Four Eyed Again!

Not a lot of progress this fall, but the weather was gorgeous today, so after raking the leaves I installed the headlights.

Not a lot of updates - but a few new parts installed!

I was able to install the aluminum driveshaft, Steeda Tri-ax shifter and some light bulbs since the last update. I know, not much.

However, I do have some parts on order that will allow me to install the battery and actually turn on the lights! No starting yet, still need some big pieces like a radiator, starter, fan etc.

Installing a lock in a Capri Hatch

I found lots of threads on the Internet about how to remove the lock from the rear hatch on a Mustang or Capri, but nothing about how to put a lock in.

After spending about 10 minutes trying to get the silly rod from the lock into the hatch release mechanism I gave up and prepared to remove the latch. Of course the first two bolts I removed released a small plate that gave me access to the silly rod. 5 seconds later the lock was installed.

Pictures for someone else who is also frustrated about how to put a new lock into the rear hatch

The latch you need to insert the metal rod into is here in the center:

 

92v063000 Recall on the Capri Seat Belts

One item that I came across during all my research about this car was a recall in early 90’s about the seat belts falling apart. Details here:

http://www.autosafety.org/92v063000-seat-beltsfrontanchorage-ford-motor-company

When I went to the junkyard over the memorial day weekend one of the things I found was a pair of seat belt buckles that had already been repaired. This weekend I replaced my existing belts with new ones.

Here is a good picture showing what happens to the buckles that lead to recall. When the white part breaks off, nothing is holding the buckle to the belt!

Here is what it looked like after I took it apart:

First, remove the outer cover by gently prying up on it with a small flat head:

Then take note of the orientation of the buckle on the belt, and to the ‘loop’ on the B pillar:

Loosen the belt and gently push down the clips holding the plastic to the metal bar. Separate the two and reverse the process to install.

Here is an up close view of the clip to push down to release from the metal bar.

Here is what two of the black clips look like:

 

Ford 2.3 Turbo PCV hose size

One of the pieces of a Ford 2.3 Turbo that is no longer produced is the hose from the block ‘catch can’ to the PCV valve. I managed to lose the one I had from the donor engine but I was finally able to find one online.

I spent a lot of time looking for dimensions etc. on this hose but couldn’t find any, so here is some documentation for others searching.

Here is the size from the end to end:

 

One leg:

Inside diameter is .75”

 

Interior and Carpet!

This weekend was all about the interior. After a few setbacks the last few weekends I was finally ready to install the interior.
 

First up, was to remove the dash pad that I installed last weekend, since the A-pillar covers won’t go on with the dash pad installed. So out it came, again.
 

Then I had to remove the cover over the steering shaft, since I forgot to hook up the intermittent wiper control. (The infamous ‘DO NOT DROP’ box.) I really hope the control works, but no way to know for a few more weeks when I get the battery attached.
 

Using one of the ‘all the screws for a Mustang hatchback’ kit I got for Christmas 4+ years ago, I got started. No idea which vendor it came from, but most of what I needed was in there. The few Capri-specific screws for the bubble hatch had to be cleaned up and painted since the kit didn’t come with them.
 

One day later, all the interior plastics are in, including the headliner. I did find that the overhead light is pretty banged up, so I’ll need to get a replacement at some point.

Here is what I started the weekend with:

 

One snag, which set me back a couple of hours, is the new headliner wasn’t setup for the 3 screw sun visors, but was correct for the dome light, Handy Dremel helped with that, but it took quite a while to figure out what was wrong, at first I thought it wasn’t centered!

 

Next I cleaned the floor and installed the last of my RAAMat and Ensolite. I also had a minor scare when I couldn’t find the bolts to install the rear seat frames. A couple of hours of searching the same bags over and over I found them, mislabeled. Silly me.

Last picture before the carpet:

 

The carpet out in the sun for a few hours to loosen up and lose the wrinkles:

I got the ACC Mass-back carpet from Fox Restoration, I also got matching hatch carpet and floor mats. The mass-back on the carpet was really thick and the carpet itself way oversized. I must have taken it out to trim 5 or 6 times to get the front close. Once I was able to get the front to flatten down, I could fit the four ‘molded’ areas then trim most of the excess.
 

