you did go, there'd always be that stinkin' obstacle standing in your way.

    That obstacle is/was the dash. Everytime I'd go down to the garage, that damn thing would be standing in the way of progress. And just like climbing a 30' high wall, progress was slow and painful. Sometimes, (alot of times actually) avoiding dealing w/ the damn thing altogether, opting instead for a row of double stuff Oreo's, a 16 oz glass of 2%, and either this computer, or the TV.

    (wonder I ain't huge)

    Remember when I posted the pic of the white leather and detailed my plan to use it as one of 5 colors that would be in my interior?

    I decided against that.

    Not that there is gonna be that many less colors in the interior, I just decided against white being one of them. So, I took the ex-cow back to Tandy Leather, and exchanged one bovine hide for another.

    The new color, and the new look are more in tune w/ my overall plan for the interior.

    I chose saddle tan, and the condition of the hide was listed as......."distressed".

    Poor ole Elsie must have had a rough life. This particular hide is marred, and nicked where he/she met up with one barb wire fence too many. There are holes where ticks bit the hell outta the poor thing, and various wrinkles, texture changes, scuffs, and cuts.

    Perfectly suited for an interior in a car named after a slow assed, low-riding, poisonous Arizona lizard.

    Even exchange, I no sooner got home, and I got out the three amigos, and covered two of them.





    I removed the dash, sanded it and then loaded it up w/ rattle can high build primer.



    I finish sanded the gauge pod, and primed that dude w/ etching primer, and that brings me to the viewer participation portion of this update.



    Here they are. Winkin,& Blinkin, Ying and Yang, Zig and Zag. One oval, the other obviously rectangular. Both are probably not gonna be able to be covered because of their weird shapes. I think I'll have to paint them instead.

    The grill mesh will be gold, and the outer shell will be either be a color matched hue that'll match the new leather, or satin black to match the bars.

    I'm thinkin' color match, but you guys are welcome to chime in and offer your suggestions. I do pay attention and appreciate the input.

    The other option (and one I'll pursue on Monday) is to take them to an upholster, and ask if he can cover them for me. I kinda feel that I can cover the rectangular piece myself, but don't wanna chance ruining any of the leather on a folly, when the remaining stuff has to cover the top of the dash, and both doors.

    The dash bars are days away from being black. Once painted, the AC evap will go in permanently, and the wiring will begin. Two-three weeks of that, and I should be able to.........................start it.
    Last edited by Mike1157; 03-21-2015 at 05:59 PM.

  4. #429

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    Are you talking about only covering the housings or are you thinking of covering the housings and the mesh inserts?
    Cheers!

    Mike (TopGear85)



    Have:
    85 Saleen #73-GT,2R,TuTone,Cruise,Pos,5spd,Charcoal
    ***August 2015 ROTM Winner!***

    Had:
    79PC-San Jose #2890
    86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Sand Beige
    86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Charcoal
    90LX-Oxford Wht,5spd,Sunroof,5.0 Hatchback
    90GT-Oxford Wht,5spd

  5. #430
    FEP Power Member bridgener's Avatar
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    My vote is to cover them in black leather. I'm sure you could figure it out. We recently trimmed up my uncle's Jag in camel leather, but kept the dash inserts and some of the trim pieces black. The contrast looks fantastic, and I think you'd have a similar thing going on with your material.

    I'd be more inclined to paint the mesh silver myself, but that's just me!
    Brian

    1982 Capri 5.0L
    1965 Fastback project car - more rusty than not

  6. #431
    FEP Power Member Fearnot's Avatar
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    Wow! Great build. Like that attention to detail.
    88 Turbo Coupe auto
    88 Turbo Coupe 5spd
    79 Fairmont Futura 4.6
    79 Capri RS - 2.3/5spd restomod
    80 Capri 5.0/5spd project
    79 Zephyr Z7 factory 5.0 sunroof
    79 Pace Car 5.0/5spd project
    85 LTD LX factory 5spd?(not documented)
    86 GT conv 5.0/5spd
    79 Pace Car 2.3/4spd - needs new home

  7. #432

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    Really starting to see your vision come to life with the dash! Love it!
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  8. #433
    Mike1157
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    Quote Originally Posted by TopGear85 View Post
    Are you talking about only covering the housings or are you thinking of covering the housings and the mesh inserts?
    The housings are what I'm talking about. The mesh will be painted gold.

    Quote Originally Posted by bridgener View Post
    My vote is to cover them in black leather. I'm sure you could figure it out. We recently trimmed up my uncle's Jag in camel leather, but kept the dash inserts and some of the trim pieces black. The contrast looks fantastic, and I think you'd have a similar thing going on with your material.

