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Now that both ends of the car have been disassembled, the next step is to tackle the middle of the car. The parts that need to be removed here are the door components, the seats, the seatbelts, the windshield, the glass pieces, the headliner, the top cover, and the console.

DISASSEMBLE THE DOOR

Back in 1968, making the doors uncomplicated and easy to disassemble wasn’t exactly “job one” with Ford. Although the doors aren’t seriously technical to take apart, each mechanism within the doors must be removed in the correct order, or this task can quickly become frustrating, and the urge to pick up a big hammer to help the situation will become extremely great. But resist the urge to smash something, take your time, and you will find that although these doors aren’t the easiest in the world to take apart, they aren’t the most difficult either.

It’s time to bring out the camera. As I said, tearing down the doors on this car isn’t that technical, but they do contain a lot of parts, and it is important to know where and how these parts are removed from the doors.

REMOVING THE DOOR TRIM

One of Ford’s better ideas in 1968 was to keep the interior door trim pieces as basic as possible. It even went so far as to texture a portion of the inner door frame to simulate the interior trim. My guess is this was done because Mustang drivers sit so low in the seat they have a tendency to push against the door with their foot when they open it, and that would scuff any soft trim near the bottom of the door.

I begin the trim removal process by removing the arm rests and the window crank handles. Both of these pieces are screwed on, with the screw to the crank handle hidden behind a garnish tab on the handle. I use a sharp, small flat-bladed screwdriver to gently lift a corner of the tab and remove it. It is held in place with rubber cement so it comes off fairly easy. If it hadn’t come off easily, I would have tried warming it with a hair dryer to soften the cement. The tabs are easily destroyed during removal, but that isn’t a problem, as the suppliers listed in chapter 1 all carry new ones. Any that I do ruin will be added to the new parts list.

PHOTO 1: The attachment screw for the window crank handles is hidden behind this small chrome cover. The cover is glued in place, so care must be taken when removing it.

PHOTO 2: The metal clips holding the trim panel on the door are carefully removed using the Eastwood panel remover tool.

Next, I gently pry the metal clips attaching the trim panel free of the door and remove the panel using the Eastwood Door Panel Remover Tool #52035. While I have this tool in hand, I can also remove both the inner and outer door glass belt weather strip pieces. This makes removing the door glass and vent glass assembly easier.

PHOTO 3: An exploded view of the mechanisms inside the door. All of the parts are laid out in the position they would be found in the door to make assembly a little easier.

PHOTO 4: The latch assembly is also removed and photographed.

In photo 3, I’ve laid out the working components of the left door to get a better idea of what’s actually in the door. It can sometimes be difficult to remove a part if all you know about the part is that it fell to the bottom of the door when unbolted. All of the parts are placed as they would be located inside the door.

REMOVING THE WINDOWS

With the door glass rolled three-quarters of the way up, I hold the glass in place and remove the window regulator (bottom center, photo 3). The regulator has four bolts, and once unbolted it will slide off the lower glass channel and out of the door.

Removing the regulator frees the glass to slide up and down the front and rear run channels. To remove the rear run channel, look for the bolt hidden behind the rear door glass seal that holds the top of the rear run channel in place. With all the bolts removed, I can slide the glass full up and remove the rear run channel (far left, photo 3).

TIP

The wife, the next door neighbor, or—if you are lucky enough to own one—a teenager can be used to help hold the glass in place while removing the regulator.

With the rear run channel out of the door, I allow the glass to slide to the bottom of the door and remove the vent glass assembly attachment bolts and then the vent glass assembly from the door (far right, photo 3). I will take this unit apart and replace the weather strip later, but for now I store the piece.

Finally, I can lift the door glass, slide it back into the opening created by removing the rear glass seal, and lift it out of the door. With all the glass parts laid out, as shown in photo 3, I can inspect each piece for wear, note any parts requiring replacement (particularly the rollers) on the new parts list, and store everything together in a box marked Left (or Right) Door Glass.

REMOVING THE HANDLES, THE LOCK CYLINDERS, AND THE MIRRORS

The outer door handle, lock cylinder, and mirror can also be unbolted, removed, and stored, but I’ll leave the door latch on the door for now. Being able to latch the door will be important once I’m ready to bang and twist on this door to gain a better fit at a later time.

You might want to consider removing the latch with all its linkages intact and photographing the complete assembly while the tools and the camera are handy. Figuring out where all of the linkages go after they have been stored for a year can be tough. Reinstall the latch after photographing, and continue with the teardown.

REMOVE THE SEATS AND THE SEAT BELTS

The quarter windows go next, but the need to comfortably climb in and out of the car takes precedence. That means removing the seats and seat belts from the car.

The back seat pops right out by pressing down and back on the cushion to free it from the retainer hooks. Removing the front seats requires going under the car and looking for the eight rubber plugs capping the access holes to the front seat mounting bolts.

