And now, your inside!

apsmith49921

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Did you have to dye the s197 seats

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

TrickVert

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Good idea, Daryl

The interior is basically stock with some subtle/inconspicuous modifications. I prefer a mostly-stock look, with a few "Oh, I would have never noticed that" changes.

Compass mirror with LED map lights
IMG_20201114_202452 (Large).jpg

Alarm LED in the housing from an F150
IMG_20201114_195846_6 (Large).jpg

Steeda Tri-Ax shifter and leather Motorsport shift knob
IMG_20201114_200546 (Large).jpg

Bullitt pedals and footwell lighting (and a good shot of my chipped up door cup) :-/
IMG_20201114_195703_0 (Large).jpg

Halo headrests
IMG_20201114_200500 (Large).jpg

Digital boost gauge in OEM clock pod (and the alarm LED cover again in the background)
IMG_20201114_202337 (Large).jpg

Indiglo gauge faces, brushed aluminum surround, and low oil pressure LED (yellow)
IMG_20201114_200324 (Large).jpg

And finally, a stealth head unit install. The Ford head unit is out of a '99 Contour SVT with the bulb and lens covers cannibalized from my OEM radio to retain teal lighting. (I did this when I installed the boost gauge so I could still have a clock in the car.) The Ford radio's antenna wire powers the switched lead on a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X689, so turning on the Ford radio fires up the Excelon. I also have a Bluetooth module wired to the Play/Pause, FF, and RW buttons on the Ford piece, so I can control my phone's media via those buttons.


The Kenwood feeds a Soundstream amp in the convertible top well. I had custom hoses made up so I could move the pump over to the passenger side, and yes, I did this before there were affordable "proper" sound-deadening options, so that's ice guard.
DSC00847 (Large).JPG

All the speakers are upgraded, and a 12" sub lives where the spare tire used to be. Everything is hidden, even the under-hood fuse holder.

Now you see it...
DSC00689 (Large).JPG

... Now you don't.
IMG_20150506_192144824 (Large).jpg
 
Last edited:

apsmith49921

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Good idea, Daryl

The interior is basically stock with some subtle/inconspicuous modifications. I prefer a mostly-stock look, with a few "Oh, I would have never noticed that" changes.

Compass mirror with LED map lights
View attachment 7859

Alarm LED in the housing from an F150
View attachment 7867

Steeda Tri-Ax shifter and leather Motorsport shift knob
View attachment 7864

Bullitt pedals and footwell lighting (and a good shot of my chipped up door cup) :-/
View attachment 7868

Halo headrests
View attachment 7865

Digital boost gauge in OEM clock pod (and the alarm LED cover again in the background)
View attachment 7862

Indiglo gauge faces, brushed aluminum surround, and low oil pressure LED (yellow)
View attachment 7866

And finally, a stealth head unit install. The Ford head unit is out of a '99 Contour SVT with the bulb and lens covers cannibalized from my OEM radio to retain teal lighting. (I did this when I installed the boost gauge so I could still have a clock in the car.) The Ford radio's antenna wire powers the switched lead on a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X689, so turning on the Ford radio fires up the Excelon. I also have a Bluetooth module wired to the Play/Pause, FF, and RW buttons on the Ford piece, so I can control my phone's media via those buttons.


The Kenwood feeds a Soundstream amp in the convertible top well. I had custom hoses made up so I could move the pump over to the passenger side, and yes, I did this before there were affordable "proper" sound-deadening options, so that's ice guard.
View attachment 7875

All the speakers are upgraded, and a 12" sub lives where the spare tire used to be. Everything is hidden, even the under-hood fuse holder.

Now you see it...
View attachment 7876

... Now you don't.
View attachment 7877
That boost gauge is awesome. Did you just gut the clock and put the gauge in its place

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MyLittlePony

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Did you have to dye the s197 seats

No. The factory 05 red practically matched perfectly. I knew in 2004, back when they were touring it around for the 40th anniversary, that it would match my factory 94 red. They have since then been reupholstered (like I said, old pics) but they were only reupholstered because the seats started cracking after a decade exposed to the Texas sun. Having the factory upholstery perforated was stupid, and mostly lead to the cracking. It’s not like they had factory heated seats in 2005. And my aftermarket heated kit doesn’t seem to care.

At one point, after having a daughter, my v6 cloth backseat was reinstalled and reupholstered with a partial kit, which has since been discontinued. When I took the seats to the upholstery, the book they had indicated that in 1994, ford did not use that type of grain. The 2005 book also claimed the grain was wrong. She could order me the correct leather for either seat. But since I wanted to match closer to the rear, I had to contact the company that originally made the aftermarket kit for 94.

