Here's how the interior currently sits:
Oh, and I forgot to mention, I also installed fresh and gapped spark plugs, new wires, to new cap & rotor. Also changed the oil and filter, and the fuel filter had been done when the fuel lines were done. I also installed the door weatherstrip seals too. Did the write-up of the seal comparison ever get finished on this forum? I think I just used the good quality ones from LMR, and they fit great.
From a junk yard- I got some tag light lenses. These came off a 90's Taurus I believe, and look/fit perfect. The junkyard threw them in for free, as my buddy was buying some rear doors for his work van and I think they felt we'd paid enough? No complaints from me- as these go for what, 60 bucks for repros, and my original ones were destroyed. I also got the car legally tagged. In Maryland, you can get "historic" tags, with no need for state inspection. I keep thinking, perhaps the inspection would be a good thing here?
Observations:
Radio sound quality= better than expected. Clear, lots of EQ adjustability.
Radio loudness/power= ample for me. Gets easily more than loud enough (loud enough to hurt my ears, which for me is too loud) I'm sure some audiophiles will want more juice- but since I'm using the onboard amp in the radio- and am not driving any subs, just the front 3.5's and rear 6x8's, I can tell you for my opinion, the radio has enough power to reproduce the sounds and frequencies well, with no clipping, no distortion. Even pretty good bass.
Radio hands-free phone= surprisingly good! I can hear the phone with no problem. Using the little mic (mounted just to the right of the steering column, on the lower side of the gauge pod- under the switches) I've been told it sounds like I'm using a normal hold-it-up-to-your-head phone. Can't beat that for 5 bucks!
Other Radio features= fantastic for a single din, inexpensive radio! This radio is a solid buy for the low price. Although there's no CD player (anyone still using CDs?) this keeps the price down. The head unit syncs to my phone, where I keep a ton of music. It also has Pandora, Spotify, and iHeartRadio apps built in if you use any of those. Otherwise, it has AM/FM (with the radio data capability) too, and can be used with an add-on XM receiver if that is important to you. Yes, there is no nav, but, I'm sure I could just use the nav on my phone, and have it speak through the BT/car speakers.
NEXT on the project list:
Here's a couple of things I've noticed, that I think I need to work on next, in order of priority:
-Noticed one of my brand new fuel lines is leaking! Right behind the front right wheel, where the rubber line is joined with the metal line, it is leaking- I don't believe there is any fix for this other than a new line... @$%&!!!!!! While it's not leaving a puddle, it is getting wet with fuel. I'm gonna have to fix this.
Any of you guys know how possible it is to replace a fuel line on a fox mustang with subframe connectors, without the use of a lift?
-Noticed while I had the car jacked up, there seems to be a bit of play forward-to-backward in the rear wheels.. There's no noise from the axle bearings that I can tell, but this may not be a good indicator?
How much play is "within spec"? Any? What is typically the cause here? Axle bearings?
-I noticed some oil weeping out of the valve cover gaskets, on to the headers. P U!!! When I drive the car, I can smell this burning oil, and it doesn't smell good! I'll have to change these gaskets.
I'm guessing felpro are the ones to get for stock heads/valve covers?
-I need to finish putting in the interior screws. The interior screw kit was on point for this car- a tiny bit pricey, but, considering I bought this car and the interior was not installed, I was missing most screws, and would not know what went where/what type either. The kit has all screws nicely separated/labeled.
-I'm still missing the 4 bolts that hold the arm rest to the rear of the tunnel, and also the two outer hinge bolts for the rear seats. I might have a bead on these, or I might need to post here looking for them if I can't get my hands on them.
-got a lot of cleaning to do. Quick test of simple green and paper towel on door panel vinyl and plastic shows promising results. Gotta really spend some time and CLEAN!!! Need to clean the panel vents too- I don't really like to run the fan when I'm in the car until I do.
-I ordered some repro speaker covers for the doors. David Carpenter brand I believe- for around 20 or so bucks. I'll install when they come in.
-I've tried multiple times to replace the bulb in the map light- no luck, no light. I wonder if the switch is not switching... Gonna have to take it off, take it apart, and see what I can figure out.
-Still need to change out one bulb in the cluster, then will put steering column plastic back in place.
Gonna tackle those fuel lines ASAP- before I drive the car more. Which sucks, because now that the carpet and radio is installed and the car is MUCH more civilized, I really want to drive it!!! First world problem, eh?