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| Finishing Up The Inside | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The module tower is mounted to the lower edge of the dash just above the accelerator pedal, with two small torx sheet metal screws. On it are the intermittant wiper module, the chime, the cornering light module, and others. I discovered this component when Slorider’s wipers quit one rainy day. The EVTM and the wiring diagram are amazing tools when you look closely at them! The wiper module is still available (imagine THAT!!) from Ford, though it is a pretty penny....after discount, it was still about 80 bucks. The new one went on BD, after its module went on the wagon. While I was down there, I cut the wire to the chime module that signals when the door is open and the key is inserted. That situation happens a lot around here, and I’m tired of pushing in the door ajar button with my foot. It is the white and blue wire (near the center of the group) in the plug just above the brake pedal in this picture. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This is just a glance at the front left corner of the floor, where the wires have to go by all the moving parts of the fuse box, emergency brake, and the other pedals. Their placement was all done here...it was rather tough, even laying on my back, to get them all to go where they needed to, and miss all the potential sharp corners of things that could cut them. I can see why stereo shops charge so much to run wiring....it’s a hassle to get it around the emergency brake arm, and through the doorsills without getting it chopped in two by a sill screw or two. Lowrider had a problem with its CD changer when the cable connecting it to the deck got cut by a doorsill screw at one point. It was patchable....but BOY, are those sound conductors small in that cable....very tiny. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ready for Carpeting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Floor and components are ready for the carpet to go in. Let's hope I didn't FORGET anything.....!!!! The wires for the sound system run along the left side doorsill. There are cardboard covers for them that help prevent them from being damaged by being stepped on by passengers. You can see the cardboard protectors on the left side (right side has them, too, but there is less wiring over there)...there is a gap below the C pillar, which separates the front and rear doors. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brand New Carpet for Twelve Bucks!!!! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When I had the seats redone, I also ordered a new carpet. I know that most aftermarket carpets don't fit as well as originals, but I also knew how much chance there was of finding a good carpet at the PnP. In all the years I had gone to this particular place, I had never seen one Taurus with black interior. But I was lucky during the time I was doing this interior....there was one out there, and it happened to be an L model....the low end version. The car was ordinary looking on the outside...paint was dull, and a ding here and there. But the inside.....spanking new. The seats were cloth, and the car did not have a console, so there was no point in getting them for anything...SHOs have different seat bases than SLOs anyway, and Slorider already has an LX interior, installed a year or so ago. But I got everything else....carpet, plastic ceiling moldings, quarter window moldings, doorsills, weatherstripping, and even the headliner. It would need to be cut for a moonroof, but that is easy. The carpet is shown below. You can tell how preserved it is from looking at the backside...it looks as though it was manufactured this year. The two are compared, BD's original, and the new one. All of the interior parts, without seats were less than $100. The carpet was 12, each plastic part was 5, the W/S was 2.50 per foot (10 per door), and the headliner was 10. New headliners cost about $250.....I got Lowrider's new one from the factory and paid $175, with a 25% discount. |
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| Here's the backside of the new carpeting. Even if you have never seen the backside of an auto carpet, you can tell that this is NEW!! |
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| Here are the two carpets together....the difference is obvious. I have taken the padding off the old one, and put it in the car, so that I will have two layers, for extra dampening of road noise. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Going In | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Carpet's going in. It doesn't look as clean as it is, because of the flash...it tends to distort blackish colors. But take my word for it....after this is vacuumed when it is all in, it will be NEW. That light area behind the rubber pad is just dusty. It is uniformly black throughout. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Here’s what the carpet looks like when it is flattened out and pulled up to the corners of the cabin floor. The car it came from had no console....rather rare in a Taurus with bucket seats. I even was able to get the heater plenum cover, that goes on the bottom and protects it from feet. I’d forgotten that those were even installed. I did cause myself a bit of a headache by cutting and splicing power seat electrical connectors onto the seats before I realized that there are various connectors for various seats...left/right, and for other variations I can't figure...probably different year models. I needed to cut them off and splice them several times before I got them right. (The seats going into this car are from a different year...there is a difference, but I don't know why.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The doorsills and other plastic trim are parts I have been collecting for years, knowing I would be doing this restoration at some point. I have at least three complete sets of interior trim parts. Kris and Andy Angermeier sent me one set....thanks, guys!! Now that it is done, it looks absolutely new. There’s (will be) a picture of it completed at the end of this procedure. The thing I have to do now is make sure all the screw heads are the proper finish, and that they are the proper length for where they go. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| You can see the quality of the new seat covers. They are leatherette....feel like leather, but actually high quality vinyl that will not crack over time. I have all new seat base covers, and control panels. I'll put the original console in temporarily, so that I can drive it....I need a place to rest my arm! The two different colors of the doors is due to the high intensity light I have in the back seat, combined with the flash of the camera. |
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| Back Next Home | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||