1988 Ford Mustang Interior, Part 1 - Gut Instincts

Naturally a major piece of real estate to cover with suppressor is the floorpan. I covered this area and the transmission tunnel from front to back. I also covered the backseat area before moving rearward.

Knowing that an audio upgrade is in the future for the hatch area of Fox 500, I started by covering the spare tirewell before moving to the trunk floor.

After removing the battery box, I finished the trunk floor. I also covered the wheelwells, inside the rear fenders, and inside the doors. Fox 500 should be one tight ship once the full interior is in place.

Since this project began, Moroso released a black version of its popular battery box (PN 74051), and this seemed like a great opportunity to install it in Fox 500. Inside the new box, we dropped in a yellow-top Optima battery. The yellow-top provides ample cranking voltage with the ability to recover from multiple deep drops in charge, so it’s ideal for cars with upgraded audio or electronic extras.

Longtime readers will recall that we upgraded Fox 500’s worn-out factory wiring (“It’s Alive,” Aug. ’09) with the ISIS intelligent multiplex system (www.isis power.com) from Infinitybox. However, PHP left some of the mounting open-ended so I could pick my spots. In back, the side of the new Moroso box proved the natural spot to affix the rear Powercell.

One of the many little things that drove me crazy upon its return was the well-worn stock steering wheel. I’ve never been much of a fan of the stock Fox steering wheels, but it seems really out of place on this car. So out came the puller and off went the stock wheel.

As a replacement, I chose Grant Products’ Evolution GT steering wheel (PN 1192; $204.96) with faux-carbon-fiber thumb rests. Not only is this wheel a huge leap forward in the looks department, it also offers much better tactile feel than the worn-out stocker.

In line with the car’s subtle GT500 theme, I opted for one of Grant’s officially licensed Cobra horn buttons (PN 5663; $24.31).

As it has throughout this project, Latemodel Restoration Supply has been crucial in providing restoration parts and pieces for Fox 500’s rebirth. In this photo are the front and rear seatbelts, door-lock actuators, power-window motors, speaker grilles, and interior plastic prep and paint.

It’s amazing how much little stuff you need when reassembling these cars, and LRS has so many of the key ingredients. Shown here are the complete interior screw kit, complete rubber body-plug kit, interior door handles, fuel-filler neck seal, domelight lens, front Ford emblem, and T-top trim cap set. I used most of these items for this phase of the interior, but others will show up later on.

After years and years of service, our Fox Mustangs have suffered in the elements and some areas show the signs. Fox 500’s filler-pipe-to-trunk-floor rubber seal was completely rotted away. We remedied this ailment with a fresh, new seal (LRS-9008A; $29.99) from LRS.

The stock rubber pedal pads were driving me crazy next to the Control Pack gas pedal. My go-to was to add the Bullitt pedal pads (PN LRS-2457F; $19.99) from LRS, but now I have to figure out if I can get the Bullitt gas pedal to work with the Control Pack pedal arm.

Like the trunk floor seal, many of your Fox rubber seals and plugs are either rotten or lost by now. Fortunately, LRS has this ’79-’93 Mustang Plug & Grommet Kit (PN LRS-7993PG-K; $26.99) with every little plug and grommet you need to seal your Mustang tight.

Imagine how many times these stock door handles (bottom) have been pulled. Ours actually were in decent shape, but new handles were essential to fit in with the future of the Fox 500’s interior. LRS came to the rescue again with left (PN LRS-21819A; $9.99) and right (PN LRS-21819A; $9.99) handle

The new handles are simple to install—just unscrew the retaining screw and unhook the handle. Reverse the process, and you have spiffy new handles.

The most obvious parts in need of replacement inside this ’88 ’Stang were the power window motors. After countless up-and-down cycles, they were struggling to roll up the windows. To remedy this solution, I ordered the ’79-’93 Mustang Door Lock Actuator and Power Window Motor Master Kit (PN LRS-23394AK; $229.99), which includes everything you need to replace your power-window motors and door-lock actuators, including new door-panel clips, a door-panel removal tool, a rivet gun, rivets, and window-guide bushings. Obviously, it also includes new window motors and door-lock actuators as well. It’s a complete solution for your doors’ innards.

The motors go in and out through the door speaker hole, so if your car isn’t stripped like Fox 500, you’ll have to remove a few things before getting to work. Simply slide the new motor in place and wiggle it a bit to get the gears to line up before bolting it home.