I was able to get in touch, and after some mailed samples, was able to confirm what I needed. It involved sending a mail order check to an individual (not business) but it all worked out in the end. I think the company also made 05+ seat covers, but they didn’t offer red so I didn’t even bother ordering from them. I’m assuming that something happened, and complaints were made. Rather than locate the correct grain for an extremely rare chance someone wanted to buy factory red, they decided not to offer it at all.
 

TrickVert

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Woodland Park, CO
That boost gauge is awesome. Did you just gut the clock and put the gauge in its place?
Thanks! I really like the stealth aspect of it.

I did. I sourced another OEM clock, removed the circuit board, glued the HR and MIN buttons in place, and installed THIS DAKOTA DIGITAL GAUGE in it. (I'm pretty sure it wasn't $160 back then.) I had to clearance the housing a little, but otherwise, it went in almost like it was made to be there.

IMGP1134.jpg
 

MyLittlePony

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Thanks! I really like the stealth aspect of it.

I did. I sourced another OEM clock, removed the circuit board, glued the HR and MIN buttons in place, and installed THIS DAKOTA DIGITAL GAUGE in it. (I'm pretty sure it wasn't $160 back then.) I had to clearance the housing a little, but otherwise, it went in almost like it was made to be there.

View attachment 7898

I’ve been wanting to do that with one of those cheap eBay 3 in 1 clock/thermometer/voltmeters for quite a while
 

MoMustangs

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I dont normally like convertibles but that car is CLEAN love that hidden radio XD


Good idea, Daryl

The interior is basically stock with some subtle/inconspicuous modifications. I prefer a mostly-stock look, with a few "Oh, I would have never noticed that" changes.

Compass mirror with LED map lights
View attachment 7859

Alarm LED in the housing from an F150
View attachment 7867

Steeda Tri-Ax shifter and leather Motorsport shift knob
View attachment 7864

Bullitt pedals and footwell lighting (and a good shot of my chipped up door cup) :-/
View attachment 7868

Halo headrests
View attachment 7865

Digital boost gauge in OEM clock pod (and the alarm LED cover again in the background)
View attachment 7862


Indiglo gauge faces, brushed aluminum surround, and low oil pressure LED (yellow)
View attachment 7866

And finally, a stealth head unit install. The Ford head unit is out of a '99 Contour SVT with the bulb and lens covers cannibalized from my OEM radio to retain teal lighting. (I did this when I installed the boost gauge so I could still have a clock in the car.) The Ford radio's antenna wire powers the switched lead on a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X689, so turning on the Ford radio fires up the Excelon. I also have a Bluetooth module wired to the Play/Pause, FF, and RW buttons on the Ford piece, so I can control my phone's media via those buttons.


The Kenwood feeds a Soundstream amp in the convertible top well. I had custom hoses made up so I could move the pump over to the passenger side, and yes, I did this before there were affordable "proper" sound-deadening options, so that's ice guard.
View attachment 7875

All the speakers are upgraded, and a 12" sub lives where the spare tire used to be. Everything is hidden, even the under-hood fuse holder.

Now you see it...
View attachment 7876

... Now you don't.
View attachment 7877
 

J_lope82

Active Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2021
Messages
957
Reaction score
775
Location
South Texas
Good idea, Daryl

The interior is basically stock with some subtle/inconspicuous modifications. I prefer a mostly-stock look, with a few "Oh, I would have never noticed that" changes.

Compass mirror with LED map lights
View attachment 7859

Alarm LED in the housing from an F150
View attachment 7867

Steeda Tri-Ax shifter and leather Motorsport shift knob
View attachment 7864

Bullitt pedals and footwell lighting (and a good shot of my chipped up door cup) :-/
View attachment 7868

Halo headrests
View attachment 7865

Digital boost gauge in OEM clock pod (and the alarm LED cover again in the background)
View attachment 7862

Indiglo gauge faces, brushed aluminum surround, and low oil pressure LED (yellow)
View attachment 7866

And finally, a stealth head unit install. The Ford head unit is out of a '99 Contour SVT with the bulb and lens covers cannibalized from my OEM radio to retain teal lighting. (I did this when I installed the boost gauge so I could still have a clock in the car.) The Ford radio's antenna wire powers the switched lead on a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X689, so turning on the Ford radio fires up the Excelon. I also have a Bluetooth module wired to the Play/Pause, FF, and RW buttons on the Ford piece, so I can control my phone's media via those buttons.


The Kenwood feeds a Soundstream amp in the convertible top well. I had custom hoses made up so I could move the pump over to the passenger side, and yes, I did this before there were affordable "proper" sound-deadening options, so that's ice guard.
View attachment 7875

All the speakers are upgraded, and a 12" sub lives where the spare tire used to be. Everything is hidden, even the under-hood fuse holder.

Now you see it...
View attachment 7876

... Now you don't.
View attachment 7877
Where did you get the white face gauges at? I like them they don’t look too ricey.
 

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