My old, tired, blue standard interior steering wheel pad appears to be light blue. The center pad, with emblems appears to be black. Looking through my two supplier catalogs, I only see light blue "metallic" interior paint. Is this the correct color for the pad? And is the center pad dark blue or black?
Also, were the interior metal surfaces always dark blue for the two tone blue standard interior? When I took off the door panels, the paint under them seemed light blue in places, but I don't see any evidence of light blue on the worn exposed metal surfaces.
The steering wheel pad with the round emblems is painted light blue metallic. The repo pad is supplied black (and actually does not fit that well.)
Like 68 GT said, all metal is light blue metallic.
Dave
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68 GT Vert - J Code (1st car I ever drove in '73, dad bought it in '71)
67 C Code Vert Sports Sprint (1st car I ever bought in '75)
06 Vista Blue with Pony Package (1st Mustang I ever bought new)
MCA #49294 Grayson, GA (Atlanta)
I don't have any great pictures. Attached are two pics that show the steering wheel with the black looking center and you can see a little of the dark blue paint on the door and pillar trim. It is a little darker than the photo shows, but a little lighter than the door panel. I like lighter colored interiors, but the prospect of painting multiple coats of light blue rattle can to cover the dark blue is a little daunting. Are your two GTs Standard interior or Deluxe Interior? Would that make a difference?
your doors and dash are too dark. A previous owener must have used the wrong color paint. The lighter correct color blue looks much better. The metal surfaces should be closer to the color of your steering wheel rim. The middle section of your steering wheel with the six holes in it should be the same color blue as the steering wheel pad. Mine was like that. My car was a sprint (GT options) but not deluxe interior. I still have my original wheel in my trunk taking up space if you want any parts let me know.
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Ford True Blue paint, 17X8 Edelbrock 454 wheels, waiting to install... 91 roller 347, AFR 185 heads / AOD/2,800 rpm stall / 8.8 rear with 373 gears / 4 wheel disc brakes. / Xpipe, Dynomax Ultraflows . More pictures here-->http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/vi...-few-pics.html
If you plan on dyeing the vinyl and there is a layer of paint already on it you must remove the paint. Goof Off will do it. Soak a rag with Goof Off, soften the paint and then wipe off with another rag. Takes a while but it will not hurt the vinyl.
Then use the SEMS cleaner and prep to prepare for the paint.
If you are going all the way on the front of the pad the chrome rings are $30/set, the center emblem is $30, the outer trim piece is $30. It adds up in a hurry.
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John Bednorz
1967 Shelby GT350, dark green, 347 stroker, 5-speed, inboards, #2206
1973 Mustang Convertible, white/white, black stripes, Q-code (351C-4V), ram air.
1968 1/2 428 CJ convertible, R-code, red/deluxe red, auto, finally finished.
"If you find the car of your dreams, ignore the price guides and pay whatever you have to in order to get it."
OK, you've convinced me - light blue paint it shall be. I like that better anyway. I went on ebay completed listings and all the blue Mustangs had the interior metal painted light blue like you said.
2 more questions:
1) How many cans of spray paint will I need? (another post said 5-6 cans).
2) Why do the catalogs list a dark blue interior paint if it's always light blue? (I guess I'm still not 100% convinced).
If you plan on dyeing the vinyl and there is a layer of paint already on it you must remove the paint. Goof Off will do it. Soak a rag with Goof Off, soften the paint and then wipe off with another rag. Takes a while but it will not hurt the vinyl.
Then use the SEMS cleaner and prep to prepare for the paint.
If you are going all the way on the front of the pad the chrome rings are $30/set, the center emblem is $30, the outer trim piece is $30. It adds up in a hurry.
John. thank you for your comments in this thread. Seeing this I went out in the garage and removed the pad assembly from my 68. Had my 68 for 33 years didn't realize the steering wheel pad could be taken apart and the chrome rings/buttons etc. could be replaced. The inner and outer pad are excellent. Years ago I had painted over the chrome. IMO it's well worth $30,$30,$30 to refurbish the looks of the steering wheel pad. Fortunately the original vinyl pad parts are in excellent condition.
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My '64 1/2 vert. Ordered May '64. D code 4 speed, handling package, caspian blue, accent group, Ford blue manual top.
'68 vert. driver. Owned since '77. C code AT, AC, PS, P disc B, PT lime gold, standard black interior and top. NOS RF fender and left quarter.New top and folding glass.
John. thank you for your comments in this thread. Seeing this I went out in the garage and removed the pad assembly from my 68. Had my 68 for 33 years didn't realize the steering wheel pad could be taken apart and the chrome rings/buttons etc. could be replaced. The inner and outer pad are excellent. Years ago I had painted over the chrome. IMO it's well worth $30,$30,$30 to refurbish the looks of the steering wheel pad. Fortunately the original vinyl pad parts are in excellent condition.
