Restoring Dad's 73 Convertible

[73MustangConvertibleGal]

Nothing like having 10 days stuck at home get some work done. I finally came down with Covid and spent my Covid quarantine in my shop finishing the interior. I found the reproduction rear interior quarter panels that my son purchased in 2013 to be ill-fitting junk. I ended up pulling the old ones out and restoring them the best I could. They were really deteriorated from years baking in the sun. I thickened and strengthened them up with truck bed liner and they actually look fairly decent. At least they are clean and fit properly in the car. I still need to replace the boot cover snaps, but the panels installed like a dream. I finished installing the drivers door panel because I finally received the replacement exterior door handle. The old one was in bad shape. The rear seat went in well. I believe I am missing the 2 bolts (or screws) that secure the bottom of the seat to the car, but I will go though my "extra parts can" tomorrow. I have also torn down the steering wheel and repaired the cracks with epoxy. Tomorrow I will sew on a new leather cover. I purchased one that very closely matches the old cracked and torn one that was on it when Dad took delivery in 1973.

I just wish I hadn't been sick at the same time.

 

[71ProjectJunk]

Excellent work, those interior rear quarter panels look real nice now.

 

[71 gbvert]

Wow! Those did come out nice. Most of us vert owners have experienced that same level of frustration with those trim panels and what to do with them. Yours look great - nice job.

 

[droptop73]

That looks great, nice work.

 

[mach71351c]

Nice job!

 

[cv_72mustang]

Nice!

 

[AcesArneson]

Nice job, what did you use to clean the panels, I have a lot of work to do on my Dad's car too and would love to know how you got them so white?

 

[7173Mustang]

Excellent job. Looks great.

 

[NG8264723]

Did you spray them white?

 

[Roland]

Nothing like having 10 days stuck at home get some work done. I finally came down with Covid and spent my Covid quarantine in my shop finishing the interior. I found the reproduction rear interior quarter panels that my son purchased in 2013 to be ill-fitting junk. I ended up pulling the old ones out and restoring them the best I could. They were really deteriorated from years baking in the sun. I thickened and strengthened them up with truck bed liner and they actually look fairly decent. At least they are clean and fit properly in the car. I still need to replace the boot cover snaps, but the panels installed like a dream. I finished installing the drivers door panel because I finally received the replacement exterior door handle. The old one was in bad shape. The rear seat went in well. I believe I am missing the 2 bolts (or screws) that secure the bottom of the seat to the car, but I will go though my "extra parts can" tomorrow. I have also torn down the steering wheel and repaired the cracks with epoxy. Tomorrow I will sew on a new leather cover. I purchased one that very closely matches the old cracked and torn one that was on it when Dad took delivery in 1973.

I just wish I hadn't been sick at the same time.

the reproduction rear interior quarter panels are junk! I made the same experience.

 

[73MustangConvertibleGal]

Did you spray them white?

I was going to but I used white truck bed liner and they really didn’t need paint on top of that!

Nice job, what did you use to clean the panels, I have a lot of work to do on my Dad's car too and would love to know how you got them so white?

I used white truck bed liner to thicken them up and provide a new top textured surface that had disintegrated from sun damage. I was prepared to paint them after, but the finish seemed pretty good and I decided the paint might not adhere properly anyway. I was pleased that I was able to rehabilitate them. I threw the aftermarket ones in the trash.

 

[73MustangConvertibleGal]

I reread your question and would like to add:
We pressure washed the panels and scrubbed the loose sun damage plastic off of them.
I then sanded them with a sanding sponge to prepare for the liner.
After that, I cleaned and degreased them again.
I then used an adhesion promoter for plastics and followed the instructions on the adhesion promoter and the Raptor white truck bed liner. 3 coats of liner.
(experiment with spraying distance to get the texture you like). Hope this helps

 

[NG8264723]

I really like how they came out. Very clever!