I'm Thinking I Want My 84 to ....

[Vettn71]

Trey
what do the front pieces look like on the fender. There's a set on the bay that looks like it might be them, but I don't have anything to go by

Thanks
Jim

[Davedacarpainter]

I have to go back out to the SY to get the mouldings off of my car on Monday. If you would remind me with a PM or on my thread, I'll check to see what the yard owner wants for the 1/4 and fender to bumpers mouldings. I know he has several out there.

[wraithracing]

Trey
what do the front pieces look like on the fender. There's a set on the bay that looks like it might be them, but I don't have anything to go by

Thanks
Jim

The pieces don't look really any different that the pieces between the wheels. The biggest difference is the thickness. The moldings that match to the bumper are thicker than the door pieces. The pieces next to the rear bumper are also the longest moldings other than the door moldings. I will grab some pictures today in the shop.

[wraithracing]

Ok here are the body side moldings that match up to the bumpers.



This shows the difference between the moldings that match up to the bumpers and the moldings in between the wheels. Notice the difference in thickness.



This shows the front molding on top and the rear molding on the bottom. If you had to you could cut down a rear molding to work up front, but you have to have a rear molding to work out back due to the longer length.



Hope that helps!

[Vettn71]

Trey

Perfect! That was quite enlightening
Thank you
Jim

[wraithracing]

Trey

Perfect! That was quite enlightening
Thank you
Jim

No problem! Glad to help.

[Vettn71]

I guess you could say I'm back from the dead. Been a miserable year, health wise. My youngest son got in some financial doo-doo with student loans and wanted to do a deal. I wound up giving him my 84 coupe, my 96 (which I just finished up) some cash and took over his loans for 6 months. He just came over this last week and told me he didn't think he could get the 84 done, so did I want it. So the coupe is back on the table. I received an 85 ex-show car in return that had been highly modified. Most people recognize it as soon as they see it, as it was in all the Mustang magazines in 2008 and 2009. Well, it is a tired little trooper. I may use it as my donor car to finish out the 84. I have to see how everything falls out.

Jim

[fgross2006]

Stay an 84. Since I'm recovering from shoulder replacement surgery (I'm that guy you don't want to be) I've had time to mull over where I need to go with my coupe roller. I bought this car gutted out and no drivetrain, so it's essentially a blank canvas. That being said, I think the 84 front bumper is different and should probably stay in that direction. I've got a nice 84 LX bumper cover, but have bought 86 fog lights, light mount, front bumper and spats. Would the fog lights, mounting bar and spats work okay with a late 84 GT bumper cover or should I just go with the 86? I drive myself crazy buying stuff and selling at a loss because I change my mind, sometimes.

Thanks for your opinions

Jim

I have an 84 LX that I put an 84 GT bumper cover and fog lights set up.
Keep in mind 83-84 have the same bumper cover/grille so if you can find one from an 83-84 your good to go. The 85-86 will still fit but the grille is different.

[fgross2006]

I agree with keeping it an 83/84 also. The 85/86 foglight parts will work just fine with the 84 1/2 nose as my early 84 has a mixture of them. The hardest part of the conversion is finding the 84 1/2 nose, at a reasonable cost, as they are very far and few in between. I got lucky on mine but it does need some love.

Attachment 107794

Couldn't help notice this picture. The bumper cover meets the fender perfect. on mine there a step. Was the fender different between LX and GT? I got my fog light bumper cover off an 84 GT so I thought id have a perfect match but not quite so.

[KevinK]

FYI, Ford did offer a kit which included brackets to mount fog lights on cars that did not come with them. Not quite sure how it fits. I bought the kit and instructions to use on my Capri.

[84StangSVT]

Couldn't help notice this picture. The bumper cover meets the fender perfect. on mine there a step. Was the fender different between LX and GT? I got my fog light bumper cover off an 84 GT so I thought id have a perfect match but not quite so.

I spent a fair amount of time to get it to line up almost perfect. It’s not perfect but it’s close. It’s much easier with 2 people. One to hold the bumper in place and lined up then one to tighten it.

[homer302]

Couldn't help notice this picture. The bumper cover meets the fender perfect. on mine there a step. Was the fender different between LX and GT? I got my fog light bumper cover off an 84 GT so I thought id have a perfect match but not quite so.

Yours can be adjusted to meet up good but perhaps not flawless. Find an original one at a show and you will find they were never 100% PERFECT but it should be pretty decent. It does take time and patience and there are a LOT of fasteners but it can be done. If you are talking about just the spats, the holes in the fenders need to be large enough to allow for some movement. They were that way when new. The hole is not the same size as the stud in the spat. They are a couple sizes larger so you can get them to fit good and then tighten them down. The inside should be a fender washer type nut that will cover the hole and tighten it down just fine. There is probably an adjustment "order" where you are supposed to tighten certain fasteners down in a specific order that Ford used but I doubt anyone around now knows what that might be.

[fgross2006]

Yours can be adjusted to meet up good but perhaps not flawless. Find an original one at a show and you will find they were never 100% PERFECT but it should be pretty decent. It does take time and patience and there are a LOT of fasteners but it can be done. If you are talking about just the spats, the holes in the fenders need to be large enough to allow for some movement. They were that way when new. The hole is not the same size as the stud in the spat. They are a couple sizes larger so you can get them to fit good and then tighten them down. The inside should be a fender washer type nut that will cover the hole and tighten it down just fine. There is probably an adjustment "order" where you are supposed to tighten certain fasteners down in a specific order that Ford used but I doubt anyone around now knows what that might be.

Adjustment wont help mine. theres a step of about 3 inches. I asked my body shop guy and he told me that GT's have fender extensions that match up the bottom of the fender to the bumper cover. That's how they were able to use the same fenders on LX and GT with different bumper covers.

