How about a web brace with the subframes......?
https://www.buystifflers.com/webbrace79-04mustang.aspx
How about a web brace with the subframes......?
https://www.buystifflers.com/webbrace79-04mustang.aspx
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
Was that a dealer fix if someone complained or did that end up as standard on later cars?
I do not believe it was available factory or dealer. Later Factory used a rivet on support on the rocker panel along the pinch weld. Earlier cars did not have it but it was available as a kit.
Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles
I have an 84 LX convertible. My front windshield header is lifted up away from the glass in the top center. I'm sure its supposed to be flush enough all around the windshield for the rubber weather stripping to press against the glass.
When it rains I get a bad leak right in the center. And I just changed the convertibles top seal all around last summer and its tight. I am sure water is intruding under the header and finding its way in and dripping below the steel inner header panel. The convertibles seal is always bone dry. Its not leaking at the seal.
I am thinking the only way to remedy this is to remove the 2 header panel pieces and twist them gently and re seat them correctly. The thing is that I cant see how to remove them. There's one screw in the center of the header panel. But there's more to it I think under the A pillars.
Getting the doors to close right and not leak by the side view mirrors was a major pain so I don't want to just start pulling stuff off until I have a good idea what to remove. I cant find a diagram of the header panel assembly. Does anyone here have either a Ford tooling diagram or photos of their header assemble removed? This is a project I must do this summer. I put it off last year hoping the new weather stripping was the fix.
This gap is so bad the replacement weather stripping I put on when the car was painted 3 summers ago wont stay in place.
A close up with my finger to show just how bad the gap is.
I have not had an issue with a gap. I pulled a spare set of vert trim from a junk yard. I plan to have it powder coated so I can swap out trim on my other 2 cars. I don't recall much trouble getting it off. There was some foam behind it, maybe on the side pieces. I will have look closely when I remove them.
I have not seen much in the way of drawings in the Ford parts book. Possibly the convertible manual used foe adjusting the windows.
Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles
Would this be of any help??
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12074382905...YAAOxy79JRgRY1
1985 Mustang GT (Mothballed...Desired restomod parts acquired...Top of my project list for my 2024 retirement!)
Here you go...................
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
Thank you so much.
Looking at sheet 45, it shows 2 screws on either end of the headers. Apparently they are not accessible without removing the A pilar weather strip bracket. That's what I was afraid of. They don't go back in so easy. last time was a nightmare.
As for my misshapen headers, has anyone else had that problem? I was thinking I could twist them by hand and torque them into the right position but I wont know until I remove them completely.
Also,
Any suggestions on what to use to fill in the space under the headers? The original material was something that solidified like charcoal brick. I had stuffed foam from Home Depot in last time but I am sure that will absorb water and not repel it. What's the thought on filling the gap with expanding foam and trimming in to level with a ling razor?
Last edited by fgross2006; 06-29-2022 at 04:23 PM.
When I went through my 85 back in 2011 I did away with that small windshield weather stripping. I went with a black caulk tape that I built up behind the top and side header trim. I worked it such that it sat just under and behind the outside trim so you really can't see it so it has a clean look and doesn't leak through which won't rust out that metal window frame. I would not put foam back in there unless it is a closed cell to keep it from holding moisture in there.
HAD
'82 GT monochromatic (red)...black cloth
HAVE
'85 GT vert two tone (white on charcoal)...white leather
'00 F350 two tone (white on silver)...gray cloth
'00 Excursion Limited two tone (white on tan)...tan leather...wifes ride
'08 Taurus Limited ice blue...tan leather...daughter ride
'08 Edge Limited white sand tri-coat metallic...tan leather...other daughters ride
I have never had mine off the 88 so I'm not sure how to re-seal.
Sheet 45 does show that seal part but I have not found anybody that reproduces that piece.
"Seal W/S Header- 52" (1)"
Maybe take very careful measurement and have a top shop custom make a piece.
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
so here's my update.
I spent the day yesterday working on the header trim. As I already knew. the A pillar seals and the racks they mount in had to come out. After all the time it took to get my doors to finally close right I knew I'd regret tampering.
I removed the pilar seals, pulled off the 2 posts on either side of the header. Everything was going well until I started to reassemble. However, I was correct in my idea to reshape the header rails by hand. I tweaked them and laid them back in place a few times until the line ran along the glass like its supposed to. For the internal seal I went to local hardware store and got a big fat AC seal. I needed to trim it. Took about 1/3 off. The header sandwiched it nice. I also took time to clean and paint everything with SEM Trim black.
