early "71' only" dash pad

[giantpune]

I would sugest copying the existing piece you have.

My wife has a bunch of polymer and epoxy and a vacuum chamber. You can make a negative of the existing part and then cast your mold with all different colors and strength of industrial epoxy. Like bomb proof stuff.

I have a 3D printer and would not suggest using printing for a part that sits right there in the sun under the windshield. It wont last.

 

[smartypants]

I would sugest copying the existing piece you have.

My wife has a bunch of polymer and epoxy and a vacuum chamber. You can make a negative of the existing part and then cast your mold with all different colors and strength of industrial epoxy. Like bomb proof stuff.

I have a 3D printer and would not suggest using printing for a part that sits right there in the sun under the windshield. It wont last.

3D printing this piece would not bother me. after my restoration is complete, this car will not be sitting out in the sun, rain, or snow anyways. i do know that this piece is not reproduced and that someone could make a few bucks if they did make some. although it is rare enough of a part that not alot of cars had one. so sales wouldnt be in the millions. maybe sell one, or two thousand. it is quickly becoming a non-issue for me now. as i have (after 5 years of looking) recently found a nos piece and will install it this weekend. yipeeee. perhaps i can find a way to use my original as a pattern and have some made.

 

[smartypants]

Does it have a Ford part number on it?

my persistence has finally paid off. took me 5 years of looking, but just this week i purchase this nos piece on ebay of all places. it was in its original ford packaging with part number stamped onto the package. D1ZZ-6504522-C . although my search of this part number didnt come up with anything.

 

[Sheriff41]

my persistence has finally paid off. took me 5 years of looking, but just this week i purchase this nos piece on ebay of all places. it was in its original ford packaging with part number stamped onto the package. D1ZZ-6504522-C . although my search of this part number didnt come up with anything.

View attachment 76837View attachment 76838

Wow! That's the real needle-in-a-haystack find!

 

[smartypants]

I remember checking into this mystery molding a couple of years ago. Agree the early '71s had a lot of pieces with a limited appearance. My early-built Mach 1 (9/21/70) has the metal sport lamp sockets, fender rear upper filler/splash shields, fender and hood rear moldings, and the padded dash molding (What was left of it). Some earlier than mine had chrome sport lamp housings and a woodgrain panel on the front section of the console that matched the woodgrain on the center instrument finish panel. So lots of unique pieces on these early-built Mustangs. My late build '71 (7/28/71) had none of the items mentioned above. Most of these were running changes, making them difficult to track down. The rear upper fender shields, rear fender, and hood moldings had "not used" after dates in the Master Parts Catalog (MPC). But, since these cars were not built in consecutive serial numbers, there is the always present fuzzy before and after areas on these changes. Others, like the chrome sport lamps, woodgrain console panel, and padded dash molding, quietly disappeared with no fanfare or change dates.

I checked the entire soft trim section and the body section pertaining to the dashboard and padded dash area in all my early parts catalogs. Nothing indicates that the molding was ever available separately or had a service part number assigned. The MPC's final edition (5/75) shows two different part numbers for each '71 color offered. The listing indicates, "Includes mldg on the forward edge," and the other, "Less mldg on the forward edge." I checked the 6/71 MPC microfiche card listing, which shows the same for both pads. The '72 listings only show the non-molding version.
In '76, the dash pads that included the front molding were discontinued and replaced by the "Without" version. Then in '77, Ford, believing there wasn't enough confusion in the parts catalogs, replaced all the '71-72 padded dashes with "D3ZZ" '73 Mustang numbers. The only holdover '71-72 color was the D1ZZ-E green version since the '73 Avocado did not match the earlier green interiors. By '85, all the dash pads had been discontinued except for the '71-72 D1ZZ-E green version and the A/C, non-A/C for the '69-70 Mustangs. Surprisingly the '69-70 versions remained available until the early '90s, while the sole remaining '71-72 D1ZZ-E green was discontinued in '86.

Since most members here are probably not the original owners of these '71-73s, the above-mentioned unique early '71 pieces were probably already gone by the time your Mustang called your place home. By the time I acquired my early built '71 in 1981, the rear hood molding was gone, the rear fender moldings were in such bad shape they might as well have been gone, and the padded dash molding was crumbling like dried cake icing. These were daily drivers when new, and sitting out in the sun was not kind to these now-pampered garage-kept family members!

If someone were to figure out a 3D program for these, there might be a market for them. With so many of them gone and most owners unaware of them ever being in the car, it would be a toss-up on the level of interest.

took 5 years. i finally found this piece just this week. i was able to purchase a nos one of all things. how about them apples eh ? original package has part number D1ZZ-6504522-C

 

[smartypants]

Wow! That's the real needle-in-a-haystack find!

yes it was. with any luck, perhaps a solution will present itself in such a way. that i can use my mostly intact original to reproduce others. i wish i new people that know about making plastic parts.

