A very common issue on the early S197 Mustang is sagging door panel inserts. My drivers side is showing some evidence of it:
The passengers side is much worse, the (I assume fake) leather has come completely unglued and is just hanging:
This won't do. So I pulled the door panels and ripped the pleather off. It leaves a felt backing that you can see in the above shot. That was not as easy to remove:
And it leaves a good deal of glue on the surface underneath. I did my best to remove it, including scraping and wire wheeling:
Backing up a bit, I had purchased a pair of Coverlay ABS plastic inserts to go in place of the factory ones. They came with a tube of silicone to hold them in place, but the consensus on the forums was to use something a bit stronger. I ended up with E6000 glue. I used a whole tube of it for each side.
Here is one of the covers in place, with a bunch of old wood clamps to weight it down. I let it sit like this overnight:
And the finished product:
I could quibble a bit about how the insert is a bit darker than the rest of the door, but honestly, it's no big deal. It looks MUCH better than it did, and I don't have to worry about the insert falling onto my passengers' arm. All in all, a fairly easy job. Though I certainly recommend pulling the door panels. The instruction video from Coverlay shows them doing it on the car and just using painters tape to hold it in place while the glue dries. I don't think that would work very well. Much better to have it on a flat surface so you can weigh it down and clamp it like I did.
Wow, that's an amazing job. Impressed.
I used those same Coverlay inserts on my '06 Legend Lime, they look pretty darned good considering how easy they were to install and what the door panels looked like before. I'd recommend them to anyone ! !
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Mine are starting to look a little wrinkly. I was going to try to re-glue them, but after seeing this I too may just go for the inserts.
Count me on on this project. I may try gluing my door cards first then if that fails try the inserts.
I've just spent some time recovering some panels and it's not hard..... get some barge cement or some good headliner spray adhesive and buy some nice material (I got a 3' x48" piece of Alcantara for $19)
those panels look nice but you might be able to cover it with some nice fabric as well
One last interior fix/upgrade. My factory shift knob had some peeling leather:
I tried gluing it, but you could still feel that it wasn't right. Given how much you touch the shift knob, this is no bueno. You can buy new OEM knobs, but they are pretty pricey, so I decided to go with a plain white cue ball shifter:
With that, I'm calling the interior pretty sorted.
Also, you may remember that I wanted to make sure I could use plain "Ford" center caps on whatever wheels I ended up with. Well, I found some on eBay:
They fit perfectly.
In reply to jfryjfry :
That's what I was thinking, some black Alcantara. I assume the original shrinking material will not be able to stretch and re-glue.
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
I ordered my Hurst shifter with a white ball similar to yours. Every time I drive it I love it even more. I think it really fits the 60s era styling this car brought back.
Been driving the car more and more, and I'm really enjoying it. There's probably a reason this is the 6th Mustang I've owned in my life. They just suit me.
But, the rear end is very clunky. I know that suspension upgrades are in my future, but I'm trying not to A, Spend a bunch more money when I just bought wheels and tires, and B, have the car off the road for several weeks in the summer when I can be enjoying it. To that end, I'm going to do some piecemeal upgrades. I just ordered a set of the Ford M-5538-A rear LCAs. These go along with my philosophy of trying to tighten things up without going too harsh. Basically, they are OEM for the GT500 and the Track Pack GTs. And they should be a pretty easy install where I don't have to take the whole rear end apart.
I'm also looking at Panhard bars. Again, the bushings on my stock one are shot, and I know I'm going to need an adjustable for when I lower the car. But I have to admit, I'm a bit confused about the exact differences between what's out there. Mainly because of the prices. It seems to me, and I could be wrong, but a Panhard bar is a very simple device. It's, you know, a bar. It locates the rear axle laterally. The differences come down to, is it adjustable (basically all the aftermarket ones are), what is it made of (mild steel, 4130, or aluminum), and how does it attach at each end (stock rubber, various forms of poly, rod ends, something called "Giiro"). My default is just to usually go with the Ford part because I trust OEM engineering more than I do the aftermarket. But the Ford bar is at least $100 more than any of the aftermarket ones, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. In fact, I'm wondering why I wouldn't just go with the cheapest, which is the Summit Racing brand that's made of 4130 and has poly bushings, for $139. Of course, I wouldn't be opposed to the aluminum Maximum Motorsports one for $159, since MM is a well-known and trusted brand in the Mustang suspension world. The only issue is that it has rod ends, so I'm a bit worried about NVH.
