90-93 Black Rear Interior Quarters in 86

[erratic50]

Anyone tried swapping 90-93 rear 1/4 trim into an 86?

I'm interested in adding rear shoulder belts and also in the improved rear speaker location.

I know the shoulder belt location is higher for the front seats (which I also prefer). I know there are mounting bracket things to consider by the seats.

I know the carpet is different.

I know the rest of the rear trim is different. (Added light, etc)

My question is more-so rear side window area oriented. Are there fitment issues there that I should consider?

I am collecting parts and have customized door panels already to a red/black theme. Parts are getting harder to find all the time. My 86 rears are beyond shot! My car was used to haul shingles and wood when I was redoing one of my past houses and try as I may they still got damaged pretty severely.

I figure why not upgrade while I'm at it if it's practical.

[wraithracing]

I am installing a set of 90 model interior rear quarter panels into my 1982 GT.

I have added the rear shoulder belt mounts already. I do not plan on moving the front should belt mount. I will fill the original hole in the quarter panel trim and drill the new hole. Too much work to move the seat belt mount IMHO.

Rear carpet is shaped differently due to the quarter panels shape being different as you mentioned.

In order for the rear quarter panels to work with the 79-86 quarter windows you have trim the edge of the quarter panel where it meets the window by @ 3/4" . This is due to the 79-86 windows being mounted on the inside of the car and the 87-93 Aero windows mounting on the outside of the car.

Several of the mounting screws will be in different locations. Most you can just drill new holes. There is one per side at the very back edge of the panel where it meets the rear tail light trim that you may have to add a short section of metal in order for the screw to have a place to attach.

As you stated there are benefits to the Aero panels. The 87-89 panels are a bit easier to swap due to lack of the shoulder belt and the seat belt anchor for the front seat is in the same location as the 79-86. Unless you just want the rear should belts, I would use the 87-89 panels. That is my plan on my 84 SVO. I want the better speaker location and my panels are pretty well shot.

I am using the 90 panels on my 82 because I have a pair of NOS rear shoulder belts in Black that I bought many years ago from Ford and I am tired of them sitting on the shelf collecting dust. Besides I already had the other parts too.

[erratic50]

Awesome reply as always - thank you! Thanks for the input!

I forgot to mention my 86 is a canyon red interior car that I'm going to black on in several areas inside my car - including the rear quarters, carpet, headliner, console lid, dash pad, kick panels, carpet edging, etc.

leaves me with either respraying 87+ in black or dealing with the differences associated with the OE black 92-93 style trim. I'll make a final decision when I find parts and evaluate it.

I'm switching to 84 SVO leather seats so we are building a similar interior. I have a factory leather dark grey rear on the shelf that I planned to strip back to the leather then dye black and re-laquer. Much like I did with the seats my dad and I redid for my son's 86 ragtop. Then I'll convert my 89GT lumbar seats to use SVO pads and SVO style leather in black on the front seats. TMI has the SVO style leather kit available in black last I knew.

[wraithracing]

I have had several Canyon Red interiors over the years. I honestly have to admit its not one of my favorite colors. When new and clean it can look pretty good, but age, wear, sunlight, etc. can really wreck the color and the overall look.

As an owner of an 82 GT that is going black on the interior over the original red, I can't say NOT to do it, but I will say that IMHO the 85/86 cars just don't look right with a black interior. Not that it can't be done well, but since they were never offered with black in those years, it always seems out of place to me.

I do like the dark charcoal SVO style interior in the 85/86 as it looks "right" IMHO and its no more work than going with black interior.

I have always resprayed/redyed all of my interior jobs even when staying the original color. The original parts were always different shades of color due to material differences, vendors, etc. Always drove me crazy, so I just made it a habit of redoing everything so it all matched.

If you plan on using any of the TMI stuff, consider that they can customize any of their patterns with different colors and materials. They have a decent selection, but they will even work with your supplied materials if they don't have what you want. I plan on having my PC Recaros covers done by them, but I will be changing things up a bit since my PC is nowhere near stock.

Oh! Look into Color Bond paints for interior changes or even restoring. http://www.colorbondpaint.com/ They can be a bit difficult to verify some colors as they don't show what matches your vehicle, but I have had very good luck with their products. I redid the interior in my wife's 2003 Navigator and it looked brand new when I was done. Great match too!

[erratic50]

I've always loved the SVOs in charcoal - especially with a charcoal or black exterior.

I'm a bit of an exception in that most people prefer the grey interiors in 86, I've always preferred the red- especially on black cars. That said I don't tend to leave things alone entirely. All red wasn't my cup of tea.

Fading is a big problem, agreed. My car has always had tinted windows. Tints required to keep the UV off the bright work inside. while it was rarely ever garaged the tint definately helped. Especially when I would use the windshield shade too.

