Busy Weekend With the Mustang

Remember in my last post about the Mustang where I said "There are still big, expensive jobs to do, but they are ....... going to be done by somebody else (carpet and headliner),...... "  Those were my thoughts, anyway, until we found out what it would cost to have somebody do the carpet and headliner.  The headliner alone would have cost over $600, and $400 of that was just to remove and re-install the windshield and rear window.  Then $225 to install the $40 headliner.  There had to be a better way, and there was.  I found online that there are a couple of shops making a one-piece textured ABS headliner that could be installed without removing the glass, and is an easy enough job for a do-it-yourselfer.  Strangely enough, the shop making the headliner that we ordered is located in my old home town of Corona, California where the Mustang spent many years.  The carpeting job we decided to do ourselves because there is an already cut-and-formed kit available for the car. 

So, this past weekend, Brian came down with his truck loaded with new parts, including new front seats and trunk carpet.  We spent Saturday afternoon after he arrived installing acoustic underlayment for the cab.  The stuff is called Dynamat, and is supposed to provide a great improvement in keeping down engine and road noise as well as providing a moisture barrier.  It had to be cut and fit to the curves of the floor, driveshaft tunnel and rear bulkhead:

 

I thought this was a pretty tedious and time consuming job, but the next day we tackled the carpet, which turned out to be the really difficult and time consuming job.  We sort of expected it to fit perfect by just laying it in, but it had to be trimmed a lot and the holes needed for the seats bolts, shift lever, and seat belt bolts were difficult to cut.  where possible, we located the holes by poking up from the bottom with an awl.  First came the rear section of carpet:

Then the front, plus the seat frame adapters:

 

The original rear seats, which were in really good shape, were cleaned up:

Then the sill plates were installed:

 

 

Then the front seats, which took a lot more bending and fitting of hardware than expected:

Note sexy floor mats, too. 

 

 

By this time we had been at it non-stop from 8 am to 3 pm.  We rolled it out into the driveway for a photo op:

 

 

And a test fitting:

 

 

That car is SMALL.  Brian couldn't even get into the back seats but I reminded him that he spent a lot of time there when he was a kid.  The side supports on the drivers seat, combined with the steering wheel, make it a bit of a squeeze to get in for driving.  Once in, though, the seats are very comfortable. 

There are two more interior items to install; the headliner and a console between the driver and passenger seats.  These are back ordered and are not to be shipped until late April, so in the meantime, the Mustang is taking a nap.  I need the shop space as my own vehicles are in need of some maintenance.