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1966 Ford Mustang - Project '66 - How To: Project '66 Trunk DetailingWe "Bring Up the Rear" of Our Hardtop Project With the Help of CJ Pony Parts From the February, 2002 issue of Mustang Monthly By Mark Houlahan Photography by Mark Houlahan
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After detailing the engine compartment, dash, and interior, we've finally reached the rear of the car. Now it's time to detail our hardtop's trunk. When the project was debuted-fresh from the paint booth-at last year's MCA Grand National, we installed the gas tank, the taillights, and the rear bumper so we would have a sealed "storage" area for our trip to Raleigh-Durham. But once we returned from the show, we removed everything from the trunk area so we could document the detailing properly and not omit anything. Although the trunk area is the least seen, even at a show when the trunk is open, it's one of the easiest areas to properly detail and quite possibly one of the most economical as well. Of course, your costs will be determined by the type of parts-N.O.S., repop, or good-used-you choose to restore with. In our case, we restored our trunk (and rear body area) with reproduction parts, and our total was right at $600. Yes, that sounds like a lot of money for trunk detailing, but it includes a new Styled Steel wheel and tire and a new wiring harness. You can also put these costs into perspective when you consider the cost of a complete interior restoration. You may not need all of these items, but we suggest that if you're completing a full restoration, don't skimp on the cost of a new fuel tank. The cost of a new tank is good peace of mind when you have all-new fuel lines, a new fuel pump, and a completely rebuilt engine all relying on the fuel coming from that tank. The headaches you prevent will most likely be your own. Next month, we'll build up our V-8 spec C4 transmission with the help of the tranny gurus at Dynamic Racing Transmissions, while we keep our fingers crossed on our latest 289 to go to the machine shop. Shortly afterward, we'll finish our hardtop's exterior trim application and present the 289 engine buildup and installation for you, hopefully in time for Silver Springs 2002! Keep an eye out for these updates.  Our hardtop's trunk is ready...  Our hardtop's trunk is ready for its first show, which hopefully will be Silver Springs 2002. Come show time, we hope our hardtop's trunk will hold all of the Missus's "essential" items for show travel (and any purchases while we're there too).  1 Bolting the fuel tank into...  1 Bolting the fuel tank into place with a new hardware kit is the first step to completing our trunk detailing. We suggest skipping the original hardware, since it's usually rusted beyond use, or missing, and the new hardware kit is only a few bucks. Don't forget 3M strip caulk sealer between the tank and the trunk floor.  2 This is an old detailer's...  2 This is an old detailer's trick that's been mentioned many times, but is always worth discussing for the new people in the audience. When installing or replacing the fuel-tank filler neck, place two cork gaskets (instead of one) behind the filler-neck flange. The extra thickness is barely noticeable, and the fuel-filler cap will now be situated off the taillight panel enough to prevent scratches in the paint.  3 The fuel-filler neck is...  3 The fuel-filler neck is positioned over the tank opening, then the new fuel-filler neck hose is attached to the tank and the filler neck. Notice the position of the hose clamps. This is the location used by the factory to prevent anything snagging on the head of the clamps.  4 Don't forget the trunk-floor...  4 Don't forget the trunk-floor drain plugs. These rubber plugs prevent water and dirt from getting into the trunk area, ruining the trunk mat and causing rust damage.  5 Since we had our trunk...  5 Since we had our trunk floor replaced during body repairs, the original mounting holes for the trunk filler extension board weren't there. Using the new extension board as a template, we drilled small pilot holes for the new self-tapping screws. Once the holes were drilled, the new tapping screws were installed with a dab of caulk on their tips to seal the holes.  6 Another often missed, yet...  6 Another often missed, yet inexpensive item in the restoration and detailing of the '66 trunk is the luggage strip found only on the left wheelhouse. This rubber strip is applied over the weld seam of the wheelhouse to prevent abrasion damage to suitcases. It's not used on the passenger side because the spare tire prevents contact with the lip of the wheelhouse there.  7 To protect the fuel tank...  7 To protect the fuel tank and add an insulating factor, we installed this barrier insulation from Ssnake-Oyl before installing our plaid trunk mat. You'll notice in this photo that there isn't a pass-through hole in the right trunk floor for the fuel-sending unit wiring (due to the new sheetmetal). A hole will be made when we install the wiring.  8 While the thin-felt-backed...  8 While the thin-felt-backed trunk mats are a nice touch for a daily driver, we opted for the more expensive, correct-style, thick rubber mat. Be sure to get the correct mat for the year of your project. A new scissors jack and correct ratchet-handle lug wrench (both missing when we bought the car) are in place here with our spare-tire hold-down hardware as well. Don't forget the jack sticker, since it doesn't come on the new jack.  9 The new taillight reflector...  9 The new taillight reflector housings are installed using the proper hardware and new gaskets. Notice the two angled spacers on the top studs. These are often missing and are a great detail touch for a correct restoration. They don't come with the housings, so be sure to order them.  10 New taillight bezels and...  10 New taillight bezels and lenses are installed to the reflector housing with the proper screws. These short-body screws don't take much to strip out the threaded holes in the reflectors, so take your time during installation.  