Fitting of Doorcards and Dashboard – 1965 Red Ford Mustang Coupe Restoration

Image shows a 1965 Ford Mustang dashboard which has been repainted.

In the image above we can see the newly repainted dashboard of our ‘65 Mustang Project.  The speedometer, clock cluster and glove-box door have been fitted and are ready for adjustment.  The glove-box door has been refurbished as we were trying to keep as many original parts as possible on the vehicle; the same applies for the speedometer – this was removed, completely stripped, refurbished and reassembled whilst only using a new fascia surround (all other parts being original).

Speedometer and clock cluster.

The image above shows a closeup of the speedometer and clock cluster prior to the installation of the steering column.  As you can see, the only new part used is a black camera case finish fascia – all of the other switchgear has been removed, refurbished and reinstalled as per our brief of originality.

Mustang heater controls

Above are the heater controls prior to removal and refurbishment.  The switch gear and backplate were in such a good condition (with only minimal blemishes) that we were able to simply remove, re-polish and re-fit.  All of the heater control cables needed to be freed and re-lubricated prior to refitting and checking of operation.

Image shows the top of the dashboard with dash pad.

The top dash pad has just been put into place for its first trial fit.  The after-market dash pads available for the ‘65/’66 Mustangs are notoriously hard to fit and much persuasion and adjustment is required – this one was no different – it took approximately two hours to get an ideal fit.  Once fitted, the chrome trim strips were added above the speedometer and glove box; which can be seen in the next image.

Image shows the dashboard with the new dash pad fitted.

Almost there… here we can see the nearly completed dashboard section with reinstalled speedometer and clock cluster.  The glove box has also been refitted and adjusted.  The dash pad has now been installed together with the chrome trim strips that can just be seen above the gauges.  The only thing missing now is the radio; which will be covered in a later update.

Passenger doorcard

Once the dash was completed, we moved on to address the doors.  Before fitting the door-card (as shown here), all new window felts and door rubbers (seals) were fitted together with new exterior locks, handles and mirrors.  Next we checked the window regulators for operation and alignment and made the necessary adjustments.  Once this was done, the new door-card together with arm rest, window winder and door release handle were fitted.

'65 Mustang Headliner

After fitting the new headliner in white, we fitted trim fasteners as seen at top of A-Post.  New rear view mirror and sun visors in white were installed to match headliner.  The small creases that can be seen in the headliner will be removed after fitting the front and rear windshields (windows); we will show you how we did this in a later update.