Topic: Restification of a very worn '66

[Rob_Robinson87]

I have picked up a very used '66 Mustang for a daddy/daughter project which will end up to be a nice driver for her.  The idea is to bring the car back up to a like-new status (I'm not going to use the word restore, because the car will not be like the factory made it).  The idea is to add a few modern items that will add some fun and safety upgrades (such as 3 point-seatbelts, modern A/C, tankarmor, RetroSound stereo, etc) but also capture most of the original styling of the year.  The car, originally a Wimbledon white/black interior 289/auto powersteering car, has seen a rough life (now sports a nice running '86 302), but is mostly rust free.  As I attempt to remove the current horrible flaking black paint job, my daughter and I have bounced around ideas of how she wants the car to look.  We both agree the car will go back to the white, but she wants the interior to be the deluxe aqua/white pony interior.  I have found several photo references for how the doors, dash, as such were painted, but I have yet to find something that actually gives me the correct paint codes for the aqua paint for the doors, speaker grille, dash pad trim, etc.  I have seen 3 shades of aqua listed for Ford in '66 - light, medium, to dark. Even the '66 dash/steering column white paint seems to be a difficult color to pin down.  Can anyone provide a current paint code for the correct deluxe aqua/white pony interior aqua paint and dash/steering column white paint?  Also, are their choices on the Aqua dash pad and quality from the different part houses?  She is quite excited and the change from the current standard black interior ought to be dramatic!

Thanks!
Rob

[CharlesTurner]

There are some places on the web that you can find the paint codes, here's a general one:
http://www.metromusclecars.com/FordInterior/1966InteriorPaint.html

You're probably going to be disappointed with the reproduction aqua parts available as far as color goes.  I bet if you bought 10 interior parts that were aqua, none of them would match.  My suggestion, since this is going to be a nice driver is to purchase your seat covers, go to a paint supply store and get some aqua paint matched to the aqua on the covers.  You can also have the paint store mix up some plastic/vinyl dye in the same color if you want to tint the dash pad or other aqua parts. 

[Rob_Robinson87]

I guess it is going to come down to quality and as I have seen, price doesn't necessarily mean quality.  I have seen many Pony kits out there that offers the pony interior as one big group, and then there is the TMI modified pony interior... I guess it is going to come down to quality- are there companies to stay away from (poor colors, bad fit, cheap vinyl, etc) to stay away from?  It seems everyone has their own "kit" and I have read complaints about white pony door panels being more gray, or too white...  Even though this is a modification, I do want to capture that correct look just in case she wants to enter the car into the local show.  I know nothing will be correct, but I don't want something that shows significant wear issues or obvious color issues just a few months after use. 

Even the link you provided isn't consistant on color names. It bounces between turquoise and aqua.  It also doesn't say what is correct where- like medium or light on metal doors? Were there so few of this color combo that there isn't as much documentation, or like other things did different factories use different shades?

[CharlesTurner]

Shouldn't have been any intentional shade differences by the 3 assembly plants.  They would all have shared the same style paint.  On the '66 aqua 2-tone interiors, most of the aqua parts would be close in shade.

The supply of reproduction parts is rather dynamic and what could be a junk piece one week might be replaced with another later on.  Suppliers will sometimes carry an inferior part if the good one is not available as it's better to stock something than nothing.

You should be able to get some feedback here if you ask about certain brands of parts, but I would not expect to know everything about all parts.  You'll probably end up buying some parts that have issues, but not sure that it can be avoided.  The main thing is to work with a vendor that has a flexible return policy and generally carries the better quality parts.