This is the final stages of the build and most of the updates will happen in this section through 2021. The goal is to have it on the road by summer 2021.
January 5, 2021
A lot of thought has gone into the interior. Choosing each switch and accessory, wiring, upholstery, seats and so much more. The biggest issue always is the amount of space (or lack there of) available to make this vehicle somewhat comfortable inside.
Now that the car is painted, this is basically the last phase before final assembly, which will have a section unto its own and show all the little details from every part of the build that need to get wrapped up.
Where did I start you ask…
…WITH THE SEATS OF COURSE!
November 9, 2014
This is the date decided that the Cobra Style buckets were not really going to give me the look I was after. So they got sold on eBay.
A friend of a friend was building a 35 Ford that had buckets and he wanted a bench. I was able to grab the buckets for a couple hundred bucks. They would need recovering but the biggest issue was that they were too wide. Almost 20″ which will not work.
So I decide to strip them and narrow the frames. Turns out they were “Glide Seat Frames, a good quality unit and in decent shape.
Gutting the seats seemed like a good Job for Julie and Kamryn 🙂 but they still need narrowing.
Once they were narrowed they fit well, but I doubted I could get them to look the way I had imagined. No foam to work with and no real clue 🙁
While searching around I came across Wise Guys Seats & Accessories. These are their “SONY” pattern and they come in a narrowed width of only 16″ wide. From them you can buy the frames, foam and cutting pattern and seat risers. The recliner and slide adjuster are up front so no issues with the width.
Then it’s off to Mike’s Custom Upholstery here in town and brought the package to him. Here is the finished product that will get installed in the car. Done in black vinyl with a burgundy stitch.
Finally I had to fab up some brackets that bolt to the frame under the floor and put some steel inside the cabin floor so the seats can anchor to something more that the aluminum. Only one bolt hit the frame so each side gets a set of 3 gusseted brackets
More to come once the seats are installed…
Dash and Console
The next thing was designing a simple dash and console. I want a bit of a retro look to it but with all the modern conveniences.
The FFR Kit came with a really nice set of Autometer Gauges back then. There were sold and replaced with a Dakota Digital cluster model VHX-1017 in Silver Alloy. Today FFR has done the same thing and the newer kits come with a similar cluster. Guess I was way ahead of my time 🙂
Because all of my electrical is in the dash area, I had opened up giant access holes in the front of the dash (Click here to see this at the top of the Body Section).
Those openings will be covered by an aluminum dash panel that was made by Tim Whittaker at Kootenai Valley Customs. It will be attached with Weld Mount blind fasteners and some wing nuts to make it easily removable for future access to the electrical.
Once complete, I will use some wood grain vinyl to dress the aluminum up. Here are pics of the process followed by a video.
For the console I started with a fiberglass shell designed and sold by Dan Ruth at Innovative Rodding. It has enough room for everything but I want to turn this simple glass shell into an classier upholstered center console.
First off is to cut all the openings for the Vintage Air Controls, the stereo head the shifter and the switch panels.
Then I made (with the help of my brother Vinnie and his workshop) 2 side panels which get padded and upholstered. never done it before but I’m probably good at it. (He says with a smile). I also added an armrest I got on Amazon for no kinda money.
Then a test fit..
Next time to apply the wood grain and upholster the sides. A fairly simple process of using spray glue, dense upholstery foam and 4 way stretch vinyl.
See how the console 4 switch panel is wired HERE.
Audio System
The core system will be a Clarion NZ503 Head unit, SirusXM Upgrade Module, Clarion Back Up Cam, Kenwood Excelon XR-400-4 reference series amp powering a set of Alpine SPR-50C components in the rear and a pair of Image Dynamics CTX-4 in the front footwells. Rounding out the bass will be a Kicker 11HS8 self enclosed and powered sub box behind the driver seat. All shown below.
As the carpeting was installed, so was all the speakers and wiring for the stereo equipment. To reduce signal noise, all of the audio wiring is run down both sides of the car along the rockers.
12g speaker cables are loomed and run from the amp in the trunk to 4 speaker locations. High quality RCA Cables run from the head unit, back to the Amp in the trunk as well and to the powered sub behind the river seat along with all the control wiring (amp turn on, Rear Camera control and 12v power and grounds etc)
Finally, the amp and powered sub were mounted in their final homes. 4g power wires and chassis ground installed.
It doesn’t sound like much but it’s a ton of wire, looming, labelling, drilling, grommets, zip ties etc etc _ I found it VERY time consuming (but strangely satisfying) to run it all neatly and to leave was visible bundled neatly above the passenger’s feet.