I put the passenger side A Pillar backet back in, put the seal in place. Tested the door and it closes exactly as it did before. I had trouble putting the pillar cap back on the passenger side. It suddenly slipped in and all was good. The driver side. No such luck. After putting the pillar bracket and weather stripping in the door no longer closes right. The glass lays on top of the weatherstrip. Not in the crevice. And I new that was gonna happen.
But the worst was yet to come. The driver side Pillar cap just would not go back in. I tried to be patient and finesse it. But a no go, is a no go. It was the A pillar bracket that was hanging up the pillar cap. I lessened all 3 screws, almost removing the thing, and It found its place. But not before I cracked my windshield and put some massive scratches on driver front fender.
This was not a rush job. I took all day with this. Final result, The header lays perfect.
But now I have to pay the body shop to fix my fender and I'm putting in a glass claim with my classic car insurance co. Anybody have experience with Condon Skelly? I was at a glass shop for over an hour while they talked on the phone with the rep. As we left it, it takes 4 hours for approval. So as of now I still don't know if insurance will cover the glass. But the thing that really sucks is that all the trim I just spent a day taking off and reinstalling, has to all come off again to replace the glass.
That sucks man. Hope the insurance comes through for you.
Funny though, I have cracks in the right bottom corner on my 88 vert windshield for about 10 years now. I do not want to replace it, so since it does not leak and the windshield wipers do not swipe over the cracks it passes safety test. Come to think of it my 85 notch has a crack as well but again it does interfere with the wipers so it passes safety as well.
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
Im good to go with the glass claim. It was approved and the car goes to the glass shop Friday. Then to the body shop for damage repair to the fender..
Im gonna have to remove the A pilar track and try to adjust its position on driver side door.
Just for the heck of it I got a quote of $432.85 to replace my 88 verts windshield (+$50, I have to buy the side weather strips). Yeah, I'm leaving the cracks....LOL
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
HAD
'82 GT monochromatic (red)...black cloth
HAVE
'85 GT vert two tone (white on charcoal)...white leather
'00 F350 two tone (white on silver)...gray cloth
'00 Excursion Limited two tone (white on tan)...tan leather...wifes ride
'08 Taurus Limited ice blue...tan leather...daughter ride
'08 Edge Limited white sand tri-coat metallic...tan leather...other daughters ride
what I like about my insurance is that you can set the value you want to insure for, as long as its within reason they will accept it. Originally I insured my 84 vert for $7500, but after doing bodywork and paint 4 summers ago, I raised my insured value to 10,000. They wanted pictures of the car, inside and out, but they allowed me to upgrade my premium.
Also, most classic car insurance companies limit you to 3k miles per year. My policy with Condon Skelly allows me unlimited mileage, and also allows limited use for commuting.
Dont know if this is the right place to ask this but here goes.
I have an 84 vert and even with the windows down the top feels like it is an inch or two far back from where it should sit on the windshield. Its a real embarrassing struggle trying to lock the top on when its fully up even with the hooks all the way out. I can only imagine it will leak horribly if i ever drive it in the rain.
My old 84 v6 vert wasnt like this at all with the top even after it shrunk from being a winter beater for years and people pushing down on it and pushing on the a pillars, the top layed right where it should and locked on with no struggle.
I dont believe it was like this when i first got it but i really didnt notice this untill recently so i dont know.
Where do i even begin looking at to figure out whats going on here? The top fabric isnt hanging up on anything and the windows are straight but even when they are down it makes no difference.
HAD
'82 GT monochromatic (red)...black cloth
HAVE
'85 GT vert two tone (white on charcoal)...white leather
'00 F350 two tone (white on silver)...gray cloth
'00 Excursion Limited two tone (white on tan)...tan leather...wifes ride
'08 Taurus Limited ice blue...tan leather...daughter ride
'08 Edge Limited white sand tri-coat metallic...tan leather...other daughters ride
I'll look tonight in my vert guide. You might want to get a copy, it's helped me a lot with my 88.
https://lmr.com/item/LRS-8393GUIDE/1...Top-Guide-Book
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
See if this helps....
Scotty
1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
Past Pony's.....
68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White
Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles
First, take a look at the rear window. If it is pulling away from the glass or the seams pulling apart at the bottom, your top has shrunk and its days are limited. It will take pretty much 2 people to latch a shrunken top. You can get by for a while by latching it at temps above 70 deg.
Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles
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