    I'd be more inclined to paint the mesh silver myself, but that's just me!
    The carpet, and now the leather have gold undertones in them, I think gold mesh will compliment. Thanks for the input.

    Quote Originally Posted by Fearnot View Post
    Wow! Great build. Like that attention to detail.
    Quote Originally Posted by ZephyrEFI View Post
    Really starting to see your vision come to life with the dash! Love it!
    Thanks again guys, The 30' wall is starting to fall, stuff will start to happen from now on.

  9. #434

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    I figured you were only talking the housings, but I figured I would ask before I give my opinion. First off, I like that you returned the white and went with the saddle colored leather. For me white interiors look nice, but I would never want to own a car with one (too much trouble keeping it looking good). I think if you can pull off wrapping those housings yourself, or have an upholstery shop take care of it, that's the way to go. That leather with the mesh inserts painted gold will look incredible. Plus it will complement the dash top and tie the two together.

    This ones gonna be a humdinger. I can't wait to see it on the pages of my favorite Muscle Car and Ford magazines.
    Cheers!

    Mike (TopGear85)



    Have:
    85 Saleen #73-GT,2R,TuTone,Cruise,Pos,5spd,Charcoal
    ***August 2015 ROTM Winner!***

    Had:
    79PC-San Jose #2890
    86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Sand Beige
    86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Charcoal
    90LX-Oxford Wht,5spd,Sunroof,5.0 Hatchback
    90GT-Oxford Wht,5spd

  10. #435
    Mike1157
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    Quote Originally Posted by TopGear85 View Post
    I figured you were only talking the housings, but I figured I would ask before I give my opinion. First off, I like that you returned the white and went with the saddle colored leather. For me white interiors look nice, but I would never want to own a car with one (too much trouble keeping it looking good). I think if you can pull off wrapping those housings yourself, or have an upholstery shop take care of it, that's the way to go. That leather with the mesh inserts painted gold will look incredible. Plus it will complement the dash top and tie the two together.

    This ones gonna be a humdinger. I can't wait to see it on the pages of my favorite Muscle Car and Ford magazines.
    Yeah, the white was out the minute I brought it home actually. Just waiting to get to a finish level where it was relevant to even worry about it.

    It's finally getting to be that time.

  11. #436
    New User dr. Dan's Avatar
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    Mike, I joined this site just so I could watch your work. The dash-door bar junction solution is right on, and I don't doubt you'll get the paint/leather/whatever details of the dash to come out well, too.

    This is minor, but will you be swapping or upgrading the turn signal and wiper stalks? I prefer later Fox versions, but the tubular metal does kind of go with the interior theme.

    Thanks for letting us peek into your shop now and then.

    Dan

  12. #437
    Mike1157
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    Quote Originally Posted by dr. Dan View Post
    Mike, I joined this site just so I could watch your work. The dash-door bar junction solution is right on, and I don't doubt you'll get the paint/leather/whatever details of the dash to come out well, too.

    This is minor, but will you be swapping or upgrading the turn signal and wiper stalks? I prefer later Fox versions, but the tubular metal does kind of go with the interior theme.

    Thanks for letting us peek into your shop now and then.

    Dan
    Well thanks man, Guess I'm just doing my part to encourage people to sign up at FEP.

    I have a later model Fox tilt column, but you guessed right, the objective is to keep the column w/i my limitations w/ regard to being able to cover it. So, bottom line is I need the old fixed stock column w/ it's old control arms to get what I want.

  13. #438
    Mike1157
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    This day did not go like it was supposed to.

    It started w/ me cutting up the leather to fit the various pieces that I wanted covered. I was hoping to have enough to cover the headliner, but alas the only way that could happen was if the thing was sewn together a piece at a time.

    I decided to take the winkin and blinkin to a upholsterer, I should have them back in a week.

    So far so good.

    I go to my car audio guy, and buy the fuse holder for the 200A fuse that'll be my go between the alt, and my electronics. I mount that dude, and wire a big assed 0ga. cable from the bulk head fitting to that. Why I used such a big assed wire to essentially power the fuse block, C/A system and the ECU is beyond me, but it's done.


    After that, I mounted the AC evap. This time permanently.

    Still, so far so good.



    Then I decide that it's warm enough to paint the dash. I get out the new Summit Hot Rod black, get out a tiny assed touch up gun.

    I should have taken the necessary precautions to control the water. I complained on another thread that I was getting water in the lines,.....you'd think I'd heed my own red flags.

    Nope.

    I start spraying the thing, and no sooner do I get the thing completely coated on the first coat, and it gets doused w/ water droplets everywhere.