Took a few days to finalize and test all the switches and create a harness for the stereo head unit. See Video below for the initial testing of the audio. Rear speakers just hooked up temporarily as not to fire amp with no load. Sounds great!
CLICK BELOW TO SEE VIDEO – TEST OF STEREO
Vintage Heat/AC
You can see how the mechanicals of the unit were installed in the Vehicle Systems Section so here we focus on the venting and ductwork.
Good or bad I decided to go with A/C. the Vintage Air system was purchased through Factory Five. Right off the hop, I did have to make a claim to have all the knobs replaced under recall. They were brittle and cracked. Vintage Air replaced them at No Charge. Great Customer Service.
The biggest issue, as with everything in this car, is the lack of space. The dash vents went in as one would expect but in order to keep the dash clean, I went with “below the dash” vents rather than the round “in-dash” ones that came with the kit.
The ducting was an issue either way so I modified 3 x Vintage Air 180 Degree Duct Adapters 60500-VUA for left, right and feet. (Pics Above)
See the progress in the 3 videos below.
WaterFall
The Factory Five waterfall cleans up the area behind the seats. Many builders paint this part. I thought that upholstering it would make it look more “uptown”.
It’s also has a lot of room behind it… a perfect place to mount speakers. Not ideal placement but as they are components. I should still get good separation having the tweeters at the shoulders of the passenger and driver.
Before installation, I will sound deaden it as well.
Now with the Alpine component speakers installed…
Door Wiring
Best way to get the power window and door popper wires into the doors was with the use on Dakota Digital Magnum Shooters
Despite being adjustable, I had to mount the drivers door contacts in a different location that the passenger side as the gap was to large
Another issue was the amount of amperage these door popper draw. Had to use 30A fuse to get the to fire more than once
Mar 7-14, 2021
So except for the door panels and the seats, the interior is all finished. All circuits tested and working fine. Just a few trim items to complete
SEE VIDEO BELOW FOR OVERALL INTERIOR WALK THROUGH
March 20, 2021
Stuck the seats in the car today. PERFECT FIT. Will take some finagling to bolt down… needed some longer hardware, but these will look fabulous!!
January – February 2022
Time to start buttoning things up. I should probably start at the back of the car and clean up all loose ends starting with finishing the wiring back there for lights, camera etc and getting the carpet installed. Then systematically go through the car from there all the way to the front and chip away and each thing that’s not done yet.
That was my intention and now I find myself bouncing around from front to back and side to side, over under, in and out. Slowly things have started coming together.
Here’s a video of all my best intentions.
Got the prop rods installed. They are cheap but will do for now.
Door Panels… WHAT A PITA. First a template is made, traced from the panel itself. Then put in the little Christmas trees (flesh shredding little bastards to install them all the way). Then push the template over the backside of the door panel to put holes in. Then reinforce the holes with tape then lay it out on the door, mark and drill…not too big, not too small (who the hell has a 17/64” drill bit??) then drill out the panel for the little handle that twists the latch (thank god I put in door poppers). I gave up on the armrests. I barely fit in the car now. I’ll likely have to come up with some door pull strap to slam the door from inside… probably not!
Hood release – another fussy adventure especially when you do it with the latch already installed. I ended up using the trunk cable so I could install the handle into the pre-cut hole on the inner rocker beside the driver seat. (The trunk release latch is under the truck out back) Anyway, it works fine.
April 2022
Many thanks to Todd Dixon who came over to help me install the roof. A 2 man job for sure. He also helped lower the driver seat by fabbing up a new seat bracket. I FIT!
Then goes on the mighty wiper – ez pz
May-June 2022
Well this is truly the home stretch. The alignment is done and many small things have been completed (prop rods, hood release, wiper etc) So all that is left is the fenders, running boards, headlites and some trim, though I’m sure I’ll find a few things that need doing along the way 🙂
Before I moved to far along, I thought I’d better get the headliner installed and dash back together.
The headliner was a job. Made a template from paper, transfered to coreplast board, then covered it with the FFR headliner foam (3M Spray Adhesive 77) and 2 way taped the panel in place. This would have been MUCH F’ING EASIER had I done it before installing the roof. Anyway, it’s looks good from far, but is far from good. Someday may I will rethink this.
Then the dash. Originally it was installed with blind fasteners. The glue would not hold. (tried twice) So… out came the drill and some socket head srews. Looks just dandy.
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