Buying a mint black interior for a fox restoration is F$#@ing rough!

Discussion in 'Fox 5.0 Talk' started by FastDriver, Feb 6, 2012.

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  1. FastDriver Moderator

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    I'm not kidding. With a budget of $1,000, excluding seats and the dash that I already have, I expected this to be a lot easier considering you can pick up clean stock LX models for 2-3 grand.

    You can buy the entire line of new interior stuff from FMR for $2,200. Taking out the seats, dash, switches, and stuff that I don't need brings the price down to around $1,500, but it's still an incomplete interior. There's no center storage bin/armrest, for example, and I don't know why I want that thing, but I really do for some reason. Not sure what else is missing, but I bet I'd be digging in a junkyard somewhere to come up with the other odds and ends.

    The best I've done so far is find a guy in England that has a fox with an 8.5/10 black interior - still not quite up to what I'm really trying for - that he's getting rid of. He want's $400, which is super reasonable, but it's another $1,000 to ship to the states, or $500 to me here in Germany and I'd still have to get it back home some how.

    Really kind of hoping someone comes along that's parting out a wrecked low-mileage fox with a black interior.

    /end rant
    FastDriver, Feb 6, 2012
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  2. 2vNotch Member

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    Tell me about it! Sick of my red stuff, but atleast its MINT...Thinking of rewrapping my package tray and headliner myself, buying the door panels and carpet, and repainting the rest! My seats are already black.....
    2vNotch, Feb 6, 2012
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  3. betke76 Member

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    betke76, Feb 7, 2012
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  4. stykthyn Commander of the snuggie cultists

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    I painted mine last year but I am not happy with it. at the moment I am wrapping the rear 1/4's and trunk panels in black vinyl. If it turns out I will focus on the center console and lower dash.
    stykthyn, Feb 7, 2012
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  5. rangerboy101 Active Member

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    [IMG]

    Used this on a friends '90 Ranger. Works great in my opinion. We even sprayed his seats and carpet. And from 6 months of his abuse it hasn't chipped or anything.
    rangerboy101, Feb 7, 2012
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  6. stykthyn Commander of the snuggie cultists

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    thats what I used. works great on parts that I dont touch very often. Seems to chip and scratch easily. I hate doing touch up.
    stykthyn, Feb 7, 2012
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  7. NIKwoaC Mustang Master

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    Be sure to post pics, I'd be interested to see that.
    NIKwoaC, Feb 7, 2012
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    2vNotch likes this.

  8. Noobz347 Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor

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    I used the VHT Dye in mine... so far so good. It's been a couple of years and I've not had to touch anything up so far. Stripping the original color off first, I think made a big difference. I'm pretty sure that I used more prep than dye. hehe
    Noobz347, Feb 7, 2012
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  9. stykthyn Commander of the snuggie cultists

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    when I get a decent result I will post some pics. the material I bought (cheapest stuff I could find) doesnt like to stretch without causing stress marks and wrinkles. I need to find something a tad thicker when my tax dollars come back to me next week.
    stykthyn, Feb 7, 2012
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  10. Mustang5L5 Founding Member

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    Black isn't all that it's cracked up to be. I got lucky in finding a car with black interior that was junk for $250 with an 8/10 interior. I stripped the interior and parted the car for profit and then slowly replaced the "bad" parts with good stuff.

    If you really want black interior, disregard my opinion here, but black is hard to keep clean and looks like crap in direct sunlight unless it really is minty mint. It looks best in shade or diffused sunlight....especially after a fresh wipe-down. Carpet and new floor mats seals the deal, but any dirt on the rug will stick out. In the end, I kinda wish I had grey interior. Easier to keep clean and looks fresh.

    Woukd I trade my black interior out? No way. It was too much work to get to where it is now.

    All to often I see guys take MINT grey and red interiors and slap in a so-so black interior or whip out the spray dye.
    Mustang5L5, Feb 7, 2012
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  11. FastDriver Moderator

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    My grey interior was pretty good, but not so much any more. Hmmm... Maybe I should just throttle back and find another nice grey one. Always liked the darker 87-89ish greys a little more than the later model lighter greys. They're not as sought after, so maybe I could find a nice one for a reasonable cost.
    FastDriver, Feb 7, 2012
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  12. RacEoHolic330 Advanced Member

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    Slightly off topic, but what is the going rate for a set of power lumbar tweed black front seats and black rear hatch seats these days?
    RacEoHolic330, Feb 7, 2012
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  13. citmov Member

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    I think it's harder to find mint/clean grey interior parts than nice black interior. Well, that's been just my experience. I've come across 3 sets of mint black interiors over the past couple years with no problem. But finding grey stuff that I consider clean/mint is hard. I think mainly b/c grey looks extra crappy when it's old/faded/dirty/etc. And with black you can get away with some of that b/c...well, b/c it's black haha!

    Hang in there and be patient. I'm converting my 92 bimini LX to all black interior. It took me 3 months but I found everything I needed. Good luck!
    citmov, Feb 7, 2012
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  14. FastDriver Moderator

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    Acknowledged. Thanks. I see what you mean about the grey interiors. After all of the work on the car by myself, my buddy, and the performance shop I used, the interior looks really nasty.
    FastDriver, Feb 7, 2012
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  15. S&B dlihc evol ssaH het

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    black is the way to go , with minima newer parts you can make it look good and selling a fox with black interior that is nice is very easy. painting the interior is not for me i'd never touch a car with painted interior so id rather grey.

    post 1990 grey/black dashes are actually all black you can use paint thinner and a towel and all the grey will rub off. add a center council and door pannels and the swap is almost done. peicing all the vents and the dash pad together can get spendy.
    S&B, Feb 7, 2012
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  16. Mustang5L5 Founding Member

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    I sold my fronts for $250 and rear for $75




    Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
    Mustang5L5, Feb 7, 2012
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  17. jcgafford Active Member

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    jcgafford, Feb 7, 2012
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  18. ID89GT Active Member

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    Lucky for me my car came with black interior factory. The dash pad is cracked which is pretty typical for the 4 eye dashes but ill be swapping it out for an aero dash when I do my efi conversion anyway.
    ID89GT, Feb 7, 2012
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  19. 85_SS_302_Coupe it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

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    Man i'm in the same boat. I'm switching mine to black. If you think you have it hard, trying doing the same thing with 4 eye interior. I sold/traded the majority of my blue interior to a guy who's restoring one of the other '85 KY SSP's, but the rest i'm just gonna find replacement panels and dye them black, and then keep an eye out for good deals on real black pieces and switch them out as i buy them. It really doesn't make much difference to me because i'm even dying the factory black stuff because of fade and wear, so it'll all be one consistent shade of black.
    85_SS_302_Coupe, Feb 7, 2012
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  20. S&B dlihc evol ssaH het

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    Nice black interior can be beat

    [IMG]
    S&B, Feb 7, 2012
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    1990Coupe and 2vNotch like this.
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