Not too many people think about their Mustang's trunk compartment. Often the first thought is to purchase the "correct" plaid or speckled mat, plop it down on top of the gas tank, and maybe add a matching tire cover and "jack bag." That's all well and good for the concours crowd (though technically the tire never had a cover from the factory), but for those of you waving the restomod flag and wanting to set your car apart from the others, it's quite easy to clean up your trunk compartment and add a little flash for the judges or cruise night patrons.
Depending upon budget and skill sets, we've seen everything from trunk compartments given the beaded aluminum panel look to something simple like body color sprayed in bed liner material. The choices are almost endless if you have a little imagination.
Detailing your trunk should play into your restomod Mustang's overall theme. If the car has some carbon fiber or brushed aluminum accents in the interior, carry that into the trunk compartment. If your Mustang has an abundance of chrome under the hood and on the body, add a splash of chrome to your trunk compartment. Most importantly, keep it functional. If you drive your Mustang to events and put regular mileage on it, be sure to have a functioning spare tire, jack, lug wrench, and basic tools in the trunk. You can easily keep the trunk functional while looking show ready for the judges.
Our '68 Mustang coupe seen here is certainly having a "bad trunk day," complete with bare metal floor, no spare tire to speak of, and just an overall look that says "keep the trunk lid closed, I'm okay with losing the points." With the help of Mustangs Unlimited, we're going to turn this sparsely appointed trunk compartment into a thing of show winning beauty over a Sunday afternoon using Mustangs Unlimited's pre-cut trunk carpet kit, a few emergency goodies, and we had the owner pony up (sorry, bad pun!) for a fifth Cragar S/S wheel and matching tire, just in case a flat tire tries to prevent him from making the next MCA National (again). Take a look at the results and then start making your own trunk detailing list for your Mustang.
1 Here's what we started...
1 Here's what we started with. Our '68 coupe's trunk had some rattle-can spatter paint and apparently had a cheap plastic mat in it at one time. We're going to make this trunk look show ready with just a little effort.
2 A quick pass with a vacuum...
2 A quick pass with a vacuum picks up any dirt and debris before we start.
3 We decided to remove the...
3 We decided to remove the taillight buckets for the installation of the carpet side panels. The less we bend the backing, the better we felt the product would look right and last.
4 Pull the main trunk floor...
4 Pull the main trunk floor carpet section out of the box and let it lay in the sun. This will get any packaging wrinkles out of it and make it flexible for installation.
5 The carpeted side panels...
5 The carpeted side panels have a heavy fiber board backing that gives them support after they're installed.
5a Insert the forward end...
5a Insert the forward end behind the wheel house first and carefully slide the panel forward until the fit is tight, then push the panel into place against the quarter panel.
6 Once the two side panels...
6 Once the two side panels have been fitted, the main trunk floor carpet section can be laid into place and fitted. Start by pushing the dropped center around the gas tank, using the filler neck opening to ensure the carpet is centered. The wheel house trim tucks nicely around the trunk hinge area and lays into place with just a little "tucking" here and there.
7 The forward part of the...
7 The forward part of the trunk gets a fiber board reinforced carpet panel to finish off the area. The panel can be secured with screws if needed, but we brought the panel forward, sealing off about eight inches of the forward portion of the trunk. We felt it looked cleaner positioned as such.
8 The trunk carpet kit from...
8 The trunk carpet kit from Mustangs Unlimited includes a pair of sewn and bound trim panels that wrap around the trunk hinges to clean the area up further. The hook and loop backing allows easy positioning and installation.
9 The taillight panel area...
9 The taillight panel area is comprised of a five-piece section, including two fiber-backed panels between the taillights and three flexible sections that use hook and loop backing to attach. It takes a little effort to fit them all together, so take your time and the results will show through.
10 Since this '68 coupe didn't...
10 Since this '68 coupe didn't have a jack or even a spare in the trunk, we figured it would be best to remedy that situation with a new reproduction jack and lug wrench.
11 The owner of the '68 is...
11 The owner of the '68 is running a set of 15-inch Cragar S/S wheels and actually had a fifth wheel in his attic. So we twisted his arm to get him to pull the rim out of storage so a new tire could be mounted as a spare. Also in the attic we found the spare tire hook, retaining plate, and wing nut. A quick coat of paint had them looking like new.
12 Mustangs Unlimited's carpet...
12 Mustangs Unlimited's carpet kit includes a spare tire cover as well. Unfortunately, it is designed for a stock 14-inch wheel and tire package, so the '68's P205/70R15 on a 15x7 Cragar is going to have to stay naked. Perhaps a future update of the kit using stretchable fabric might help for those with larger wheels.
13 One last thing we decided...
13 One last thing we decided to install is a Rotunda replica accessory light, also from Mustangs Unlimited. It uses a mercury switch behind the bulb to turn the light off and on. We found a suitable location to mount the light and fitted it to the trunk lid with two tapping screws (not supplied).
14 The accessory light's...
14 The accessory light's single power wire (it's case grounded) is routed through the trunk lid to the forward corner where it exits into the trunk. You can wire the light to your taillights (requires them to be on for the light to work) or to the fastback interior light pigtails (requires interior lights to be on for the light to work). Or you can extend the light's wiring to a hot at all times connection.
15 We opted to wire the lamp...
15 We opted to wire the lamp to a hot at all times circuit and ran the extended wire forward through the quarter panel and under the door sill plate to behind the driver's kick panel. Finally, the interior light switch is removed from the door jamb and the accessory light's wire is tapped into the hot wire of the door jamb switch.
16 If your accessory light...
16 If your accessory light doesn't light up, verify that you have power to it and a solid ground, otherwise the mercury switch might require repositioning (the light can work either way). Remove the bulb and carefully remove the switch insert behind the bulb. Turn it around and put it back in the housing, followed by the bulb, and the light should work as intended.
17 To finish up our trunk...
17 To finish up our trunk detailing, we added one of Mustangs Unlimited's Fender Gripper fender covers, Mustang vinyl tote bag, and a FireAide fire extinguisher. Mustangs Unlimited's catalog is full of other usable items like emergency roadside kits, jumper cables, car dusters, detailing products, folding chairs, and more to detail and outfit your trunk for your next show.