I don't learn, do I?

[Chowder Head]

With all my blunders and mishaps that occur while working on my car, you'd think I'd stop at some point right?

Hell no! 

Look at what I'm doing now, lawlz.

Before:



During!







 

No after pictures because I'm not done yet.

What do I have cooking up you might ask? Well I'm stripping the interior not only to install some new audio components (I won't bore anyone with the details, unless they really want to know what I'm putting in) and I'll be sound deadening the entire thing. Floors, doors, and if I have the time, the trunk.

Now what's a car project thread from me without questions? Well allow me to keep with tradition....

1.  How would you guys suggest I go on about getting the carpet from here when it's ready to be pulled?  That shiny metal piece doesn't look like it wants to move. Doesn't even have bolts or screw or anything that lets me pry it off. Think I could simply cut the carpet around it?

Picture of it:



2. This question has a picture as well. Silly question I guess, but do I remove these little panels that run from the front to the rear? They're the pieces that hold the carpet. I'd assume you can just pry them off but in which direction? I kinda don't feel like breaking something, especially when it's clearly visible. 

Picture of it:

[Gravel]

Slice the small amount of carpet that is in the middle of the bracket so you can pull it out.

ALSO THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!!!

Dude, pressure wash the carpet!! I have made many a car look brand new by removing the carpet like you are and pressure washing the livving hell out if it!!

[Chowder Head]

Cutting the carpet around the bracket, eh? Yeah, I was thinking that was the way to go. Thanks for the clarification.

Good advice regarding the pressure wash. I was even thinking about what would be the best way to clean the carpet since it's coming out and that does seems like a good idea. Think regular water should do the trick? Or should I add some detergent in with the pressure washer?

[Gravel]

I usually squirt it down with some commercial carpet cleaner like you get with those things you rent at the grocery store, then scrub with a scrub brush. Pressure washing is by far the best!! Pull it out, put it on the concrete driveway (that you previously pressure washed the dirt off of) and hose away from you starting with the part closest to you first. This way you do not resettle stuff you are cleaning out back into it because you will continue to push it off the carpet. Seriously man, you can see the results as you are doing it. You can also see exceptionally dirty areas because the dirt coming out of the carpet is very visible in the water. It truly is the ONLY way to clean carpet as you absolutely flush it the best way possible.

The ticket is slow nozzle movement and side to side action.

[Mr. White]

Mine's a little further behind than yours but I have new carpet waiting to go in.

[Chowder Head]

Are you just planning on putting in new carpet Dot? Perfect time to sound deaden it IMO.

Gravel, so basically I just place the carpet on a cement slab, apply some carpet cleaner to it, and scurb it with a brush. Then when that's completed,, simply use the pressure washer using regular water directly onto it? Sounds simple enough. Thanks for the tip!

[Gravel]

Oh yeah, and cut the carpet in the middle of the bracket area, this will give you the most amount of carpet on each side and keep it from coming out under the console.

And yes, thats it.

[Silversides]

You keep pressing on, and that's cool. When your car is done you will have a hell of a ride, and you will have something to be seriously proud of. Keep it up.

[Mr. White]

I'm not worried about sound proofing. The vinyl roof would negate any gains made.

[David Claflin]

I'm not worried about sound proofing. The vinyl roof would negate any gains made.

vinyl?

[Mr. White]

What did you think it was made of?

[David Claflin]

Most call them convertible tops, it's been awhile since a mustang came with a vinyl top.

[hrtatack1]

Congratulations Michael


Your car is now totalled

















lol

[floydwall888]

So uh, what's going in?

Those lower panels just pull off - you're not going to break them unless you yank the s*** out of them.

[Kevins89notch5.0]

Most call them convertible tops, it's been awhile since a mustang came with a vinyl top.

I've seen as recet as 81 or 82 with a vinyl top.

[Mr. White]

You bastids know what I mean

[David Claflin]

I've seen as recet as 81 or 82 with a vinyl top.

Really?!!? Must not have been factory.

[Chowder Head]

Congratulations Michael


Your car is now totalled

















lol

This may sound weird or peculiar, but this is the first time I've seen you capitalize a letter. Maybe it's just me though, haha.

But Pete, no confidence? I've done quite a few things to my car that are pretty respectable and are above the schrader valve debacle. Then again, I will never live that down will I?

You keep pressing on, and that's cool. When your car is done you will have a hell of a ride, and you will have something to be seriously proud of. Keep it up.

Thanks dude, I appreciate it. My goal is to have the best street car I can possibly get and I believe it's coming together slowly but surely.

I'm not worried about sound proofing. The vinyl roof would negate any gains made.

I dunno man, I've heard great things about doing it. You could use the inexpensive Peel & Seal from Lowes and see if it will help. A lot of people don't even do the roofs and have reported huge improvemts. I dunno, just throwing it out there.

So uh, what's going in?

HU: Pioneer 880PRS
Tweets: Seas Neo aluminum
Mids: Mach 5 MLI-65
Amp: Kicker ZX700.5.

