Bob's 73 Convertible Avocado Interior Project

[Moderator73]

Dash Panel is finally done, restored & ready to reinstall once the rest of the interior is ready to receive it. Did all of this work in the basement which worked out much better than the garage.

So big picture, on the Center Dash section major changes. Rocketman (Bob) calibrated my gauges & converted the Amp meter to voltmeter. I replaced my old radio with a RetroSound unit that looks great, how it performs I'm looking forward to hearing yet. Thanking "73QCodeMach1F" for her project thread posting detailing her system upgrade. The close to factory look & audio she played in the post really convinced me to go this route. The new Classic Auto Air controls are installed and while not original, I'm pleased with how it looks and fits perfectly. All of the dash lights have been replaced with LEDs from Bill at HiPo Parts.

On the Instrument Cluster, repainted the Aluminum color on the inside of the Tach/Speedo/Fuel gauges to freshen up. Repainted the florescent red on the needles. Replaced the cluster ribbon & IVR so everything is fresh. It's really satisfying to see it done and I so appreciate you members for your posts & help.

Bob

 

[Moderator73]

Took advantage of testing the new Classic Auto Air controls, dampers, fan and hot water valve with the dash out. I set up the heater box on a bench, used the battery for power and wired it up to my dash controls.

The instructions suggested doing a test before installing and it was a good that I did. The fan and dampers worked perfectly. But the hot water valve to the heater core was backwards. With the temperature control on hot the valve was closed and opened when sliding the temperature to cold. It turned out to be a simple fix. Called the CAA tech support and they walked me through a calibration process to fix this issue over the phone. I was surprised to find the problem but was very impressed with the tech support.

I don’t know how difficult this calibration would have been with the heater box and dash already installed but it was a piece of cake doing it on the bench.

 

[tpj71mach]

Looks great! I look forward to seeing it in the car.

 

[Moderator73]

Looks great! I look forward to seeing it in the car.

Thanks for all your encouragement Tom, and advice along the way! Bob

 

[dawson357]

Wow! Looks great! Like the A/C ducts

 

[Moderator73]

Slowest project ever...but here's my fully restored Full length console that's been done for while just haven't yet posted. Couple of Noteworthy things...I had the console body painted at the same time the body shop painted my dash so they matched. Had to get a new arm rest, and because it's black, I dyed it with several coats of Avocado. It's a little off in color but close enough I think. The clock was reworked/converted by Rocketman, also with a fresh lens and it looks amazing. I also added a new Retrosound radio to my dash work and I mounted the USB Port inside the console so it's totally hidden. I anticipate cruising with the tunes coming from a jump drive/stick off this port. And finally, the ash tray assembly. Got it all fixed up, sandblasted, repainted and the nylon runners glued up where they were broken. But the most fun was cleaning up the actual ash tray. After getting all the old black paint and rust out of it (still a little pitted), I tried the vinegar/Epsom salt bath, 12volt, "zinc plating" method and it actually worked (the second time). I've seen where you can send your ash tray off to a company where they'll do a no doubt a better job but was fun doing it myself. So this make another major part of my interior ready to go back in.

 

[Sheriff41]

Slowest project ever...but here's my fully restored Full length console that's been done for while just haven't yet posted. Couple of Noteworthy things...I had the console body painted at the same time the body shop painted my dash so they matched. Had to get a new arm rest, and because it's black, I dyed it with several coats of Avocado. It's a little off in color but close enough I think. The clock was reworked/converted by Rocketman, also with a fresh lens and it looks amazing. I also added a new Retrosound radio to my dash work and I mounted the USB Port inside the console so it's totally hidden. I anticipate cruising with the tunes coming from a jump drive/stick off this port. And finally, the ash tray assembly. Got it all fixed up, sandblasted, repainted and the nylon runners glued up where they were broken. But the most fun was cleaning up the actual ash tray. After getting all the old black paint and rust out of it (still a little pitted), I tried the vinegar/Epsom salt bath, 12volt, "zinc plating" method and it actually worked (the second time). I've seen where you can send your ash tray off to a company where they'll do a no doubt a better job but was fun doing it myself. So this make another major part of my interior ready to go back in.

That turned out very nice! I like the USB idea, too.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Nice! I also went with Classic Auto Air and a Retrosound Model 2 AM/FM/USB/BT stereo. I even put the USB socket in the same spot inside my console box.