    I stop, and pour out almost a half qt of activated hotrod black paint. I clean the gun, When the dash was dry enough to handle, moved that pig inside.


    Next, I move on to upholstering the dash top. It goes along easily enough, until I manage to spray some glue onto the leather.

    I don't stress over it. I still work at getting the thing covered.

    It all goes to hell when I try to wash off the glue w/ some thinner.

    I'm pretty sure It's phkd.


    I just went down there, it's still just as stained as it is in this pic. The headliner material that was left over just got re assigned.

  14. #439

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    Ah that dash is looking good! At least with your own custom parts and in particular, custom dash top you won't have to worry about it fading and distorting.

  15. #440
    FEP Super Member 84StangSVT's Avatar
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    That sucks Mike. On the flip side though, even if you have to recover the dash again, that color leather looks pretty dam good.
    Brock
    1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
    1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed

    I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?

  16. #441
    Mike1157
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    Quote Originally Posted by uncleterry View Post
    Ah that dash is looking good! At least with your own custom parts and in particular, custom dash top you won't have to worry about it fading and distorting.
    All I know is that if you drew that avatar, you need to get w/ me to help me fab up a rendering of the whole car.

    Oh, I'll have to worry about fading for sure. That leather is actually closer to suede. (it has the exact same feel as work gloves) The sun will wreak havoc w/ it if it gets left out directly w/ some SPF on it.

  17. #442
    Mike1157
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    I was gonna repaint the dash today, but thought better of it. Although I had bought those little orange water filters that screw into the gun, I still wasn't seeing the forest for the trees. The real problem at hand was my weak-assed compressor line system. I had been trying to get by, but water would start spitting out of the exhaust of any air tool after 10 minutes of usage. So after a recommendation from a friend, decided that today was the day to fix it.

    Off to Home Depot I go.

    Returning w/ 61.00 worth of various pieces and parts to make a "manifold type" system where there are multiple risers w/ water taps at the bottom of those risers.

    It looks like this when done:


    It killed the day to the tune of about 5 hours, but I believe that it'll work (as long as the PVC lasts at least) There is a little over 50' of vertical rise in the system now, in the space of 32" w/ three drain spigots, and the regulator, w/ it's drain right before the hose reel. In testing the hot air manages to dissipate by the third rise (by touching the risers) so by the time it gets to the hose reel is has cooled to ambient. As the friend recommended, I intend to crack the ball valves just enough to hiss so that water will not be able to make it to the regulator, and any that does will hopefully pool in that reservoir.

  18. #443
    FEP Supporter
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    With the new compressor I had to buy for painting, I have had no issue with moisture (knock on wood). I have sufficed with the little moisture trap similar to yours with no adverse effects to paint quality (knock on wood!).

    You will definitely have no moisture issues now! With that much linear line do you need to worry about pressure drop (and the pressure drop related to cooled air) and enough flow at the end of the line? I never thought about temperature but it makes sense to worry if you could have a lot of entrained moisture in the air.

    I love distracting, tangent-like days like those!
    Quote Originally Posted by Travis T View Post
    I think this is my favorite car on the site right now.
    Quote Originally Posted by BLUECRAPI
    This is the best thread on the internet.
    Darran
    1982-1C (Black) GT T-Top:http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...he-Road-Thread
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  19. #444

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    This thread makes me happy.

  20. #445
    Mike1157
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    Quote Originally Posted by 82GTforME View Post
    With the new compressor I had to buy for painting, I have had no issue with moisture (knock on wood). I have sufficed with the little moisture trap similar to yours with no adverse effects to paint quality (knock on wood!).

    You will definitely have no moisture issues now! With that much linear line do you need to worry about pressure drop (and the pressure drop related to cooled air) and enough flow at the end of the line? I never thought about temperature but it makes sense to worry if you could have a lot of entrained moisture in the air.

    I love distracting, tangent-like days like those!
    I'm glad it's behind me. The difference between you and me is where you live, and the time of year you did all of that work. Bare metal left for more than a day will oxidize in my garage. The "average" humidity in the air is dense enough on a good day that clothes left on a line overnight are wet. Wood rots, stuff mildews, and insects grow to the size of ultra-light aircraft. An all around great place to live.

    I have a pretty decent compressor. W/ the 50' of hose reel, I am only making air travel 110'. I should be OK. Time will tell of course.

  21. #446
    FEP Supporter
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    Makes sense Mike. High humidity is one thing we typically don't deal with even in the summer months. Being almost a mile up at the start of the foothills to the Rockies makes for nice cooling evenings in the summer after a hot day. Humidex is one thing I never really heard of before a dozen years ago. I'm used to the opposite "wind chill"

    My biggest worry was dust in the air with being "dry" and spring around the corner. I've been keeping my garage locked up to prevent infiltration of dust and debris plus doing my best to re-purge the booth before painting. Good thing I'm almost done!