I plan on running active using this setup and the amp to power everything. Tweets, mids, and the future sub, which will probably be a ported RE SE 10" or a sealed RE SE 12". Should sound pretty exceptional without breaking the bank. The sound deadener I'm applying is RAAMat BXT, one of the best bang for the buck deadener out there. I at least want to do the doors with this since it sticks and conforms exceptionally well and if I run out during the floor, I'll just pick up some Peel & Seal.

[Chowder Head]

Lemme ask a question to those in the know.

What kind of screws would you all recommend I should use if I want to screw through a 3/4 MDF board with 1/2 of the screw going into the back of the rear seats? I have a creative solution in mind for my amp placement....simply put, on the back of the rear seats. What I was thinking was mount the amp on the MDF board in the middle of the back of the rear seats with 4 screws going into each side to ensure it stays there. Then carpet it and mount the amp. That way, if I want to access the amp in the car, all I have do is pull the released tabs on the seats and boom, there it is. Plus it saves a bit on the trunk room since the amp is vertical when the seats are up.

Thoughts? I know nothing of screws. If preferable, I was thinking I could use a screw that I didn't have to make a screw hole for so I make sure I don't drill too far in, but I'm still open to suggestions.

Thanks!

[ELB 1]

Self tapping.

[Chowder Head]

^Sweet, I'll look out for those. Works out because that's the one I hear about the most frequent, ha.

Another question. I stripped everything a few days ago and found this piece near the firewall. What the hell is? Should I remove it or leave it there? As you can see from the second pic, it's not exactly stuck in the front but it does run quite a bits up. Thoughts?





I would of gotten this done a while ago but I've reached a snag with the sound deadener.....I knew there was going to be something damnit.

[floydwall888]

I'd leave it personally. It's probably there to prevent water from getting in from the firewall - would be my guess.

[Gravel]

Yup, leave it. It is noise and heat damping.

[Arrgorndenethor]

while your interior is out, put in a cage 

[ELB 1]

Yup, leave it. It is noise and heat damping.

 

[Chowder Head]

So the sound deadening is complete! Both sides of the door, the floor and basically all of the rear seat area, including the stuff behind the quarter panels is completed sealed! Not too bad for only needing one roll of high quality sound deadener. I'll take some pics of it tomorrow before I mount the interior back up. Just some questions, as usual.

1. Gravel, or to anyone in the know, I pressure washed the carpet and it looks really good so far! Still kinda wet so it's hard to see the detail of it since it's damp, but how long do you guys think it will take to completely dry? A day in the sun at the most? I hope so!

2. I forgot to take a picture of this but I found a picture of one. Check out this photo I found.


See that white ramp looking thing where the drivers feet go, right behind the pedal? What the hell is that used for? So the carpet can elevate more towards the driver or something? I have the exact same piece and I'm not sure whether I should discard it or put it back. Thoughts?

3. Somewhat off topic, but for some reason, my driver side window button will allow me to roll down the passenger window, but will NOT let me roll it back up. To roll it back up, I have to reach over and use the passenger window button to get the passenger window up. What do I need to fix this? Is there like a switch I have to replace or something? The way I figure if the item I have to replace is tucked away somewhere, might as well check it out now since everything is apart.

Think that's it. I've been going over this in my head for a few days but I think I decided I'm going to write a tech article on how to sound deaden and install affordable quality audio components. You guys think it will be a valuable addition? I need my own little "tech article creator extraordinaire" icon near my name or something.

[quake101]

3. Somewhat off topic, but for some reason, my driver side window button will allow me to roll down the passenger window, but will NOT let me roll it back up. To roll it back up, I have to reach over and use the passenger window button to get the passenger window up. What do I need to fix this? Is there like a switch I have to replace or something? The way I figure if the item I have to replace is tucked away somewhere, might as well check it out now since everything is apart.

My 90 does the same thing, but I haven't found out what it is yet. I think it's the driver's side wiring but I would have to retest everything again to be sure. In your case, I would start by testing the window switchs, they just pull out (after you remove the cover) on my 90.

Tech article = great idea.

[ELB 1]

Switch it bad, get a new one.

The carpet should be a a day only thing if you flip it a few times.  Just grap a paper towel and press it against the carpet to see it it's still wet at the base.

I can't see the white thing in the pic so I'm no help there.

[Chowder Head]

Just for clarification, what exactly is the switch? Is it the entire black module that has the buttons to unlock, roll up or down the windows, etc? If it is, and I were to get one, I'm guessing I would have to splice every single wire and reconnect them to the new switch?

The white thing is actually kinda brown, my bad. If you look near the middle of the black thing I was asking if I should discard or not, you should see it.

Joe, how exactly would one determine a window switch is bad by testing it?

[floydwall888]

Just for clarification, what exactly is the switch? Is it the entire black module that has the buttons to unlock, roll up or down the windows, etc? If it is, and I were to get one, I'm guessing I would have to splice every single wire and reconnect them to the new switch?

If you can, take a picture of the assembly and post it. I can't seem to recall how those years were set up. I could have sworn the windows and locks could be separated. They separate from the wiring as well, so you don't have to cut anything.