Interior Mustang Mods

Here's the Grommet Swap pics from Yesterday:

The Oval one is from my 1979 Fairmont Wagon. AFAIK, the oval shape was kept from 1978 to 1980.



I split the Capri Grommet on one side. You can see how many more wires have to go through. So I had to use a box-cutter blade to enlarge it by about 1/4".

Just barely enough. I used rubber cement to glue my oval one together on the end. I'll use body sealer to make sure it keeps air and water out.

 

Nope, I pulled the headlight wires out.

 

I can't recall if the passenger side headlights on the Fairmont came from the passenger side from the main engine compartment harness or not, like the Capri.

 

All detail stuff today. Install the Dizzy module, the OIL TEMP Switch and Pressure sender! That is one slick piece of work! When the oil gets to some preset range, the electric choke starts to open. Up here, that can take a while. Impressed!

Measured out for the AC condenser brackets and installed them to confirm the dimensions. 1978 to 1980 had a different setup and the condenser is wider. Looks like it'll work.

An option I didn't even know existed is the windshield washer fluid warning system. Had to modifiy my cap, but all the same markings were there. The Capri tank is too shallow, but has the same mounting system.

Had to solder up one corroded chunk to the oil pressure sender and the coil connector too. A zillion other details to get it right. I noticed that my own fuel line was loose, as well as the valve cover gasket. That's fixed.

Plus it rained for an hour, but not enough to stop me from prepping more for tomorrow.

 

Steve, could you take a picture of just the vacuum line color side? I can't read the abbreviations of the devices.

 

Just catching up on promised pics:

Washer Fluid level warning system. (I had to use a 1-1/8" hole cutter, so I used a 1" and then a drill-mounted sanding 'drum' to get it right.)

Somehow the Capri lid got melted by the previous owner. So I used mine.



The Dash from the Capri had more steel supports than mine, which is why it didn't creak and groan when I took it out. Look Ma! No cracking!



The front face:


I'm real happy with it.

Started at 7:30 AM today. Rain starts at 2:00 PM CDT tomorrow, so I'll be at it at around 5:30, to get a decent run at it, because this coming rain goes right through to Friday at supper time.

 

Lookin' good Norm! I definitely understand the cracking and hideous noises that the lower dash makes when you are trying to remove/install. Lots of "ah's and oh's" for sure.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

Me neither, and you know my wife wants it done! She's tired of using the 2-wheel shopping cart. And she's hitting that cranky stage in life. :banghead3:

The Capri dashpad has a small rise, over the instrument panel, and I think it not only looks better, but helps strengthen the pad too. Mustangs and Fairmont/Zephyr sedans didn't get those.

Back to the playroom.

 

Finally got the AC compressor bracket in!

Before getting there...

I had to install the fuel evaporator cannister, and move it to the shock tower. The alternator goes under the compressor bracket. Before the cannister, I had to get the inner protective spray side flaps in, which meant getting a drill in there, ya-di-ya-di-ya.

The Capri also came with vertical flaps around the rad, so I had to drill the mounting holes in real close quarters. Thank Black and Decker for a decent battery mini-drill.

Then I tried to get the condenser bracket positioned in the stock (1979 condenser) locations with the 1981 Capri brackets. Another fussy jungle.

I'd rather have the 1979 I6 AC hoses and mount my old V8 condenser. Piece of cake. Gotta find a way to fit that beast.

The Capri carb has no choke tube from the exhaust manifold. The oil temp switch does all the work. Have to plug the manifold with JB Weld.

Did some more detailing of brackets (Coil, gas pedal cable hold-down, etc.) This time, I primed them with Rustoleum primer first, to keep the rust off longer than 2 years.

Anyway, the net result is the engine will stay cleaner and get cool air focussed on it.

Rain starts at 2 PM tomorrow, so I'll be up early to get more done. Raining for 2 days. Yuk!

 

This Rain is a Pain. But I brought all the interior wiring inside. Then I'll do the console assembly. 2 days of heavy dew! Basements are still flooded from the last downpour. The City has been ignoring fixing the sewage system for 10 years and now, they're just patching by exception.

 

The wet stuff started a little early on you today, eh!

 

I got all I needed inside the house and it started.

 

You got your car in the house!

 

Andy, where do get these shots!

I packed all the remaining circuits in a box last nite, in case the rain beat the forecasters. The car is safe.

 

Electrical Mods

It rained and thundered yesterday, and again today. So I brought the electrical harnesses for the rest of the car inside to add the stuff that the Capri DIDN'T have:

Glove Box light and switch,
Dome Map Lighting circuit,
Vanity sunvisor circuit,
Liftgate washer/wiper circuit,
Liftgate Ajar warning light circuit,
Voltmeter circuit, (never was an option)
Extra vacuum gauge display light circuit.
Power Windows Circuit.
Power Door Locks circuit.
The rear speaker wiring is a bit different with premium sound (but only at the final connection colours.)

The Capri had extra taillights (which I'll leave and tape up). The dual headlight connectors will stay also. I like the Zephyr grille and we know where there's a full setup or two.

I'll start, later today, reassembling the Console and PRND2L display. The rubber seals around the shifter and EBrake were shot.

My references for all this wiring gymnastics are:

The original baby blue 1979-1980 Capri/Mustang Haynes manual (Much better than the newer one that runs to 1986. The old one has the connectors in the diagrams AND full graphical descriptions of every connector on the car. The new one does no such thing. I checked the new diagrams to see if they made any major changes, other than computers (OBDII, etc.), but I found nothing.

The 1979 Fairmont/Zephyr EVTM (Electrical Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual) (Shows the actual wires in the colours used - I think they stopped that in 1981.)

The 1981 Fairmont/Zephyr EVTM. All text and figures are in blue and orange, and they do have better detail drawings.

My Electronic version of the Ford Shop Manuals (Well worth it, but not as handy when you're under the dash).

The only Connector that is labelled differently is the one going to the Liftgate 'cargo' light in the back of the Capri. The Fairmont/Zephyr connector is C-325. The Capri/Mustang is C-1000. At the Driver's kick panel. Ford was always good about reusing their harnesses, but since these cars didn't appear until 1979 in full Fox versions, I'm not shocked that the odd thing is different.

The Chilton manual (Fairmont/Zephyr 1978-1983) has virtually nothing on accessory circuits, but the ones that they have are printed more clearly.

The moral of the story is to get the most detail between models and take a day to concentrate, compare, and make notes.

Whenever I go to buy fuses or relays, I'll have to use the 1981 plastic types, not the 1978-1980 units. If I ever get an immobilizer, I'll have to tell the installer that its a 1981 Capri circuit, because the instrument panel has gauges, not idiot lights.

I'm using the same coloured wiring scheme and merging (not cut and solder and tape) the stock circuits into the harnesses. By merging, I mean pulling the metal ends out of the plugs and inserting the alternate ones. I also use a permanent marker to identify every connector, (I may just have to fix something. )

I do a pretty good job of retaping the harnesses too. Andy came over and commented on it. I just thought that everyone did, who ventured into this spider's web.:banghead3: It's easy, but it's very detailed work. A cross between Pickup Sticks and one of those 1,000 Piece landscape puzzles.

At least, the previous work from 'Interior Version 2', installing the Mustang instrument panel won't be needed, except for the liftgate ajar mod.