Gutting the Interior for Track Prep | Project Vintage Race Mustang

We decided to strip the rest of our 1965 Mustang vintage racer's interior so that we could media blast and then paint it a medium gray color.

The other reason for stripping out the interior: Weight is the enemy in a race car, and the more unused items that can be removed, the better.

The first thing to go was …

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Part of me loves to see this. The other part of me cringes at seeing a nice & straight-looking Mustang get gutted along with the inevitable panel damage and carnage.

Is now the time to check that Cowl vent for leaks?

In reply to edwardh80 :

I can't speak for other groups but the vintage group I race with takes a very very dim view of contact, so I wouldn't call the panel damage inevitable. 

In reply to tooms351 :

I hope you said that tongue in Cheek. Race cars are not water tight.  Doing so adds weight the enemy of racers. 

When I worked at a Honda dealership just out of high school the rubber gasketed Honda windshields of that era were removed thusly:  Get two people sitting the in the front seats, adjust the seats until both yahoos can plant their shoes on the inside of the windshield, get all four legs to push simultaneously, and out pops the windshield.  That and other tricks of the trade scared me away from ever taking a car to a dealership...

frenchyd said:

In reply to tooms351 :

I hope you said that tongue in Cheek. Race cars are not water tight.  Doing so adds weight the enemy of racers. 

So just let it keep rotting out?

I love seeing all this.  I had a '65 Fastback in the '70's that I was constantly fixing up the interior, adding parts, rebuilt the 4-speed Toploader and 289,  etc.. 

I think I could work on one with my eyes closed. 

In reply to jharry3 :

Glad that the project is so well received. Tim's been working on Mustangs nearly his entire life, too, so not much time with a repair manual needed on this one. Look for another update next week.

tooms351 said:

frenchyd said:

In reply to tooms351 :

I hope you said that tongue in Cheek. Race cars are not water tight.  Doing so adds weight the enemy of racers. 

So just let it keep rotting out?

Race cars aren't driven on salty roads and a good coat of paint is enough to protect the metal during rain on the race track.  
Race cars like this aren't stored outside in the weather, but kept garaged.  

That knee bar should be a dash bar.  Just sayin' . . .  future ouch.