After years and years of letting other shops have my fun, either because I was out of the country, didn't have the tools/ability (welding), or because I didn't have the time, my beautiful grey interior and original electronics both became complete cluster
s!
When "professionals" do electrical work, they do it in a hurry, and usually leave every existing wire in place. Over time, this can lead to a rat's nest of unnecessary BS behind the scenes. The gross interior panels can usually be cleaned, but long ago, I decided to swap to black. I've had a hell of a time tracking down genuinely nice original black interior pieces, but something hit me a couple days back when I realized that the driver's side speaker didn't work. The last shop to do any major work (HPP Performance in Dallas) actually returned my car with the stereo upside-down! The problematic wires were not in the door. So, I decided to track them down, and meanwhile, to get the old door panels that I've had for years installed.
But before I could put them together, I had to track down the wiring behind the dash that caused my issues, and that led to:
and the surface rust on the metal dash bracing bothered me, so:
Now -- and this might take me a while -- I plan to
- go through every damn wire behind the dash and remove anything that is no longer in use.
- remove air bag electronics (with a 5-point belt, and the violence I expect on launches, perhaps even wheel stands, I don't want it blowing up in my face)
- examine the a/c and heater core for replacement if necessary
- install a new head-unit, and a small amp, sub, and sound bar.
- new black carpet
- refurbish and install an old black dash I already have.
- refurbish a black console base, and install a new black cup-holder console
- new 5-point harness & streetable seats
- new billet switches and panels for the doors
- wire line lock to
hurst shifter handle thumb switch
- wire rear defrost into the GT fog lamp position & update marking. (This is an LX, but I've ordered a GT switch)
- wire my electric exhaust cut-out switch to a the 3-way convertible top switch & update marking.
- update dash switch markings to account for their new assignments (still haven't figured out how to make this look nice.
- Add a fuel level gauge to the a-pillar roll-cage bar
- Move ECU & ignition boxes to behind the seats somewhere.
- install sound deadening as necessary behind the dash
I already have black billet switches for the a/c system, and with the billet door switches, I'm considering the addition of a billet shifter bezel on the panel around the shifter. I already own it, and I'll probably buy a spare shifter panel to test out the way it looks.