You’ll reuse the stock fasteners to secure the new window motor. There are three such bolts that retain the motor. Once it’s installed, the new motor plugs right into the factory harness with no cutting or splicing.

Of course, the new power-window motors are only part of the mechanism that ensures smooth window actuation. The kit includes new window-guide bushings. These bushing wear over time but are a bit of a bear to replace. You must remove this window guide from the door and slide off the guide mounts first.

The old window guide bushings weren’t broken until I removed them, but they were well worn. The shiny new bushings are much smoother and more solid.

While the rods were out, I cleaned them thoroughly before reinstalling them and sliding on the mounts and bushings. With the reborn setup installed, I sprayed the rods with a bit of white lithium grease to further smooth the window actuation and reduce long-term wear.

As part of the aforementioned package, we also had a fresh set of door-lock actuators. Unlike the window motors, these units are a bit more universal, so you have to install the correct-length tip to the actuator arm. It is easily done. I just matched up one of the provided tips with the stock motor; then I installed it by tapping the retaining pin home.

If your stock mount is damaged or you break it when removing the old door-lock actuator, you’ll need to drill out the bracket’s retaining rivet and install a new one with the gear provided in the kit. I was lucky enough that I could slide the old actuator out of its bracket after applying some spray lubricant. Then the new unit just hooks in, slides into the bracket, and is plugged in.

Since I’m making the move to a black interior with Fox 500, the stock seatbelts had to go; they were worn and dirty anyway. To replace the original gray belts, I ordered the ’79-’89 Mustang Rear Black Seatbelt Set (PN LRS-61168LP; $199.99) from LRS. These are bolt-in replacements for the stockers. Don’t make the mistake I did and pitch your old belts before installing the new ones, however—you need to remove the factory dust cover and install it on the new belt mechanism. I’ll have to hit the salvage yard before installing the rear seat.

The front belts needed replacing as well, so the move was the ’87-’89 Mustang Front Black Seatbelt Kit (PN LRS-61109AK; $249.99). This is another everything-you-need collection from LRS, featuring the belts, belt sleeves, proper Torx sockets, and even body plugs. These belts are an easy bolt-on replacement, but having the interior trim panels out of the car definitely makes it a bit easier to mount them.

With most of the hidden work done, I wanted to get a start on our next installment with some bits from TMI Products. The company has released both a T-top headliner and reproduction sunvisors for Fox Mustangs.

I opted for black cloth on the headliner and the sunvisors, also using TMI’s new sunvisor rods to install the visors and partially retain the headliner. Screws from LRS’ ’87-’93 Mustang Hatchback Interior Screw Kit (PN LRS-8793HB-K; $64.99) retain the new sunvisor rods.

To further prep for the rest of the install, I painted both the speaker grilles (PN LRS-18978H-K; $54.99) and the T-Top Trim Cap pieces with black interior paint (PN MET-FL7; $12.99) from LRS. This paint is easy to apply, and is a great match for the coloration and finish of the stock interior panels. 5.0

You might have seen Fox 500 burning up the rear tires a few times in the magazine, and that takes its toll on the rear meats. It was time for fresh tires, but we couldn’t let just anyone handle our totally custom True Forged Wheels. They are the only set that will fit Fox 500, so we turned to the tire experts at Pit Crew Tire to mount our new rubber. Pit Crew is a mobile tire service that offers all the latest mounting and road-force balancing equipment, and specializes in filling with nitrogen for more consistent, longer-lasting pressure.

After rolling into our office parking lot, the Pit Crew staff carefully mounted and balanced a fresh set of Nitto NT555R drag radials on our custom True Forged Chicanes. Because of the precision of its equipment, Pit Crew can achieve a better balance with less weight added. With GT500 power in a light Fox chassis, I’ll need all the traction these tires can provide.

Moving out of the interior, there were a few things I had to address. First up, the freshly painted Fox 500 lacked a Ford emblem on its front fascia. That was easily remedied with some 3M adhesive and a shiny new ’87-’93 Mustang LX Front Ford Oval Emblem (PN LRS-8223A; $20.99) from LRS.

A bit of incongruity under the hood of the Fox 500 was the pair of stock radiator hold-down brackets. They just looked really out of place with all that modern gear.

To bring the engine compartment in line, I turned to UPR Products for a ’79-’93 Mustang Stainless Steel Large Radiator Hold-Down (PN 1056-06; $49.99) in black. This aluminum piece really cleaned up the underhood visage.