Is there anything else that might be found under the seats? Out in the fantasy world of automotive restoration, the original build sheet for the car would have been left under the rear seat. Although a company like Marti Auto Works can tell me virtually anything I could ever want to know about the car, having the original build sheet makes a great addition to the written history of this pony. I didn’t get that lucky. All I found under the rear seat was rust.

TIP

If you didn’t note the need to replace the seat plugs when compiling the initial inspection list, do so now. These plugs tend to harden with age, and they rarely survive being removed.

What else might be found after removing the seats? How about the seat belts? I can’t think of anything worse than sorting through a pile of seat belts trying to decide which belt goes to which seat. To prevent that dilemma, I remove the belts and lay them out according to placement and photograph them. I label each belt as to location before storing.

REMOVE THE INNER QUARTER PANEL TRIM AND THE QUARTER GLASS

I start by removing the quarter window crank handle and trim panel. That gives me access to the quarter glass regulator. Lubricate the regulator and guide channels with WD-40 before reinstalling the crank handle to roll the glass up and down to see if it works. Quarter windows are rarely operated, and they tend to collect grit and grime around the rollers. Operating the regulator before lubricating the unit can cause the rollers to seize and break. If they do, don’t fret. New rollers are available from most of the suppliers listed in chapter 1.

Next, I remove the bolts located behind the two round openings near the top of the inner quarter structure. One bolt is just visible in the upper left opening. The bolts are attached to small L-shaped window stops that will drop to the bottom of the quarter once the bolts are removed. I collect these stops and bag them along with everything else removed from inside the quarter. After that, I can slide the quarter glass up and out of the run channels to remove it.

Next, I remove the four bolts holding the window regulator plus two additional bolts holding the short regulator run channel (photo 5, arrow). With the regulator loose, I can remove any remaining bolts, including two at the bottom (photo 6, lower arrow) and one located near the round opening near the top of the quarter assembly (photo 6, upper arrow) that hold the regulator support assembly in place. Then, I carefully shift the loosened support assembly back and remove the regulator through the large opening near the bottom of the inner quarter structure. Finally, I lift the regulator support assembly (visible through the wide opening at the bottom of photo 6) up and out through the glass opening.

PHOTO 5: The quarter glass is removed by removing the attachment bolts found inside the round holes located near the top of the inner quarter panel structure.

PHOTO 6: The remaining bolts, located near the arrows, are removed. This allows the window regulator support assembly to lift up and out of the quarter structure.

REMOVE THE WINDSHIELD AND THE BACK GLASS

Both of these glasses are set in rubber gaskets so removal will be fairly easy. I start by removing the reveal moldings. The Eastwood Molding Removal Tool #52021 C is used to free the moldings from the retainer clips by carefully sliding the tool between the glass and the reveal molding and using the point of the tool to hook and lift the retainer clip, as shown in photo 7. The reveal molding will then pop free of the clip and lift out of the glass channel. I repeat this procedure around the windshield and the back glass until all of the reveal moldings have been removed. I label and note the condition of each molding on the master list before storing, and I add any damaged moldings to the new parts list.

PHOTO 7: The Eastwood glass trim removal tool #52021C is used to hook and lift the reveal molding clips to free the windshield reveal moldings.

PHOTO 8: A plastic windshield knife is used too gently pry the glass from the rubber weather strip. Gentle outward pressure will also help remove the glass.

PHOTO 9: The headliner bows are pulled down to release the tension and allow the headliner to be removed.

To remove the windshield and back window glass, I use a plastic windshield knife and carefully pry the rubber gasket free of the glass opening. I apply gentle pressure against the back of the glass with the palm of my hand to help dislodge the glass and push it out. Be careful because too much outward pressure can crack the glass. Use the plastic windshield knife to complete the removal, and never use a metal object of any kind to pry against the gasket or glass; otherwise, breakage could occur.

I don’t know if it is a shop curse, but I rarely manage to salvage a windshield. Removing one usually means breaking one. But that’s OK because a new windshield is a standard replacement item for any restoration. The back glass, however, is a different story. I just take a bit more time getting this glass out knowing it has seen little abuse and that saving it is important. Once the glass is out of the car, it must be safely stored. But how do you store a large piece of glass?

Never store a piece of glass flat; always stand the glass on its edge. Just the weight of a curved windshield can cause it to crack if stored flat. I use a discarded wind-shield shipping box to store glass. These boxes can be found almost anywhere windshields are sold. Usually, windshield guys are happy to get rid of a box or two, and one box will hold all the glass removed from a project.

REMOVE THE HEADLINER

Next on the list for removal is the headliner. This is a bow-hung fabric piece—bow-hung meaning Ford used spring steel rods stretched across the inner roof to hold the headliner in place. The ends of the rods, or bows, are notched into holes in the roof structure and can be removed only by pulling down the center of each bow to release the tension before sliding the bow out of the notches.

