1968 Coupe just purchased - novice needs advice

pcarlson

New Member
Aug 16, 2006
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Hi everyone,
I just picked up a '68 coupe that has a (mostly) solid body and just needs some body work and a paint job. It has a rebuilt v8 but needs work on the carb and a new alternator. There's no rust on the floors or the frame and I figured that I want to get the interior done on this car before worrying about the exterior cosmetics. So... I have a few questions.

My front seats will need to be replaced eventually because they have some small tears and are dinged up. For now, they are OK but I want to get an upgrade to some seats with a higher back or headrest. My main concern is the tracks matching up and my first thought was that they 69-73 Mustangs have high-back seats. Do the tracks in those match up well with the '68? Has anyone seen how they look installed? Or, what other type of seat would work well and still be economical?

I also need to replace the carpet. This will be the first thing I do and I am planning on getting one of the molded carpets from a catalog like NPD. Is this something a novice can do? For the sound-proofing, should I order it from a catalog or can I find it cheaper and cut it myself elsewhere?

The next step would be to replace the dash pad as it is cracked. This seems easy enough, but do I need some sort of padding or insulation for under the pad?

This is something i've wanted to do for a while, so any advice or little tips would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
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nice buy on the 1968.

there was a posting about people putting in fiero seats into their cars....the tracks seemed to line up right.
are you planning on rest-mod? subframe connectors are also fun while the carpet is out to prevent any fires.

The new dash pad will have padding already on it. Replaced mine a few years ago.

i'm still in the process of fixing stuff, i cctually went for the engine and suspension before any cosmetics....my seats are still trashed LOL.

Im pretty sure you should be able to put in the carpet yourself...i havent gotten around it it though.
 
Replace the alternator with a 3g alternator. I read your other post too. Since you want to put a head unit in the car yer going to want more power from the alternator and a 3g is the way to do it. You provably shouldn't bother with a sub as long as you put good speakers in with decent amps.

You should be able to do the molded carpet yourself, as long as you get molded carpet. Don't buy regular carpet and try to install it, you will be there forever. If you want to put subframe connectors in (I recomend it) then you should do it while the carpet/sound deadener is out like scrutmonkey sugested.

Making almost any seat fit is somewhat easy, its just a matter of bolting your stock seat tracks to the new seats. Later model 69 and up have a high back option and a lot of people put these into the earlier cars. They fit just fine.

When you get a new dash pad, don't get a cheap one. Its worth spending the extra money to get a good quality new one.
 
Welcome!

- You can get just about any later model Mustang seats to work in your hardtop, plus a myriad of others. You just bolt your seat tracks to the bottom of the new seat and viola! Both my Dad and I have used seats from mid 90's Mustangs with great success. I got my pair of 96 GT seats for $150 from a junk yard then sold the power seat tracks that came with them for $100 on ebay...pretty economical ;)

- I got my carpet at http://www.stockinteriors.com/ and am very happy with it. Quality is excellent, plus you can get different styles and colors that weren't available in our vintage Mustangs. I got the cut pile and love it...fits like a glove.

- You have a few options with sound-proofing. I got a couple of gallons of quiet car www.quietcar.com and did a few coats on the floor and in the doors, etc. Then I put down a layer of heat shield from Mustangs Plus. I spent less than $100 on all of it. I've got flowmaster 40's and a cam and I can actually hear my stereo :D

- NPD sells an excellent dash pad replacement or just the cover. I got the full replacement dashpad for about $250. I think the covers are very economical - check the catalog.


You can click on the Car Domain link in my signature to see how it all turned out. Good luck and have fun!