Great Minds!

 

[Moderator73]

Nice! I also went with Classic Auto Air and a Retrosound Model 2 AM/FM/USB/BT stereo. I even put the USB socket in the same spot inside my console box.

Great Minds!

No kidding...that's really neat and a nice coincidence. Thanks for letting me know. I'm a huge copycat using other's ideas from this forum. That's how I ended up with the CAA and radio. As for this USB port location, I hadn't seen it used before is why I thought I'd post the pic and give it some attention.

 

[Moderator73]

Bonus repair item...My front Grille is finally done. I didn't plan to work this grille when I started my interior project, but when I removed it in order to install a Classic Auto Air system, i found it had three missing honey comb plastic pieces, 20 broken but still in place plastic pieces, and one broken off Foot where the grille mounts to the Headlight Bucket. Had to fix it, but I really didn't want to just buy a replacement without at least trying to repair the original and I'm glad I spent the time fixing vs replacing. Much more satisfying.

Motivation came from another member's thread (bluto72) on 2/24/2019 titled "Casting ABS glue". Basically his idea was to repair some broken off edges of the dash panel black bezels using a "Play Dough" mold and an ABS slurry made with acetone & existing ABS plastic source. It's a great thread that shows how he did his repair. Applying this to my front Grille, I was very impressed how well this worked.

So here I'm sharing what it looks like now, and also show the broken areas I started with. Also, when all done, I tried to paint it with SEM Trim Black paint, and what a disaster. It was basically flat black. Not knowing really what color it should be I posted another thread asking for help and you guys steered me to just using black semi-gloss which really looks great. Don't really know what the original unpainted finish is, but this sheen turned out well...

 

[Spaceman]

Fantastic work!

Link to the thread for those reading: https://7173mustangs.com/threads/casting-abs-glue.32848/

I'll have to research this myself. My grill is in much worse shape than you started with, but I'm in winter project mode and it couldn't hurt to try this before buying a new one.

 

[Moderator73]

Fantastic work!

Link to the thread for those reading: https://7173mustangs.com/threads/casting-abs-glue.32848/

I'll have to research this myself. My grill is in much worse shape than you started with, but I'm in winter project mode and it couldn't hurt to try this before buying a new one.

Thanks, and thanks for posting the link to “bluto72”s thread for others. I think you’ll be surprised how well this actually works, as I was.

In his thread he mentions that the slurry can dry with some air bubbles and be a little like Swiss cheese. I had the same experience if I made my repair full thickness on the first pour. What prevented this was by doing multiple layers, with 24 hours to degas/dry between layers.

Those Acid Shop Brushes worked really well and Harbor Freight sells a pack of 36 for $2.99 so plenty of brushes to throw away after a coat is applied.

Also for my source ABS I bought a sheet off Amazon like Stanglover mentioned and it worked well. After using it for awhile I experimented with just a black plumbing ABS fitting as a source to mix with the acetone and it worked also.

 

[Moderator73]

Finally have the engine bay part of my "interior project" done. Lot's of, "while you're at, might as well do this too". The Goal was to replace my factory air with the Classic Auto Air system. So, short of pulling my engine, I cleaned up my engine bay and front end the best I could.

You can see how the CAA Compressor and Condensers mounted up to our 71-73's. All fit very well with this system, and the Tech Support at CAA was great help. They helped me through a problem mounting my lower condenser bracket, and found out that when they designed this system years ago, they actually installed it on 4 different 71-73's mustangs at their factory and video taped it. So the tech guys have some really good info to draw on.

Other stuff I addressed while switching AC systems in this area was to replace the water pump, distributor, coil, power steering pump, and upgrade to Clutch Cooling fan. Side note on the Power Steering pump, that was NOT planned. It was in great condition until I had it sitting on my front bumper and knocked it off onto the concrete floor as I was positioning myself to install it. That severely bent the pulley (1/2" out of true) and the pump shaft had .008 runout...crap.

All good now, and the grille I spent so much time refurbishing turned out pretty good to.

 

[Sheriff41]

Finally have the engine bay part of my "interior project" done. Lot's of, "while you're at, might as well do this too". The Goal was to replace my factory air with the Classic Auto Air system. So, short of pulling my engine, I cleaned up my engine bay and front end the best I could.