I tried looking for fender extensions for an 83-84 but the closest I found was for 85-86.
Look at the picture in the beginning of the thread. The bottom of the fender appears to be slightly different shade of white, same as the bumper cover.

I have to find an 84 GT to be sure if this is correct.

[84StangSVT]

Adjustment wont help mine. theres a step of about 3 inches. I asked my body shop guy and he told me that GT's have fender extensions that match up the bottom of the fender to the bumper cover. That's how they were able to use the same fenders on LX and GT with different bumper covers.

I tried looking for fender extensions for an 83-84 but the closest I found was for 85-86.
Look at the picture in the beginning of the thread. The bottom of the fender appears to be slightly different shade of white, same as the bumper cover.

I have to find an 84 GT to be sure if this is correct.

I’m on the same page as you now I believe. Yes, what you are needing are the 85-86 fender extensions that go below the belt molding. The GT’s and LX’s had the same fenders so if you are to use the 84 1/2 bumper, you need those extensions. Only the 84 1/2 GT’s got those extensions so an early 84 will not have them.

[fgross2006]

I’m on the same page as you now I believe. Yes, what you are needing are the 85-86 fender extensions that go below the belt molding. The GT’s and LX’s had the same fenders so if you are to use the 84 1/2 bumper, you need those extensions. Only the 84 1/2 GT’s got those extensions so an early 84 will not have them.

This is how mine come out. I have a stock 84 LX. I swapped the front bumper cover for a 84 GT fog light bumper cover.

I don't recall my car ever having fender extensions before doing this swap but it appears I need something to fill this imperfection.

[84StangSVT]

This is how mine come out. I have a stock 84 LX. I swapped the front bumper cover for a 84 GT fog light bumper cover.

I don't recall my car ever having fender extensions before doing this swap but it appears I need something to fill this imperfection.

Yes, you need the extensions. When the bumper is bolted on, it should drop straight down and the holes in the lower bumper shouldn't touch the fenders. It appears someone has tried to mate the bumper to the fenders on your car and that is completely wrong.

You need 84 1/2 to 86 fender extensions and brackets like this:



Then when you install the 84 1/2 bumper, it should look like this without the extensions:


Then mock up the extensions to drill holes in the fender. They should be about like this:


Then add the extensions and brackets, square everything up and it should look like this:


The 84 1/2 bumper is longer and wider than the original LX or even early GT bumpers, especially below the body molding belt line, and that's why the extensions are needed.

Hope this helps.

Sorry to the O.P. if this derailed your thread.

[fgross2006]

Yes, you need the extensions. When the bumper is bolted on, it should drop straight down and the holes in the lower bumper shouldn't touch the fenders. It appears someone has tried to mate the bumper to the fenders on your car and that is completely wrong.

You need 84 1/2 to 86 fender extensions and brackets like this:



Then when you install the 84 1/2 bumper, it should look like this without the extensions:


Then mock up the extensions to drill holes in the fender. They should be about like this:


Then add the extensions and brackets, square everything up and it should look like this:


The 84 1/2 bumper is longer and wider than the original LX or even early GT bumpers, especially below the body molding belt line, and that's why the extensions are needed.

Hope this helps.

Sorry to the O.P. if this derailed your thread.

Thanks, that's really helpful. One of the FEP members has a kit to sell me so I can get this worked out.

The thread meandered but is still on topic in respect to keeping an 84 looking like a true 84. That pic early in the thread caught my attention and I noticed mine looked off. Thanks OP.

[84StangSVT]

Thanks, that's really helpful. One of the FEP members has a kit to sell me so I can get this worked out.

The thread meandered but is still on topic in respect to keeping an 84 looking like a true 84. That pic early in the thread caught my attention and I noticed mine looked off. Thanks OP.

Good deal. She will look 100 times better once you get the extensions on and bumper situated the way it should be.

[Vettn71]

So, I’m kinda double back from the dead. After the shoulder replacement I had a non-malignant tumor removed from my spine that was pressing on the spinal cord, then followed that up in April with another one removed from my head. Not my brain, but inside the skull.
it has slowed me down, but I’m getting back to working on the 84. My sons 84 modFox is almost done, so I can get it out f my garage.

ive been working on the rear bumper cover. What a PIA this older urethane is! The cover had split, and had a hole in the corner. I had that fixed by a shop I wish I had never found and have been worked on all the little doo-dahs, which are numerous. I shot it with Bull Dog adhesion promoter and some primer. Now I’m filling the holes that just became visible. Wow!, what a job!





Jim

[Vettn71]

Some background on this project. I had a 96 that was welll sorted out. My youngest son traded a 93 hatch for an ex-showcar. It was an 85 that had a sn95 dash and 2004 Cobra front put on it. Looked good. He ran into financial trouble and we worked out a trade.




Turns out the 85 had severe rust in the frame and someone covered it with sheet metal. I drove it to the gym one day and the starter hung up until the wring started to smoke. I couldn’t get it to stop until it fried the battery. When I went to repair the wiring, I found a disaster site. The PO had spliced a 2004 dash into the 85 wiring and then an alarm was added. Indescribable. Since I have an 84 Coupe shell, I decided to use the 85 to build the 84. Pretty sad.



Ive sold most of the parts I could, like the front bumper cover, hatch, hood and the like. I’ve still got some interior parts and fenders. I gave my son the doors, since they were set up for the sn95 interior panels. So I’ll use the drivetrain, front so suspension, fuel tank, all the lines to finish out my 84. I’ve got to get the shell painted first and am looking for recommendations in the Ft. Worth, Texas area. Anyone have their car painted for less than a kings ransom?

TIA

Jim