 

[smartypants]

i am ready to install my restored dash pad into my early (10-8-70) 71' Grande. But first i need to locate a rare piece. it is a plastic trim strip that goes on the top forward leading edge of my dash pad. about 3' long. mine is sun baked, brittle, and falling apart. according to my research, this is an early 71' piece only. it never came on later 71', 72', or 73' models. it doesnt seem to be reproduced either. anyone out there hook me up with one ? i do know that my odds are low in finding one that is in decent shape. as i am sure that they have all turned to dust by now. but ya never know. maybe someone here has a stash or knows of someone that reproduces them that i wasnt able to locate. i dont want to install the dash pad without it. after all...... odd-ball stuff like this is what makes my car unique among the masses. the early 71's seem to have come with many items that the other cars didnt.
View attachment 75646View attachment 75647

soooooo....... here is a bit of an update on this piece. funny how this has worked out so far. i was able to finally find one of these NOS pieces. i am beside myself. never thought i would find something like this. and on ebay of all places. amazingly enough, i does seem to have a part number D1ZZ-6504522-C.
the seller that i purchased it from called it "Boss 351 dash filler channel".
perhaps i will check into the possibility of having this reproduced. i can see why Ford quit using this right away. it truly isnt needed. the upper dash and dash pad look perfectly fine without it.

 

[Sheriff41]

soooooo....... here is a bit of an update on this piece. funny how this has worked out so far. i was able to finally find one of these NOS pieces. i am beside myself. never thought i would find something like this. and on ebay of all places. amazingly enough, i does seem to have a part number D1ZZ-6504522-C.
the seller that i purchased it from called it "Boss 351 dash filler channel".
perhaps i will check into the possibility of having this reproduced. i can see why Ford quit using this right away. it truly isnt needed. the upper dash and dash pad look perfectly fine without it.

View attachment 76844View attachment 76845

Check with Steele Rubber Products. They may have some ideas what it would take to reproduce.

 

[secluff]

Wow!! Talk about living right!!
It seems as vague as Ford is in the descriptions, illustrations, and any reference to this molding in any shop or parts manuals; they didn't seem to care if they sold any of these moldings or not. There are no illustrations of this molding in the dashboard or padded dash and attaching parts section. Another oddity is the absence of an engineering number on something obviously available separately. Any part of any Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle I've ever dealt with had an engineering number assigned to it, regardless if it had a service part number issued to it or not. If not, they were considered part of an assembly.
It's Strange something is considered a soft trim part, such as the padded dash pad, but the soft molding that attaches to it is not in the same soft trim section!? Let's stick in the body parts section where the console parts are! (Why parts counter personnel turned gray early and drank a lot ). Ford's official terminology for this piece is "Moulding, Instrument Panel Pad Retainer Upper". I did recheck my Cougar listings to verify that it was not used on the '71-3 Cougar. There are four colors listed in the Ford '65-72 MPC, D1ZZ-6504522-A (Green), D1ZZ-B (Blue), D1ZZ-C (Black), and D1ZZ-D (Ginger). In '76, the molding-included version of instrument panel pads was discontinued and replaced by the non-molding version. I believe the mystery molding may have been discontinued at the same time. In '77, all remaining '71-72 numbers were discontinued and replaced by 1973 part numbers, except for the 71-72 dark green version.
It's too bad the seller had to have the "NOS Boss 351" in the listing header! That automatically adds more $$$ to the value of the part.
I definitely learned something new today.
Once again, congratulations on the equivalent of finding a pot of unicorn horn dust and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow at the same time!

 

[Bentworker]

Can you post some pics showing the profile from the end? That might settle the debate if it was an extruded part or not.

soooooo....... here is a bit of an update on this piece. funny how this has worked out so far. i was able to finally find one of these NOS pieces. i am beside myself. never thought i would find something like this. and on ebay of all places. amazingly enough, i does seem to have a part number D1ZZ-6504522-C.
the seller that i purchased it from called it "Boss 351 dash filler channel".
perhaps i will check into the possibility of having this reproduced. i can see why Ford quit using this right away. it truly isnt needed. the upper dash and dash pad look perfectly fine without it.

View attachment 76844View attachment 76845

 

[smartypants]

i am ready to install my restored dash pad into my early (10-8-70) 71' Grande. But first i need to locate a rare piece. it is a plastic trim strip that goes on the top forward leading edge of my dash pad. about 3' long. mine is sun baked, brittle, and falling apart. according to my research, this is an early 71' piece only. it never came on later 71', 72', or 73' models. it doesnt seem to be reproduced either. anyone out there hook me up with one ? i do know that my odds are low in finding one that is in decent shape. as i am sure that they have all turned to dust by now. but ya never know. maybe someone here has a stash or knows of someone that reproduces them that i wasnt able to locate. i dont want to install the dash pad without it. after all...... odd-ball stuff like this is what makes my car unique among the masses. the early 71's seem to have come with many items that the other cars didnt.
View attachment 75646View attachment 75647

I finally found one on eBay. It was NOS in pkg. only one that I have ever found. Painted and installed right away. Seller listed it as a “dash filler channel” D1ZZ-6504522-C. There was another bidder bidding. Cost me $250.

 

[Bentworker]

Ever get a chance to take an end profile picture of the molding?

 

[smartypants]

is this what you requested ?

 

[detritusmaximus]

Simple extrusion. Just need to determine material and durometer.

 

[Bentworker]

is this what you requested ?View attachment 78796View attachment 78797

Thanks!

 

[NOT A T5]

250 BUCKS??? You offered me 5 BUCKS, you Sheister LOL!!

 

[Sheriff41]

Those are some comfy looking slippers

 

[PoFoMoCo]

That is a very nice looking Dash Assembly right there!