But before the bows can be removed, the edges of the headliner must be freed. The headliner is glued across the front and rear as well as along both sides of the roof. That should explain why the windshield and back glass were removed first: to gain access to the front and rear edges of the headliner.

The sides of the headliner can be accessed only after the upper door and the quarter glass weather strips located along the roofline of the car are removed. Ford preferred to glue these weather strips in place, so a flat-blade screwdriver can be helpful in removing these pieces. I don’t like breaking the old rubber weather strips, which can easily occur, so I take all the time needed to gently remove them from the metal tracks. Having the old weather strips to compare with the new weather strips can prevent a lot of headaches later.

Once the headliner is out of the car, I lay it on the floor and mark each bow. Notice in photo 10 that I marked the front of the headliner and numbered each bow. Each bow is a different length and must be put back in the same order it was removed. Also notice the two wires at the rear of the headliner. The new headliner will be installed in a reverse order, starting with the rear bow. The wires are attached near the rear of the roof and are there to hold the headliner in place as the bows are repositioned.

REMOVE THE TOP COVER

Next to be removed from the car is the vinyl top cover. This one has aged considerably and has already begun to crack and break apart. That makes me leery of the condition of the roof panel. I could have quite a bit of surface rust under there, so getting rid of the old cover is very important.

Before removing the cover, however, I need to ensure the new cover matches the old cover. I need to measure the distance between the seams. On this car, that measurement is 40¾ inches. I also need to check the placement of the seams on the new cover to be sure they are straight and parallel to each other. Finally, I need to check the grain pattern. I just want to be sure the grain and texture of the new cover matches that of the old cover.

All car manufacturers have a mean streak when it comes to certain moldings. The two nuts shown in photo 11 hold the quarter to roof molding in place, and unless at least part of the headliner is removed, there is no way to access these nuts. That should explain why the headliner has already been removed.

PHOTO 10: The old headliner is laid out on the floor and the front marked. Each bow is then numbered for ease of installation into the new headliner.

PHOTO 11: The arrows point to the roof belt molding retainer nuts. This molding must come off before the vinyl top can be removed.

PHOTO 12: The roof belt molding.

Speaking of mean streaks, photo 13 demonstrates the easy way to remove the extremely fragile drip rail moldings. I use a wide-blade trim removal tool, Eastwood #52298 to catch the inner lip of the molding and gently unroll the molding from the drip rail. But that isn’t all. As seen in photo 14, behind the drip rail molding is yet another molding. This one is hooked under the edge of the drip rail and serves as a close-out molding for the vinyl top cover. It really cleans up the look of the top by covering the cut edge of the vinyl, but it can be difficult to remove. A small flat-blade screwdriver works great to gently lift and roll the molding from under the drip rail. Finally, the vinyl top is ready to come off. Unfortunately, in this project it comes off in pieces.

PHOTO 13: This roof drip rail molding is gently pried off using a wide-blade trim tool to lift the inside edge of the molding and release it from the drip rail.

PHOTO 14: Behind the drip rail molding lies yet another molding. This one hooks under the drip rail and must be carefully pried off.

PHOTO 15: The console goes next. The components are laid out and photographed before storing.

What is the condition of the roof panel mentioned earlier? Surprisingly enough, Ford was careful to apply a solid coat of green paint to the roof and about double the amount of adhesive required to hold the top cover in place. Any rust worm looking for an easy meal was out of luck with this car.

REMOVE THE CONSOLE

Next on the teardown list is the console. This one consists of three major components: the lower base, the top cover, and a radio surround piece. The bad news here is that once I unbolt and remove these pieces from the car, I find that the radio surround piece and the radio housing had been hacked apart by someone determined to install an oversize CD player in the dash. Salvaging this part of the car may prove to be my undoing. But in keeping with the rule of body repair of always putting off until tomorrow what was promised yesterday, I move on.

PROJECT SUMMARY

Before continuing with the restoration, I want to pause and take stock of what has been accomplished so far. I’ve taken over one hundred photographs detailing the parts removed from the car and their approximate mounting locations, paying particular attention to the intricate inner workings of both doors and quarter panels. I want to be sure that months from now, when I start assembling this car, I can easily tell where and how each part should be installed. I’ve also noted the condition of all these parts on the master list, making a note beside each entry that will require additional parts or a complete overhaul later on. Parts that need to be replaced are then transferred from the master list to a new parts list, and once I have a substantial list compiled, I’ll place an order.

To that end, it is time to pick up a few catalogs and spend a little quality time making a wish list of needed parts. Over the years, I’ve learned that the more parts ordered at the same time, the better the discount and the more savings on freight cost. It also helps to consider time and distance. The farther away the parts supplier is located from your front door, the higher the shipping cost (generally) and the longer it takes to get the parts (sometimes). But I don’t let either of these factors stop me from using a company that has treated me like a real customer in the past. At one time or another, I have either ordered from or sought information from all of the companies listed in chapter 1 of this book. That’s why they’re here: they all treated me like I was the only customer they had that day.