I needed a break from the "heavy lifting", so I decided to let the other scoop sit on the back burner for awhile.
There have been basically two interior schemes that I've been considering,....One plan involves a 100% custom interior built out of 16ga./1.250" diameter tubing running through the interior like some sort of hamster playground, while the other involves using a 1989 Mustang dash as a "substrate" and redesigning it, and the console to suit the car. Either way, they are both actually custom, it's just one is hundreds of hours of work, the other about 100 hours total.
That said, I decided to cave on the "totally tubular" interior scheme, not knowing if I could make the idea work. Given that I'm having to "settle" on how the side scoops turned out, I'm taking the more conservative of the two approaches, and working with the 89 dash instead.
You'll notice the dash is hacked up. I'm not gonna use the stock gauge housing, the stock AC vents, or the stock shape for that matter. I'm really only using it for the basic shape, and structure to build upon.
It's no obscure mod, but converting a pre 87 dash'd car over to a later model unit isn't exactly a bolt-in affair. No single factory screw hole lines up, and the dash itself is actually shifted about 1/4-3/8" too far to one side. I let the column act as a locator, since there was a little half-circle dealy-bobber that sat on top of the column shaft that was part of the dash plastic. That being the case, there was only one way the stupid piece of junk wanted to go in, and I decided that who was I to try and tell it differently. It fits the windshield alright, it's just........off.
The console mounts were a complete fabrication, as Fairmont never had a console, or a center mounted E brake handle. I had the factory junk from the donor car, so It was a simple matter of welding them into the correct spot. As for the center mounted Ebrake,...not gonna happen. ( No E brake is gonna happen actually) The console will also be completely different to accommodate the shifter that sits too far back now.
Since I was getting the dash from the storage facility, I grabbed a front fender to see if I was gonna have clearance on the wheels, now that they are 1" narrower than the 9's I used to have up there.
Right now, there is tons of room, but the fender is stretched out of shape where I was tugging the hell out of it trying to make room for the 9's. I hope that I can restore it back to it's original shape. But before I go and do that, it may be prudent to put the other side on there (that I didn't tug the hell out of ) and see just how much room I truly have.
There have been basically two interior schemes that I've been considering,....One plan involves a 100% custom interior built out of 16ga./1.250" diameter tubing running through the interior like some sort of hamster playground, while the other involves using a 1989 Mustang dash as a "substrate" and redesigning it, and the console to suit the car. Either way, they are both actually custom, it's just one is hundreds of hours of work, the other about 100 hours total.
That said, I decided to cave on the "totally tubular" interior scheme, not knowing if I could make the idea work. Given that I'm having to "settle" on how the side scoops turned out, I'm taking the more conservative of the two approaches, and working with the 89 dash instead.
You'll notice the dash is hacked up. I'm not gonna use the stock gauge housing, the stock AC vents, or the stock shape for that matter. I'm really only using it for the basic shape, and structure to build upon.
It's no obscure mod, but converting a pre 87 dash'd car over to a later model unit isn't exactly a bolt-in affair. No single factory screw hole lines up, and the dash itself is actually shifted about 1/4-3/8" too far to one side. I let the column act as a locator, since there was a little half-circle dealy-bobber that sat on top of the column shaft that was part of the dash plastic. That being the case, there was only one way the stupid piece of junk wanted to go in, and I decided that who was I to try and tell it differently. It fits the windshield alright, it's just........off.
The console mounts were a complete fabrication, as Fairmont never had a console, or a center mounted E brake handle. I had the factory junk from the donor car, so It was a simple matter of welding them into the correct spot. As for the center mounted Ebrake,...not gonna happen. ( No E brake is gonna happen actually) The console will also be completely different to accommodate the shifter that sits too far back now.
Since I was getting the dash from the storage facility, I grabbed a front fender to see if I was gonna have clearance on the wheels, now that they are 1" narrower than the 9's I used to have up there.
Right now, there is tons of room, but the fender is stretched out of shape where I was tugging the hell out of it trying to make room for the 9's. I hope that I can restore it back to it's original shape. But before I go and do that, it may be prudent to put the other side on there (that I didn't tug the hell out of ) and see just how much room I truly have.