11 Our taillight harness...  11 Our taillight harness had seen better years. Somewhere along the line, the harness had been tapped into for extra lighting, and the woven cover was long gone. A new harness was our answer. The harness comes with these adapter ends, allowing the harness to plug into early- and late-built Mustangs. Our Mustang required the adapters to plug into the steering column properly.  12 Routing the harness to...  12 Routing the harness to the front of the car was easy since our interior and trim items weren't installed yet (this how-to was photographed before last month's interior installation). The harness was routed to the dash, then later plugged into the proper plugs on the column.  13 Back in the trunk, the...  13 Back in the trunk, the harness is carefully positioned under the metal harness tabs found along the top of the left quarter-panel and along the taillight panel. Make sure the harness is routed properly and plugged into the taillights before bending the metal tabs back to retain the harness. You'll notice the pigtails hanging down for the backup lights, which haven't been installed yet.  14 Before installing the...  14 Before installing the rear bumper, it's often easier to place the tie-down decal in its location on the rear valance since your line of sight is unobstructed. Don't forget the proper license tag-retaining hardware.  15 Another easy step to do...  15 Another easy step to do now is installing the license-tag light to the rear bumper before placing the rear bumper on the car. This way, you've got plenty of room to fit the light assembly.  16 The rear-bumper mounting...  16 The rear-bumper mounting brackets (shown here already installed on our bumper) are mounted to the body with these foam pads sandwiched between the body and the brackets. These pads are usually long gone due to accident repair or dry rot, and many first-time restorers don't know that they should be installed. Do yourself a favor and use some trim glue to hold them in place during installation or you'll end up needing seven hands to finish the job.  17 The rear bumper is attached...  17 The rear bumper is attached to the rear of the car with new hardware and the proper washers. These washers distribute the clamping load and prevent stress cracks in the taillight panel, so be sure to use them (or something similar if you're building a driver). The smaller bolt shown is for the bumper guards, which were already installed.  18 We've learned our lesson...  18 We've learned our lesson in the past by not checking our lights before installation. Take the light you're installing, completely assemble it with a bulb, then test it on a 12-volt source to make sure the wiring and internal contacts work before going through the labor of installing everything. The proper backup light bulb is no longer made for these lamps, but a "1142" bulb will fit and offer plenty of illumination.  19 The backup lamp assemblies,...  19 The backup lamp assemblies, after testing, can be installed into the rear valance. Don't forget the rubber gasket that seats around the chrome housing of the lamps. The wiring is routed through the trunk drop-off, then plugged into the rear body harness.  20-a To have that correct,...  20-a To have that correct, from-the-assembly-line look (and trust us, the judges will look), you need to ditch the retaining nuts that come with the repop lamps (photo A) and use the correct washer-head nut shown to the upper left of it.  20-b But that's not all;...  20-b But that's not all; the bell spacer shown in photo B is also required, due to the angle of the rear valance. Not only will your installation look correct, but also the lights will seat better and stay tight.  21 When the backup lamps...  21 When the backup lamps have been snugged in place by hand, take a small, flat object, such as a pocket screwdriver, and carefully seat the seal lip around the chrome lamp housings. These seals will often shift during installation, so make sure they're seated properly before final tightening of the lamp hardware.  22 While we installed the...  22 While we installed the fuel filler mounting hardware earlier, we left the fuel filler cap for later. After installing the retaining wire bale, you can carefully seat the filler cap and check to ensure that it doesn't come in contact with the taillight panel. If it does, you can always install more cork gaskets behind the filler-neck lip.  23 Here's where hindsight...  23 Here's where hindsight became 20/20 for us. We figured we would leave the trunk-lid weatherstrip for last since it was a rather easy item to deal with. Unfortunately, during the application of our 3M black weatherstrip adhesive, a drop of the adhesive escaped our tube and landed on our new trunk mat. Although we acted quickly, it was too late; the mat had a chemical "etch" where the adhesive had dripped. Heed our warning and install this gasket before any new detail items get put in the trunk.  24 Oftentimes at shows we...  24 Oftentimes at shows we notice that some owners overlook the most obvious things, such as this jacking instruction decal found on the trunklid. Many times it's the wrong one for the car, or it's simply not installed at all. This sticker is going to be noticed by any judge (the good judges will catch the little things), so do yourself a favor and get the correct one.  25 Though black-and-white...  25 Though black-and-white pages don't do our Anniversary Gold and gleaming chrome any justice, take it from us, the finished results are inspiring--enough so, my neighbor bought a '68 hardtop to work on after seeing this project come to life in my garage! Now get out there, grab your CJ catalog, and get ready for the show season. I'll be seeing you out there (if this 289 is any good!).
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 | We take a glimpse inside the how, what, why, and where of restoring a vintage Mustang |
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