Posts by Murf_old

Need a set of partial set of ivy gold and white pony seat covers that are original. Attempting to match the colors, so even if you have a not so good set please reply. rear seat covers are OK too. Please respond if you have or know of someone who may have a set or partial set. Thanks!

Still waiting for one of these. Has been almost one year since seeing the prototype at SEMA. Been in contact with NPD about this radio, seems that so far each time an expected delivery date arrives, a new issue pokes its head up! I have no idea if this means that the radio was a total chunk of cshit the first time and they are trying to make it good enough to get by, or if they are striving for perfection. In any event, it probably will be near Christmas when any vendor gets enough of these to sell. The idea is good, i hope that the radio itself is better than what some folks report about the entire line of Custom Auto Sound products. I still plan to get one when and if they ever become available.

Since last November 2 at SEMA i have been awaiting delivery of the Auto Custom Sound System AM-FM reproduction radio. Several delays have come and gone but still no radio. Now the expected date is mid July for delivery. Waited about as long as a person ought to wait, so maybe time to consider something else. Does anyone know or has anyone had a stock radio converted to a later reciever and actually used it? I see ads in Hemmings for conversion but do not know anyone who actually has had it done. Can someone endorse a company that makes this conversion, and what is the cost. I have a beautiful radio that has been in my car since new. Flawless chrome, numbers on the dial are still lilly white and the needle is still bright and unbleached, but the darn thing will not say a word and has not for the past 21 years. Has come on a couple of times and scared hell out of me, but almost immediatly became once again silent. This is the only thing on the entire vehicle that does not work as it should and it is driving me nuts. Who can help?

I think the term "RESTORE" says it all. IF we want to restore something, anything, we strive to duplicate the condition and appearance when it was manufactured. The fact that it is hard or sometimes impossible to make it as built should not enter into the mix. We have been lucky to be able to just know how things were built. I will always be glad to hunt for the elusive part if convinced it was in fact used in the manufacture of my vehicle. If we only accept what is absolutely correct for our restorations, our cars will be better. Remember, if they were able to make it in 1964, they can darn sure make it now. I ask that all of you consider the excellent reproduction parts available now because we would not accept generic parts in the past.

We demanded correct parts, and in most cases we got them. Create a need and someone will fill it. I think that the stricter and more absolute out guidelines are the better we will (be forced to?) make our cars. We were never ones to take an easy road or we would have never become interested in car restoration. For my part, I say we should be damm glad that there are folks who are interested enough to dig up the facts and present them to us. Make it as tough as you want, MCA. We (I) will step up to your challenge and have better Kars because of your rules. I want the toughest judging available and from the most knowledgeable judging staff. I will make no more comments pertaining to this, but welcome any comments others may have. Do you want to make your kar CORRECT, or do you want to make it easy to win a two dollar trophy? Murf

For what it is worth, My April 22 Detroit built has the little tab that fits in the "V" in the battery foot.

To follow up on the previous post - -Custom Auto sound Rep told me Friday that availability would now probably be May 1. Will keep you all posted on developments.

Latest news on AM-FM reproduction radio for 65-66. Radio is listed in the newest NPD catalog. Retail price listed is 329.95. says "exact repo, modern internals, 200 watts, CD controller, 4 speaker pre-outs, seperate bass and treble, fader, manual tune. Exact nosepiece, dial, buttons and knobs. From the outside it looks like an original. LCD lights up when turned on. Aux inputs for iPod, MP3, satelite, CD changer etc." Bad news is that there are none available yet. Supposed to have been ready on March 1 but now another four to six weeks. That usually means six weeks minimum I have found. Just wanted you all to know the status. Photo on page 20 in the new NPD (2006 Edition) catalog that arrived here today.

I have no idea what the new radios will cost. I knew they were going to be available, talked to Jeff at NPD a lot during the carpet issues I had this winter, and he agreed to get me the first one they got. Will let you all know the results whenever the radio comes in, when? I do not know. Murf

Custom Auto Sound will be introducing a reproduction of the AM-FM radio for 65-66 any day now. We saw it at SEMA in November, with March 1 delivery promised. So far not much mention but Mustang Monthly had a little teaser about it in the last issue. The guy at SEMA said 1500 of them will be produced but I know little else. A photo is in the March MM, page 31 at the bottom of the page. Easy to overlook. Plays CD, Ipod and 200 watts. I have one on order if they are ever released. Virginia Mustng and NPD will both have them and I am sure many others when they hit the market. I have a real one in a conv and will compare the two when it arrives. Murf

Noel: I have only paid for one set of carpet during this entire ordeal. I have in my shop several sets to be returned to NPD - some have been installed, some were so wrong that there was no use attempting installation. Jeff at NPD will issue a pick up order with UPS when I call him this week and all of it will go back. NPD has been great in this matter. I can not praise them enough. They really have gone the extra mile to fix the problem and I highly endorse them. I returned the first set at my expense in October and NPD has offered to compensate me for that too in the way or credit on another order. I am MORE than happy with the effort NPD made. I hope that others who have issues with this carpet continue to send it back or take up the matter with vendors. That is how these problems get resolved, not from one guy bitching. The ball is moving now but I think that many more unhappy customers will have to make their misery known before too much in the way of results comes our way. If you have problems with carpet for your Mustang I encourage you all to contact your vendor.