I know I'm overthinking this. Right?
Steel with poly is fine, if adjustable get one that adjusts in the middle-you can't get to the jam nuts in situ on the ones that have the jam nuts near the ends.
bumpsteer said:
Steel with poly is fine, if adjustable get one that adjusts in the middle-you can't get to the jam nuts in situ on the ones that have the jam nuts near the ends.
I don't see any that adjust in the middle. All of them seem to have the adjustment point a few inches from one end.
While it's a fox body with an added MM Panhard, so not exactly a direct comparison, all the Maximum Motorsports stuff I've had has been nice quality.
It's been on the car for 2 years now and I haven't heard any noise from the rod ends yet
The OEM ones have lead / steel shot on the inside for NVH.
I went with a BMR non adjustable bar with poly ends from CJ Pony Parts and it made a huge difference. I don't plan to lower so I didn't need an adjustable but they do make those as well.
I went the additional step of getting a reinforced panhard mount which you may want to consider. Essentially the panhard mounts to folded sheet metal at the body end; the reinforcement makes that point of contact much more rigid.
I did the bar, the mount, and a front strut tie bar and the results are really impressive. My 76k mile GT feels much tighter and the rear end doesn't wallow around side to side as much. It's noticeable and well work what I spent on those mods.
On a related note, I had an amazing experience with CJ Pony Parts. I ordered several times from them, and the parts shipped quickly each time and came well packed. On one of the orders I made a mistake and needed to call them. The rep at the other end of the phone was great and had my issue fixed in under 5 minutes. Very impressed!
Loweguy5 said:
I went with a BMR non adjustable bar with poly ends from CJ Pony Parts and it made a huge difference. I don't plan to lower so I didn't need an adjustable but they do make those as well.
I went the additional step of getting a reinforced panhard mount which you may want to consider. Essentially the panhard mounts to folded sheet metal at the body end; the reinforcement makes that point of contact much more rigid.
I've heard different opinions on those. Some say you need it because the factory mount is super flimsy, but others point out that stuff like the FR500 race car used the factory mounts with no issues. Since I won't be running super sticky tires or pushing the car that hard, I'll stick with the factory mount for now, but keep an eye on it.
I did the bar, the mount, and a front strut tie bar and the results are really impressive. My 76k mile GT feels much tighter and the rear end doesn't wallow around side to side as much. It's noticeable and well work what I spent on those mods.
The front strut tower brace is another kind of controversial item. Some folks swear by them, others say the S197 chassis is plenty stiff and they are not necessary. Some of the suspension kits, notably Steeda, come with them, but most don't. For now I'll skip it.
On a related note, I had an amazing experience with CJ Pony Parts. I ordered several times from them, and the parts shipped quickly each time and came well packed. On one of the orders I made a mistake and needed to call them. The rep at the other end of the phone was great and had my issue fixed in under 5 minutes. Very impressed!
Yes, I've bought a few things from them, most recently the shift knob, and they've always delivered promptly with no issues.
Long overdue update! I ended up parking the car for the winter in late October. Between work travel, holidays, and home improvement jobs, I haven't really touched it until recently, but I'm getting back up to speed now.
The parts fairy has been busy:
Pictured:
- Ford Racing "P" springs
- Bilstein shocks and struts
- Ford Racing rear LCAs (essentially GT500 parts)
- Ford Racing bump stops
- OEM replacement tie rod ends
- Moog OEM-style rear UCA
- Reman Brembo 6-piston front brake calipers (OEM on the S550 performance pack cars)
- 13-14 GT500 15" front and 14" rear rotors
- LMR rear caliper relocation brackets to use with OEM calipers and the larger rotors
- Rebuild kits for the rear calipers
- Powerstop Extreme brake pads front and rear
With that, I started work on the rear. Here's how it looked when I started.
Yeah, the PO liked that red paint. Those calipers will be rebuilt and repainted satin black to better match the Brembos that are going up front.