You can see how the CAA Compressor and Condensers mounted up to our 71-73's. All fit very well with this system, and the Tech Support at CAA was great help. They helped me through a problem mounting my lower condenser bracket, and found out that when they designed this system years ago, they actually installed it on 4 different 71-73's mustangs at their factory and video taped it. So the tech guys have some really good info to draw on.

Other stuff I addressed while switching AC systems in this area was to replace the water pump, distributor, coil, power steering pump, and upgrade to Clutch Cooling fan. Side note on the Power Steering pump, that was NOT planned. It was in great condition until I had it sitting on my front bumper and knocked it off onto the concrete floor as I was positioning myself to install it. That severely bent the pulley (1/2" out of true) and the pump shaft had .008 runout...crap.

All good now, and the grille I spent so much time refurbishing turned out pretty good to.

That looks really great! Nice work!

 

[Marmon]

Finally have the engine bay part of my "interior project" done. Lot's of, "while you're at, might as well do this too". The Goal was to replace my factory air with the Classic Auto Air system. So, short of pulling my engine, I cleaned up my engine bay and front end the best I could.

You can see how the CAA Compressor and Condensers mounted up to our 71-73's. All fit very well with this system, and the Tech Support at CAA was great help. They helped me through a problem mounting my lower condenser bracket, and found out that when they designed this system years ago, they actually installed it on 4 different 71-73's mustangs at their factory and video taped it. So the tech guys have some really good info to draw on.

Other stuff I addressed while switching AC systems in this area was to replace the water pump, distributor, coil, power steering pump, and upgrade to Clutch Cooling fan. Side note on the Power Steering pump, that was NOT planned. It was in great condition until I had it sitting on my front bumper and knocked it off onto the concrete floor as I was positioning myself to install it. That severely bent the pulley (1/2" out of true) and the pump shaft had .008 runout...crap.

All good now, and the grille I spent so much time refurbishing turned out pretty good to.

Hell yeah!

 

[Moderator73]

Probably should catch up on one other detour it took on my "Interior Project". Reading some posts about our 50+ year old fuel tanks convinced me now was a good time to upgrade mine. I drained some gas from original tank and found a lot of rust debris. With the tank out, I found my trunk floor pan had a good amount of rust deterioration. Where the fuel fill neck attached to the trunk floor was the worse. Had this & two other areas of rust that I made up patches to weld up to "Save" my exterior paint job without making this repair a major.

Here's some pictures of what I found and how I addressed it.

Just one more detour item to address before moving on to achieving my "Interior Upgrade". My steering column is next which I've been dreading.

 

[Bill Perkins]

Finally have the engine bay part of my "interior project" done. Lot's of, "while you're at, might as well do this too". The Goal was to replace my factory air with the Classic Auto Air system. So, short of pulling my engine, I cleaned up my engine bay and front end the best I could.

You can see how the CAA Compressor and Condensers mounted up to our 71-73's. All fit very well with this system, and the Tech Support at CAA was great help. They helped me through a problem mounting my lower condenser bracket, and found out that when they designed this system years ago, they actually installed it on 4 different 71-73's mustangs at their factory and video taped it. So the tech guys have some really good info to draw on.

Other stuff I addressed while switching AC systems in this area was to replace the water pump, distributor, coil, power steering pump, and upgrade to Clutch Cooling fan. Side note on the Power Steering pump, that was NOT planned. It was in great condition until I had it sitting on my front bumper and knocked it off onto the concrete floor as I was positioning myself to install it. That severely bent the pulley (1/2" out of true) and the pump shaft had .008 runout...crap.

All good now, and the grille I spent so much time refurbishing turned out pretty good to.

Good Job, Looking so Good

 

[CandyRcode]

I have a 73 Avacodo tilt column complete with key $600 if wanted or needed.

 

[Moderator73]

I have a 73 Avacodo tilt column complete with key $600 if wanted or needed.

Wow...great price and thanks. I think mine will be fine to clean up and put some new bushings/bearings/wiring in, I'm just dragging my feet because looking at the service manual and factory assembly manual pages this looks pretty complicated. Heck, it was hard enough getting the ignition cylinder lock out and lining everything up. I've already gotten the new turn signal switch, ignition switch & cylinder. Still need a new rag joint & firewall seal and whatever else after opening it up trying not to break anything. But if I screw things up, I really appreciate the life line and Avocado at that.
Bob