Custom interiors are always a love/hate. The blend of black and red started in my black 86 nearly 23 years ago. Through the years I've come to love my customizations as you never see another one like it. I started off with some bold radical plans on what I was going to do and only got a few things tastefully done. Now I'm I'm happy I didn't get to the rest because my tastes have changed. I love what's there so far but the sketch of what I was found grosses me out honestly. These days I do not feel like the inside needs to pop your eyes out with bright stuff and scream hey look at me. I look at my old plan now and my next steps now scream checker board to my.

I did post a pic of my door panel in a custom interiors thread. I also have a custom dash pad that I've come to love over the years. There's something about stitching in the dash that screams exotic and fast. For the time at least it's 1/2 right.

I agree on the color variations. Very noticeable and very annoying! I also plan to redo every panel. Where I can I will start with a near matching panel so I can get a more consistent color result.

Ive had black seats with red inserts since 1996. I'll see what TMI would charge for a one off black leather kit with inserts and decide if that's right for me of if I'm going black. Now days everyone accuses me of copying the GT500. If mine was done well in advance wouldn't that be they copied me?? lol.

Lots of work to do before then!

Off topic but I was just looking at the 82 GT fromends the other day. I really like how the nose is more straight up and down on the bottom. I've been considering ideas to add something to my 86 below the trim belt followed by a chin spoiler. Eliminat the ford badge, go to a properly sized pony suspended into the grill. I'll have to be very methodical about what I do and keep it looking factory yet mysteriously different. I'll figure it out.....

thanks for the replies - I've really enjoyed reading your posts.

[wraithracing]

Sorry for my confusion!

I thought you meant you were going all black. Doing a two tone interior is a great way to break up the colors as you mentioned. I actually live a black and red interior myself, when done well. I don't care for the Canyon Red in a black and red interior since the Canyon red has too much brown hue to it and in my eye clashes with the black. I had considered doing a black and red interior in my 82 GT since my car was original a black ext with the all porn red interior. I like the bright red interior, but there's just too much of it. I have since changed my direction on the interior and there will be no red, but it will be cool just the same.

As for the 85/86 nose, I personally like them just as they came. I don't mind the Ford emblem, but filling that in doesn't look bad IMHO. I have yet to see any running ponys in the grill opening that looked right. They all seem too big or out of place.

I do like the 85/86 GT front bumper with the SN95 Mach 1 lower chin spoiler. That is a nice look that seems to really add to the car. Here is a picture of another member's GT with the setup.

[erratic50]

Funny thing about canyon is lots of stuff fades to a brownish but door panels turn almost bright red. They remind me of the 87 red interior honestly

I like the color in my door panels and will try to match it everywhere there is red. When I'm done there will be a lot of black inside to complement this. Far from stock that's for sure.

Thanks for sharing the pic. I love it - the chin looks great!

Ill have to see what I can do with my frontend when the time comes. I want my car overall to be so very different in very subtle ways.

Researching shops that I'd feel comfortable with having do my engine swap right now mainly because I don't have time ever.. Then I need to nail down time with my dad and my son so we can build my replacement mill out and prep it for getting dropped in. I've got a funky bind problem with 2-3 shifts in a fresh T5Z build right now too. Seems like irmts the T5 and not the hurst shifter. that will have to go back to the builder and get sorted.

after a 2-3 K mile shakedown it will be time for major body and interior work!

[erratic50]

Forgot to mention, my son is going to black everything in his 86 vert. Car started life dark red metallic with tan interior and tan top. Previous owner went to black exterior, black top and sprayed nearly every panel inside black. I just tracked down and fixed up 1993 ragtop black leather seats for it which we installed on the 86 rails. So far it looks awesome IMO. Love it with tinted windows and cobra spoiler.

a lot of what looks right depends upon the car overall. Certain things make or break a car to me.. I love the satin black trim and hood decal on his car. Tempted to do it to mine in some ways but I've alway had 100% gloss black everywhere on my car. I went to it after hail just a few months after I got mine and Ive always loved the way that looks.

i should educate myself on the correct decal arrangements to see if there is anything to incorporate.

at times I've thought about the 80 cobra red decals just because you never ever see them but those belong on a cobra. Mine doesn't need any frills like that really.

[wraithracing]

Don't get me wrong, I love a good black interior or even a two tone black and ???. I just never really liked them in the 85/86 cars. It just never seemed "right" to me. You and others may disagree.

When I was younger, I wanted to change every interior out to either the charcoal gray or black. As I have gotten older I appreciate the other color options of the Fox era. I would love to have a Blue Capri with the blue interior including Blue Recaros. I seriously considering doing a nice tan interior in my 82 GT rather than the stock red or going black. Ultimately my desire to incorporate Lime Green into the color scheme pushed me to the black. I have no idea what I might do with my 84 RS considering it's an original gray interior, but you never know.

Bottom line is build what you want and what you like. You obviously have no intentions of getting rid of the car, so make it completely your own and enjoy the heck out of it. Good luck!