    Now back to the Mike1157 show --------->

  22. #447
    Mike1157
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    Quote Originally Posted by 82GTforME View Post
    Makes sense Mike. High humidity is one thing we typically don't deal with even in the summer months. Being almost a mile up at the start of the foothills to the Rockies makes for nice cooling evenings in the summer after a hot day. Humidex is one thing I never really heard of before a dozen years ago. I'm used to the opposite "wind chill"

    My biggest worry was dust in the air with being "dry" and spring around the corner. I've been keeping my garage locked up to prevent infiltration of dust and debris plus doing my best to re-purge the booth before painting. Good thing I'm almost done!

    Now back to the Mike1157 show --------->
    If you insist.

  23. #448
    Mike1157
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    Eager to try out my newly assembled, foolproof-anti-water manifold type air line system, I got home today, and got right to it.

    The dash was first to go, I wiped the thing down to get all of the dust off of it, tacked it off, and sprayed it. Paint went on beautifully. When it was dry enough to touch (about 20 minuets, I moved him out in the sun.


    Despite the fact that this stuff is supposed to be satin black, clearly, it's way glossier than that. We'll get back to it in an hour.

    I moved onto the console, prepped the night before.

    I get the first coat on and it goes on as nicely as the dash paint did, and I unmask, and step out of my "alabama paint booth" to look at the dash.

    When I get back to it however, I find this:

    Evidently, lil' dude has read about the medicinal benefits to be had from swimming in the Black Sea. Guess he got his black seas wrong.

    That little asshole just didn't land there,...he decided to trudge......through....the .....paint,.......about 100 "bug feet" before he finally got entombed at the top of Mt. tubamanjaro.

    Now had this happened on the dash, this would've really "bugged me" (heh-heh), but since it's on the console actually behind the seat, I made the bug a permanent addition o the bar, and covered his ass in the second coat. When it was dry enough to handle as well, it got moved outside next to the dash.


    The dash was starting to flatten. A process that truly takes about 12-15 hours to finally reach it's satin finish, and mega hardness.


    After looking at the stuff up close though, I may have a problem w/ the insert mesh being to wide to fit, now that there is the added film thickness of several coats of primer, and multiple coats of thick as hell satin black paint. I'll have to mask the bars really well before I attempt to fit that stuff, and that is gonna require another day.
    Last edited by Mike1157; 03-26-2015 at 03:05 PM.

  24. #449

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike1157 View Post

    When I get back to it however, I find this:

    Evidently, lil' dude has read about the medicinal benefits to be had from swimming in the Black Sea. Guess he got his black seas wrong.

    That little asshole just didn't land there,...he decided to trudge......through....the .....paint,.......about 100 "bug feet" before he finally got entombed at the top of Mt. tubamanjaro.

    Now had this happened on the dash, this would've really "bugged me" (heh-heh), but since it's on the console actually behind the seat, I made the bug a permanent addition o the bar, and covered his ass in the second coat. When it was dry enough to handle as well, it got moved outside next to the dash.
    I've heard of working the bugs out of a car, so I guess this must be how they get worked in?

    On a Corolla forum I go to, a guy started a thread about how ants were infesting his car. Other posters' solutions involved the usual extermination-based approaches, so I posted a picture of an anteater!
    '88 Mustang GT convertible, T5, 3.08:1 gears. 5.0 Explobra Jet: A9L Mass Air conversion, Fenderwell Mac cold air intake, 70mm MAF meter = 4.6 T-Bird/Cougar housing + '95 Mustang F2VF-12B579-A1A sensor, aftermarket 70mm throttle body and spacer, Explorer intakes, GT40P heads with Alex's Parts springs and drilled for thermactor, Crane F3ZE-6529-AB 1.7 "Cobra" roller rockers, Ford Racing P50 headers, Mac H-pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 190 LPH fuel pump, UPR firewall adjuster and quadrant with Ford OEM cable, 3G conversion ('95 Mustang V6), Taurus fan, rolled on Rustoleum gloss white paint...
    Past Four Eyes: Red well optioned '82 GT 5.0, Black T-top '81 Capri Black Magic 3.3L 4 speed, Black T-top '84 Capri RS 5.0 5 speed.Over 200,000 miles driven in Four Eyes, and over 350,000 in Fox Body cars.

  25. #450

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    Love the tank set up. I've been looking at doing the same myself.

    Effin bug! lol. I'm still here and following every post. This is good stuff to be reading when you can't work on your cars.

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