aaros's floorpan thread

[aar0s]

ok, these are the pans before...

and after...

ok so i started to put the interior back in starting with the center console and everything was going smooth till i realized that i forgot the light that lights up the PRNDL in the shifter. so i pull everything back and snake it out the hole and now the light wont work. it worked last night so i think i bumped it and the 20 year old bulb poped. anyone ever change it? how does it come out?
also i started to put the black hole in under the radio and noticed that it had two bolt holes but for the life of me i cant find where it bolts to.
I didnt know that new carpet had to be cut so much

 

[Darkwriter77]

That bulb is a pain. I had to replace it on my '84 so I could see whether or not I'm in OD (my exhaust is too frickin' quiet).

Basically, you pop off the shifter handle, and remove the four screws holding on the trim. It's not necessary, really, but I found it a lot easier to remove those two little 1/4" screws holding the black "arch" that goes under the shift indicator needle and then removing the one screw holding the pointer needle and bulb socket bracket onto the shifter shaft. There's two little tabs holding the bulb onto the bracket with spring tension, so just pry a little bit at it with a thin flat screwdriver to pop that sucker loose.

Take the bulb down to Autozone or Checker or whatever store with a big bulb selection (Wal-Mart never carries these weird-sized bulbs) and make sure you match the bulb number EXACTLY. I don't remember the number right off hand, and I don't think it's listed in their system, but it's a two-digit number in the 60's ... 63? 65? Something like that. If you get a bulb that's too fat or too long, it won't allow you to fit the hold-down for the bulb socket into place without pinching/breaking the bulb (found out the hard way, myself ) or being too tall to allow the "arch" to fit on.

Install is pretty much reverse of removal. Be aware that the bulb socket only goes into that little holder ONE WAY, so don't force it if it doesn't snuggle itself in there. If you bent the holding tabs out too far to where it won't snap into place, just tweak 'em back inward a bit with a pair of needle-nose pliers.

If everything goes smoothly and you have the right bulb size and remember how everything came apart, this is like a 15 minute process; if you're like me and try to force the wrong-sized bulb to work, and wind up jury-rigging the sucker into place, it could take an hour or more.

Oh, and be careful not to bend the shift indicator needle or its mount, otherwise it'll point between gears or to the wrong gear and you'll have to take everything apart again to tweak the little bugger back into place.

 

[aar0s]

i got it out of the indicator but the bulb is inside of some kind of houseing that i cant get it out of with out breaking it. it almost looks like the houseing and bulb are one piece. ill mess with it a little at lunch...

 

[nisreo]

Your orignal floor pans look mint compared to mine... I'll be doing this project soon. What guage sheet metal did you use? And did you remover anything underneath before welding.. ie brake/ fuel lines?

 

[Darkwriter77]

i got it out of the indicator but the bulb is inside of some kind of houseing that i cant get it out of with out breaking it. it almost looks like the houseing and bulb are one piece. ill mess with it a little at lunch...

Hmmm ... maybe the Aero Foxes had a slightly different setup than the four-eyed Foxes. Maybe post up a pic or two of what you've got...?

 

[white 89 GT]

Wow is that a east coast or mid west car, I would hate to have to work with a car that rust out from under you.

 

[aar0s]

i bought a pan from lmr and my brother called in a favor to a friend so im not really sure what he did. He did tell me that to take the whole pan out that it would have to come out from the bottom. that part that runs from one side to the other is some kind of structual brace.
how about that cubby hole under the stereo, anyone know off hand how that is held in? like i said it has clips on the back that looks like it bolts in but theres nothing to bolt it to.
the car orig. came from FL. nothing like salty air to do wonders...

 

[QUICK91LX]

just wedge the cubby hole thing in under the radio, it will stay put. it originally bolted to a little stud off the bottom of the stock head unit and the two went in as one piece but if you have an aftermarket unit you can either get it in there by friction fit or go to a stereo shop and get an install kit that includes the cubby delete panel

 

[aar0s]

thanks quick91lx, i will probably end up doing that.
i got the bulb out (with the help of some snips) and went down to the local napa, 52 cent later i gots a new bulb. im short on time tonight (sarah connor and camern be on at 7) so ill finish up the center console and maybe get the back seat in right, not just sat in there like i had it.

 

[LiquidGT]

the car orig. came from FL. nothing like salty air to do wonders...

My car is a original Florida car too... yeah salt is a hell of a thing. I wish I had a place to do some rust work, I might have to give the pony up.

 

[aar0s]

unless yours was caught out during andrew in '92 its probably not as bad as mine
almost ready to put the seats in, trimed more off the side than i wanted, its still tucked under the sill trim, oops. i didnt know that the kick panels have little plastic push in thingines (tech. term) like door panels in the corner to keep them in. looks like another trip to napa for a couple of them tomorrow and some screws for the sill plate on the drivers side.
oh btw, while i had it out i fixed my ashtray lid

 

[aar0s]

I think that im ready to put the seats back in...

broke one of the sill covers (drivers side) looks like im in the market for them now.
Ill dig around for some simple green or someting that i can use to wipe everything down and then put hte seats in with the little time i can get between other things.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Looks good to me!

 

[aar0s]

YEAH!!!!!!!!! i now have a happy car!
I sanded some crud off the power lumbar connection and now they both work, kinda cool even though i never mess with them. the only thing i wasnt able to get to work was to make the dome light come on when the drivers door is open. Its not the switch, the binger works fine. Now i need to take the doors apart and fix the speakers and recover (or rebuild) the seats maybe i can have them steam cleaned or something.
A few years ago i found some seat bolt covers on ebay that went right over the fronts but arent there sposta be some for the rear bolts? The carpet with the mass back is deff. the way to go.
Things fixed this project - rusty floorpans, bad fuel door switch, loose trim, nasty old carpet power lumbars in both seats.
damn, i didnt notice how nasty my dash was

 

[Darkwriter77]

Man ... those seats would go niiiiiiice in the Black Pearl. (I have the same seats, actually, except mine are gray ... with seat covers. )

 

[aar0s]

ill give ya dibs if i can find a nice set of black 98 or so cobras to put in it.

 

[Mustang5L5]

How do you like the fit of the carpet??

It looks nice and plush. I think i want to buy some now!


When i do my interior, i'm gonna POR=15 the floors, install dynamat and then the mass-back carpet.

 

[aar0s]

the fit of the carpet wasnt bad. I had to cut quite a bit off the front to get it to slide up where it needed to be. there are a few things id do different, not trim so much off the passenger side rocker and stuff. I thought about the dynamat over the trany tunnel but got in a hurry to start putin' it back together