Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics finally started painting the dash and interior

Mostly posting this for archive/search purposes. Maybe I can help somebody in the future who is searching now that I have taken everything apart and started painting. Also, feel free to reply and tell me how junky it looks. Two items remain to be painted: 1) main dash (cluster wrap-around) 2) plastic area suround ATX shifter. Anybody know how to remove the plastic ATX shifter plastic? I'll post a pic in case I'm not being very clear (4:13 am, 2 hours of sleep several days in a row). I'll be glad to share my lessons learned on this project, including don't drink Budweiser and paint your car with only a couple hours of sleep. None the less, any blemishes that there may be don't even show up in the brightest of daylight. Good enough. I'll have to figure out how to post pics now! Looks like I've got to put the pics online somewhere and then point to then. Crap.

SEARCH KEYWORDS: painted dash, door handle, painted interior

Wet sanded the parts with 3M #400



The Paint, wax and sandpaper that I have been using


Some interior pics of the painting in progress





Anybody know how to get this black shifter trim off to paint?


Exhaust pics

Very nice! I really need to do my black dash pieces.

Might sound like a stupid question but how do you get the pieces of plastic off of the front door grab handles (the portion that you painted to be more specific)?

lookin real nice.

Thanks for the comments/questions. I'll try to get them all but I'm at work and won't be able to give more detail/pics until I get home Friday night or so (spending the night at friends house to help install 4 performance springs in his grand am).

-thanks for the compliments

-about the mirror adjuster thingy, keeping in mind that my dashboard had been recalled by ford and so the local dealer did a screw job on mine and it wasn't a virgin so your may be tighter to say the least: 1)remove kick panel by driver's feet. 2)remove (i think it was) two screws under headlight/mirror panel. 3)gently/carefully help the headlight/mirror panel out. There are clips but I think mine were already broken or something. At this point your panel should still have two switches in it hanging by the wires/harnesses. 5) Use a very small screwdriver to disconnect both harnesses. 6) I'm doing this from memory at work but I seem to remember that the mirror and headlight controllers push (OUT, not IN) (TOWARDS THE DRIVER, NOT THE ENGINE) and mine was not at all hard to get out. Let me know if this does not help and I'll send pics or review my memory.
7) sand and paint. don't drink and get plenty of sleep and maybe yours will come out better than mine.

The door grab handles where the easiest. Get a very thin, flat screwdriver(not quiet as skinny, brittle and sharp as a jewlers). Carefully penetrate the screwdriver blade into the bottom crack between the handle and the insert. Carefully 'pry' the insert out. The two hard things are trying not to leave a 'bur' on the grab handle (I did and had to trim with a sharp knife) and finding the right location to insert and pry to get the most efficient pull out.

The exhaust:

phase 1) removed resognator and pretended not to hear bad cackle

phase 2) had local muffler shop cut off everything south of the flex and install 2.5". Custom y just north of the fuel tank into two generic glass packs. It was way to loud, especially the drone at low rpm under load. Drove it that way for a day or two. I drive 10 hours a week and couldn't handle it!!! Those two glass-packs I had them put in loud side in (they have two directions for the internal bumps).

phase 3) for just the cost of the extra, much larger glass pack (he called it resognator, about $38), he cut out the straight pipe south of flex and north of Y-pipe and installed that larger resognator quiet side up.

This pretty much did the trick. with the 7" AFE cone filter it sounds so very very bad when you are getting on it from INSIDE THE CAR. However, the very little experience that I have had hearing my own car go down the streat full throttle it doesn't sound too good at all. Also, under 1200 rpm or so load it still does drone a bit much. I really want to put something else under there. Maybe flowmaster 40s or something? They probably won't fit as nice though.

The tips are just one of several that he had laying around. I like them cuz they are bevelled and always look very tough. He did a good job getting everything even and sqaure. I know that I really took a chance going to joe muffler but I couldn't decide borla, svt, bassani, yodude.