Concentrating on dash assembly now. Have detailed/installed the pedal assembly, master cylinder, wiper motor assembly, fresh air vent and parking brake handle/chassis.
The clutch/brake pedal assembly came out very nice. There is a lot of detail that a lot of folks might not notice. Such as the clutch pedal shaft being cad plated, not natural steel. Also, the pedals were a bit of a darkened appearance at top, which I was able to save by a very light glass beading at 20psi. Also, there are heat marks on the metal where the stop bracket is welded to the clutch pedal. One interesting detail is the difference in the black paint dip lines. I was able to save the original lines and reapply black paint in the exact position as it was. Kind of cool detail! Last item of interest is the ultra-rare clutch pedal pad w/out the indentation around the perimeter. This is a genuine Ford NOS part, which was acquired before the repro's came out. Nice detail you don't see very often on restored cars.
Not a whole lot going on in the engine bay right now, but as mentioned, the master cylinder was installed when the pedal assembly went in. The MC is an NOS FoMoCo piece, 100% exactly the same as the original that was in the car. Nice detail showing the lid and body painted together as a unit with the fitting plug in place. Fasteners are original pieces that were re-plated proper finish. Also, notice the clutch rod has been installed. This is an NOS Ford piece with re-plated original nuts. Last noticeable item in the engine bay is the installation of the windshield washer system. This is from an NOS FoMoCo kit that included ribbed hoses and all the correct pieces.
Back to the interior... Restoration of the wiper motor and arm assembly was somewhat time-consuming. There is a lot of detail that has to be done. The 2-speed wiper motor has a cover with a date stamp, I chose to keep this the original finish and not disturb the original "Jan 21, 1965" stamp. The end cover of the motor is painted black, which had to be re-finished. Original attaching screws were nice original plating and were just put back in. Cloth tape was applied how it was found, which hold the wires up so they can't be seen from the edge of the dash. The wiper bracket is semi-gloss black with strip caulk used to attach it back in the car (prevent vibration noises.) The wiper arms were originally like a cadmium plating. The left one is NOS while the right is a very nice used original that was cleaned up. Original wiper bezels and attaching nuts for the exterior were re-chromed and look perfect.
The fresh air vent was rather easy to restore. The only thing that takes time is detailing the plastic vent cover. I had an extremely nice original vent assembly that probably didn't need re-painting, but I shot a new coat of paint on it anyway. The vent cable is really nice, showing the zinc dichromate plating on the shaft. Also, notice the C4ZA part number decal. Found this on several San Jose cars. Have never seen it on any other assembly plant car. Also, notice the finish on the flasher clip. It might have originally been black zinc as it has a bit of a darkened "rainbow" appearance. Flapper shaft on this assembly was zinc dichromate, have another one that appears to be more red in appearance.
Next is the parking brake handle and chassis. Restoring one of these is not that hard. Have always been baffled that some choose to pay upwards of $300 for an NOS unit when they could restore an original for a fraction of that cost. The wheel at the end, the pin and clip can be re-plated. The handle shaft can also be plated in clear zinc. I had a really nice original plastic pull handle which was cleaned and installed. It was much nicer than the NOS piece I had bought.
Here are a few shots of the pieces installed in the dash. Notice the original wiper arm cover. Had a super nice original that just needed to be cleaned up. Also notice that loop clips for the main wiring harness. These were only used on convertibles from that time period. Coupes/fastbacks had plastic wire clips. Only reason I can figure is that convertibles had the loops in case a power top was installed, which would allow the extra space needed for the power top lead that goes behind the dash to the switch.