Slim, careful which parts you buy. I bought the 6 rings, outer chrome ring, and the center chrome ring with the horse from Scott Drake, and the outer chrom ring fit is terrible and the first time I bumped the center ring it cracked the clear plastic cover from top to bottom.
I don't know if anyone else makes those parts, but you may want to give them a try if they do.
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1968 Coupe - Original Sprint B, J-Code Car
"For Amature Restorers the line between 'fixing it' and 'breaking it' can be very blurry " - My Brain
OK, you've convinced me - light blue paint it shall be. I like that better anyway. I went on ebay completed listings and all the blue Mustangs had the interior metal painted light blue like you said.
2 more questions:
1) How many cans of spray paint will I need? (another post said 5-6 cans).
2) Why do the catalogs list a dark blue interior paint if it's always light blue? (I guess I'm still not 100% convinced).
Thanks for the help and advice.
One word of caution. If you dye the entire pad the center pad (inside the chrome ring) won't completely match the outer part of the pad because they're made of different materials. The inner pad is made of something close to rubber, and the outer pad is foam. I'm guessing this was the case from the factory. Can someone confirm this?
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1968 Coupe - Original Sprint B, J-Code Car
"For Amature Restorers the line between 'fixing it' and 'breaking it' can be very blurry " - My Brain
Quik,
I hope you contacted your dealer when you had an issue with the the chrome ring. We are very eager to make the best parts possible. Working in R&D, I am very often taken off the task at hand to inspect and correct any issues we have. Unfortunately we can't fix issues we don't know about. We would much prefer to solve issues immediately when the issue first presents itself, not when we see it on a forum. Should a customer not get the answer they are looking for from their dealer, they are always free to contact us directly. Thanks - Tim.
Slim, careful which parts you buy. I bought the 6 rings, outer chrome ring, and the center chrome ring with the horse from Scott Drake, and the outer chrom ring fit is terrible and the first time I bumped the center ring it cracked the clear plastic cover from top to bottom.
I don't know if anyone else makes those parts, but you may want to give them a try if they do.
Took the pad assembly apart. Before I took it apart I noticed the outer plastic ring was too long to fit in the pad recess. It was popping up/out at each end. Now it's apart the plastic outer ring (with the chrome worn off) has the Ford oval, engineering part number in the mold etc. This assembly had never been apart and that plastic ring/backing plate is obviously Ford OEM.
It appears as tho the main foam pad has shrunk. Set it back on the steering wheel and by golley there's almost 1/4" gap at each end between the pad and the wheel.
It's possible the Scott Drake repo ring is the right size, just like my OEM original that doesn't fit!!
The question for me is does anyone know of a repro steering wheel pad?
Foam pad type parts have this type of problem. The outer skin covering tends to shrink with heat and cool cycles. Padded dashes often crack and armrests shrink like this steering pad.
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My '64 1/2 vert. Ordered May '64. D code 4 speed, handling package, caspian blue, accent group, Ford blue manual top.
'68 vert. driver. Owned since '77. C code AT, AC, PS, P disc B, PT lime gold, standard black interior and top. NOS RF fender and left quarter.New top and folding glass.
I don't have any great pictures. Attached are two pics that show the steering wheel with the black looking center and you can see a little of the dark blue paint on the door and pillar trim. It is a little darker than the photo shows, but a little lighter than the door panel. I like lighter colored interiors, but the prospect of painting multiple coats of light blue rattle can to cover the dark blue is a little daunting. Are your two GTs Standard interior or Deluxe Interior? Would that make a difference?
Note your thumbnail pics. They show the same situation I have on my 68 vert. The steering wheel pad is evidently shrunk...see the big gap at each end? This causes the plastic chrome plated ring to be too long.
I recently went thru this same thing on my 68. My original chrome ring was a good fit (all the shin was gone.) The repo part was slightly too long, but would have worked. The bigger issue is the curvature. The radius is too small and the ends do not want to sit down.
Dave
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68 GT Vert - J Code (1st car I ever drove in '73, dad bought it in '71)
67 C Code Vert Sports Sprint (1st car I ever bought in '75)
06 Vista Blue with Pony Package (1st Mustang I ever bought new)
MCA #49294 Grayson, GA (Atlanta)
I recently went thru this same thing on my 68. My original chrome ring was a good fit (all the shin was gone.) The repo part was slightly too long, but would have worked. The bigger issue is the curvature. The radius is too small and the ends do not want to sit down.
Dave
I'm curious. Is there a gap between the foam pad ends and the steering wheel?
My OEM chrome plated plastic ring is flat until installed. It takes on the curve of the pad.
The ends are held up by the foam pad which has shrunk. I filed/beveled the ends at angle like the cavity in the pad so it would sit down better.
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1968 Blue Steering Wheel Pad Paint Color?