Disassembly went pretty easily. Brakes are removed, rear sway bar and panhard are off, old springs are out. I didn't get to the control arms, because I wasn't sure how to reach the front upper bolt on the UCA. Turns out you get to it from the inside by removing the rear seat. I'll get to that next.
OEM spring vs the Ford "P":
Old Koni shock vs. the new Bilstein:
Later in the day, my new Whiteline adjustable Panhard showed up, so I was able to get a comparison shot of those, too:
With that, I wrapped it up for the day. I have to say, this car is SO easy to work on after too many years of German "precision". 
More to come.
A bit more work over the holiday break. I disassembled and painted the rear calipers:
I used some $4 rebuild kits from RockAuto, cleaned, and reassembled them. The finished product:
Turns out the rear UCA is one of "those jobs". First I had to pop out the rear seat to get to one of the bolts:
That wasn't enough. There's a sleeve that goes about an inch up into the floor pan, so even though you reach the bolt from the top, you still have to unbolt and lower the fuel tank in order to wiggle the whole assembly out of there. Then once it's out, there's the bushing that's pressed into the differential. Seems like a lot of folks keep the existing sleeve and just cut/grind out the old rubber and press in a new poly one. I'm replacing the whole thing with OEM style with a new sleeve, so mine was more involved.
After some cutting and drilling, I was able to get the center part out:
That left me with this:
Normally, when I have leftover rubber in a metal sleeve like that, I use mankind's oldest tool: Fire. But, given the proximity of the fuel tank, I decided that probably wasn't the best way to go. Long story short, I ended up just cutting into the sleeve with a hacksaw and pounding it out of there.
More to come.
Looking good. I bet it will feel amazing with all the new bushes back there getting rid of the slop.
You are systematically completing the S197 checklist. Love it! When she's back on the ground would you mind throwing up a pic of those Brembos nearly kissing the barrel of your 19s but clearing nonetheless? That's next for me. I'm told my SVEs like yours will clear but my AMRs will not. Oh, and good luck tightening that backseat bolt to the 12billion ft/lbs it asks for!
As I often do, I fell into the "while I'm in there" trap a bit and decided to replace the factory diff cover. You can get the Ford Racing one for about $200 that strengthens the cap supports, but I'm not doing hard drag launches or anything, so cooling is a bigger factor for me. Again, places like Steeda will sell you a finned cover for about $200. But in doing some searching, I was able to find what is probably a Chinese knockoff on RockAuto for $140, so I went with that. As far as I can tell, it's the same thing:
Installation hit a few snags. I couldn't get it into position with the panhard bar in the way, so I had to unbolt it. Then I discovered that the factory bolts weren't long enough, so I had to order some new ARPs. Then I disovered that Ford changed the spec on the gear oil, so the several quarts of 75w90 I already had were no use, so I had to run to the FLAPS to get some 75W140. In any case, it's all in there and filled up again.
By the way, whoever thought of these soft "bottles" of gear lube should get a Nobel Prize:
They make it SO much easier.
With the new cover and panhard in place, it's a little tight between them:
More to come.
I mentioned the panhard. As I previously said, I went with Whiteline for both that and the sway bars. Here's what it looks like:
Gotta say, they could do a better job with their instructions. The parts are very nice and well-made, but I found myself having to do some googling and looking up torque specs and such.
I also did the rear brakes. As you may recall, I'm upgrading to GT500 rear rotors with the stock calipers. These brackets from LMR move the caliper out enough to clear it:
From there it's pretty straightforward. At this point, I'm pretty much wrapped on the rear end.
Here's a "before" shot with all the old factory stuff:
And the "after" with all the new stuff:
On to the front end!
Any update of the FIRESTONES?
Thanks
RacingComputers said:
Any update of the FIRESTONES?
Nothing major. I put maybe 1000 street miles on them last summer. No complaints, but I'll know more when I actually do some competitive stuff this year.
Thanks
Changing from 20" to 19" Rims on the 05
Giving the Firestone's A Look
What size Firestones did you end up with on your Mustang?
Looking at 265 x 35 x 19 in 9" in front
285 x 30 x 19 on rear
Thanks
