Mopar Radio in my Fairmont!

Hey, hey, eh!

I was cruising for roll-top materials and recalled the trade name for furniture builders (I were one. ) Tambour! Anyway, Rockler is a major woodworker DIY supplier and their description says it all! They string it, but we used to bond the slats to fabric backing on highend cabinets. Anyway I can make the slats from a 1/4" PVC sheet and go from there.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=4970&filter=tambour

 

Ok, I made up a quick sketch to layout the guages and accommodate some new features.

First, here's some pics of typical Farimont/Mustang dashes, for talking points:

Two angle shots - note the woodgrain panels




No woodgrain panels


Outside of the car - note the depth.


My sketch relocating guages off the dash panel and the dashpad high enough to receive the guages and radio and a cassette/cd storage pocket. Haven't resolved the front dash speakers. The sketch isn't too scale, and I only ballparked the locations. I'll need to take measurements.

For the Fairmont purists, the next post shows how to modify the printed circuit 'film' for wiring changes:

 

Modifying the circuits isn't a tough job, but it is delicate. I got the whole process from a site that no longer exists, but I downloaded the whole document and made it into a Word document. The schematics are in the document as well if anyone wants them.

 

I take it you do a lot of this sorta thing!

 

Haven't for a while. I was an Electro-Mech tech in our Armed forces, keeping old postwar tanks and deuces running, but I did merge the wiring on this car with the wiring from the 1978 donor Fairmont. The donor had the rear de-icer, electronic ignition (mine had a points distributor V8) and the engine was a 200 CID six. I've done lots of gauge and radio swaps, but I'm pretty sure I can mod the dash.

 

This is gonna' be one heck of a stereo installation. I just want an eight track and an eight track tape recorder. Electronics always mystified me, I can wire up a house blindfolded but don't mess with that stuff. If the book is right in front of me walking me through it Ill do small diagnostic car things, whats an Ohm?

I could have told you those doors are called Tambour. Those kitchen counter top appliance garages have Tambour doors. I did a job that had so many lined up it looked like apartment garages, whatever the decorator wants, the customer was literally pulling her hair out she hated it so much.

 

An OM is from an Asian mantra! Used mainly on the Left Coast. The other OHM is just the resistance value of the wire or device in the circuit. You use the OM to reduce your Ohm resistance when the SWMBO corners you about the hobby expenses.

The idea with the tambour on the dash is probably not gonna happen. It adds too much height to the dashtop and cuts the line of site. The idea is to conceal the guages and radio and tapes. Maybe small horizontal sliders.

The electrics are in the Ford books and the radio electrics are in the Mopar radio manual that I found on the WWW. The tricky stuff is cutting, bending and fitting the aluminum sheet. I'll make a mockup out of styrofoam to locate the fastening points and underdash obstacles (wires, heater ducts, speaker mountings, etc. and go from there.

 

Well, I'm definately impressed. I'm new to cars and I am still definately a beginner. I'm hoping from all this talking to y'all that I can become as good at cars as some of y'all.

 

Very neat custom instally ou are going to be doing there Stormin....

And anytime someone can add a piece of mopar to there ford or chevy it is a darn good day.....

 

I'll have to make a Junkyard run to get the wiring, and the front door speakers. Another 4 weeks before I can work in tolerable cold weather, bare-handed.

The door speakers are amplified with mini-circuits right on the speakers. One of those sites I posted goes into good detail about checking them out and repairing them. My Fairmont has the right size cavities for them.

I'm thinking about mounting two more above the tailgate in their own enclosures pointing forward to give clearer separation. The side speakers in the cargo area just bounce it around.

 

crossovers

A Mopar radio in a Ford?..Well,my family used to have a Ford-Philco TV,and it really wasn't that good a TV.Don't feel too bad about mixing the brands.

 

Always torn with my love for the 1958 Imperial dash gauge layout:




But this 1958 Packard layout is awesome:


Each gauge has a warning light as well. Who needs an onboard reminder computer to give you visual and dynamic needle warnings!

 

That 58 Packard setup is nice! Everything is nicely layed out and in plain view.

 

Solved the gauge and radio layout problem with Stock Ford goodies, no less.

Haven't done a junkyard fix for a loonng time. Fun.

Stopped at a Farmers, tinkerers discount chain. They had new 5.25" door speakers 200 watts RMS 4-Ohm. Made in Mexico "Pyramid" brand (AKA no name). Still have to get those waterproof baffles like these:
http://www.vertekxtc.com/

or what Blackfoot listed.

The prize today was a complete 1982 Mustang dash with all the gauges, and a trip-meter that fits right into my Squire.

I got a 2" LED/pointer Vacuum/Turbo boost gauge for $22 that will fit where some unused idiot light cavities are.

I think I can get the column shift display in its old place. The Mustang has an Automatic floor shifter, and I didn't want it. I found a site that shows how to modify the Mustang tach from a 4 cyl to a 6 or an 8. All the other senders are stock Fairmont and on my car. TEMP, OIL, FUEL, AMPS.

AND I got an original Ford Premium Sound amplifier from the Mustang, and the Premium sound radio (Stereo AM/FM/Cassette) from a 1984 Cougar 2-door hardtop. I'm missing the switch for the Amplifier, but that's not a biggie (ON/OFF)

Got a look at an aftermarket Immobilizer installation in that Mustang, it was professional, but it makes a mess of your stock wiring. I know. That's the idea, but I still don't like it.

Oh yeah, also got factory stock door speaker grilles from two 1978 Lincolns. The Lincoln's get a steel perforated protector over the speaker and then a low-profile speaker grille (the window winder would hit a thicker grille. Just have to clean them and dye them to match.

Scooped another heater panel from the Mustang, mostly for the defrost relay and switch. Hard to find.

I'll start sketching the wiring for the dash and amplifier tomorrow and take pics.

This new Mustang Dash DOESN'T look like this:


Everything is highly visible and visible within the Steering Wheel's width.

The Radio DOES look like this one, except that it's a bit taller for the Cassette door under the knobs:


Fun day.

Tired, got rained on for an hour, and probably got some good chiropractic adjustments, bending and twisting under two dashes.

Didn't break one chunk of either dash either. It was tough to see how many door panels and dashes were just crowbarred out or ripped open.

 

I can relate
I hate that also people destroy parts to get another. I always try to remove parts that are in my way. I try to stay with in "junk yard Karma'', some one else mite be dieng for that part. And I'm sure that we've all at some time have found that impsible to find what ever ppart that some one else destroyed so the could get there part.

Good read Norm, so are you and I the only wagons kinda Moparized?