There were still a few wrinkles and I need to get the shifter seal, so I didn’t finalize any of the cuts. Probably a next weekend project.
 

Passenger side, fitted to the floor:

View from the hatch:

Rear Seat area:

 

The pieces I had to trim off:

 

I ended the weekend cleaning up the garage and installing a lot of little pieces like the PCV hose from the block, the vacuum tree in the engine bay and cleaning up the VAM so I can install it soon.

I now need to order all the light bulbs for the rear, so I can close up the interior. No rear carpet until I get the seat upholstery.

Now the interior looks like a car again!

Very busy Memorial Day Weekend - Junkyard treasure, dash is in!

This weekend was very busy, and I even got some work done on the Capri!

First, a few weeks ago I had all the interior parts cleaned up and painted. They came out pretty good, but 30+ years of scratches don't all come out without a lot of bondo, so I decided to remove the rough edges only.

I started Friday by taking the day off from work and going to a junkyard. I was specifically looking for a lot of 'small' things that I need. For example a VSS clamp and bolt, seat belts that have been updated in the recall etc.

What I found was an almost mint condition 1984 Mustang V6 hatchback. Someone had already removed the dash cover, so I'll assume it was perfect. It even had a stock radio! I stripped the console, radio, glove box, seat belt buckles, speaker covers and a few other small pieces. I debated for most of an hour as I removed all this stuff if I should take the seats. They were lowback sport seats, but in excellent condition. In the end I left them. I swear it was a little-old-lady's car, it even had the cargo cover! If I'd had the 7mm wrench I would have taken the dash shell too, but I didn't expect to find a usable dash shell!

I did find the VSS in the remains of a Ranger and a few other parts in other places.

Saturday was my 22nd Wedding anniversary so my wife and I went to see Foreigner and Styx and get away for the night! Sunday was spent at the pool with the kids.

By Monday morning I was itching to do some work on the car, so I ran new speaker wires, reassembled the dash (it was taken apart when painting the entire interior) and installed it. Sounds like a quick job, but it took 5+ hours total.

Here is the dash:

Here is all the painted parts in the garage:

Here are some of the parts I removed from the junk yard:

Oh and there are boxes in my home office with new carpet and a headliner. I'll finish the interior next weekend and install those next!

Fuel tank, fuel lines and HVAC in!

First update in a long time. Kids, holidays, winter (yes it was very cold in Atlanta this year, even got snow a couple of times!) and typical work stuff got in the way.

Last September I installed the transmissions and started working on the interior. I started with an install of some RAAMmat BXTII and Ensolite. I was able to get the first part done.

 

Last weekend I was able to pick things back up again and installed a new 255 LPH HP pump and rebuilt level sender. Then installed the new tank, ran the lines, including an 87+ fuel filter bracket.

 

 

 

After several hours of fighting with the tank, I finally figured out that the aftermarket brackets weren't bent the same way as the originals. I sanded the originals, a couple of layers of primer and finally paint and I was able to get the tank to install.

This shows the difference. I probably could have bent the new ones to match, but I was so annoyed at this point I went with the originals.

All done:

After I started cleaning up I noticed that the old pump that came with the bracket was missing the little flow control valve on the front. Rather than risking that the old valve was in the 'S' tube, this weekend I took the whole thing back down looking for the valve. (With what I have in the engine, it wasn't worth the risk of not getting enough fuel!)

Never did find it. Replaced the 'S' hose on the new pump, then cut the old one apart. Still no sign of it. Either it wasn't installed or it fell out when I took the original apart. However I don't remember seeing it after sweeping up.

With the tank back in (took 10 minutes this time :) ) I finished the RAAMmat install at the firewall and installed the cleaned up/rebuilt HVAC box.

When rebuilding the HVAC box last fall I noticed that the 'gasket' around the heater and A/C was rotted pretty badly, so I went to the local crafts store and got a piece of black foam, cut it to the same size and installed it. It is a little thicker, but not too bad.

Not bad for a couple of hours this weekend (and almost 3 days last weekend getting the fuel lines and tank installed!