Another set of fold-down and kick panel carpet arrived Friday from ACC. This little package contained carpet that is the nearest in color to the floor carpet they sent earlier. Keith at ACC sent an email saying he and the carpet people had picked it out and matched my sample. The color is not bad - the type of material or i guess "weave is different but this is the end of the story. They won! No one can spend months putting in carpet and taking it out and putting in more. ENOUGH! I took out the fold down area again, installed what they sent and am calling it quits. With the back seat useable so little carpet shows - only when the seat is folded down would the difference in material be noticeable. The kick panel does not look that bad - the rows in the carpet at right angle to the floor carpet and that helps. As far as the pucker in the tunnel area - that problem is hidden by the console. The areas that others see is acceptable. God help you if a console is not in your car. They say that the problems are fixed now but there must be a lot of stock in the "pipeline" that somebody is going to have to fight and bitch about. I hope ACC really has taken care of their issues or we as mustang people are going to be in a mess when it comes to carpet. Time will tell.

I too got an email from Keith today in response to another letter i sent him about his product. He explained how they had to change this and that, their dye was done elsewhere. blahblahblah. He said they had other types of backing other than what we are getting that offers more dense feel and that you cannot see through. He sais I will not be able to see through it when installed Oh boy! No offer to make anything better. I sent them a sample of THIER floor carpet to get it matched to the kick panels and fold down area. He said he will try to make sure they match Their carpet to the rest of the stuff they are going to send. I hope to be near the end of this soon. It began in October and is still on going. Once again, I think that if a person wanted to get in the carpet business ACC could be buried. I hate to see them fail as I have always used their product but it gets more difficult to endorse a product that causes so much trouble. I do hope they get their $hit together and once again make a useable product. Will post more as this unfolds. Murf

Just to bring all of you up to speed. Have been sent two more sets of fastback fold down area carpet. None matches in either color or texture to the floor section that was dated 2000. The older carpet was acceptable, the newer is a POS. NPD has done more than I expected to fix this, ..ACC must have drastically changed their material and colors. Today I will send by overnight delivery to NPD a sample of the floor section, they are sending that to ACC so they can attempt to match. Kickpanel and fold down are what is causing the problem now. And yes, the hump in the middle even on the 2000 carpet is not great. I have a console and that hides a multitude of sins. Yes, even the older carpet is skimpy, and yes the older carpet is a little short in the upper right hand corner. Yes, the shifter hole is mislocated from center. Am I happy? So far all the word from ACC is that they are looking into the problem and hope to see a better feedback on this forum after they "correct" things. Once again, I hope they get their stuff together. A good business opportunity is ripe for somebody if they wanted to go into the Mustang carpet business. Will post more when something develops. This started in October by the way.

Just got a reply from Keith at ACC to the little bitch-o-gram that I sent him. He said he was looking into the problems I mentioned and they would attempt to make things better. He also said he hoped to see a better feedback on this forum after the improvements. He has done the easy part now by saying he wants to help - the difficult part is yet to come when they have to actually improve both their product and their image. I hope that they are succesful and that we all can once again get good service and good product from that company. I think that he would appreciate hearing from all of you outlining your experience with his product - both positive and not so positive. As for me, I am still trying to get a full set of just decent quality carpet that fits the floor and is all the same color and style.

Merlyn: Thanks for your information. I just sent an email to Keith at ACC about the issues I am having. I really do hope that he can get his company back in focus. I gave him my name and phone # also -- we will see what happens. I hope that others on this board also contact ACC if you had or are having problems. Let us hope that the problems are addressed and the carpet problem gets fixed. Of all of the things to have a problem with - something we have taken for granted was going to work now is causing headaches. To those of you with problems - please contact ACC at the addy Merlyn provided and give them an opportunity to make things better.

Another set of carpet arrived. This box was dated March 2002 and when opened contained some carpet that looked more like Mustang carpet than any so far. The color was very close, the loop was in distinctive rows, the texture although thinner than the original Ford issue was really not that bad. The rear area at the interior quarter trim panels that had been a trouble spot were on this carpet cut perfectly and bound correctly and neatly with the correct color thread. The rear section fits like a glove. The front is another story. It has been wadded up in a box for five years and the vinyl foot pad and ankle pad are VERY distorted but I think that enough time may help them. They are under pressure right now being dewrinkeled if that is a word. Now this is all good news but it presents the problem that the rear fold down area does not even come close to matching the front part. The rear area was just put in a month ago. I called NPD - they have bent over backward- and told them again my tale of woe. We are old freinds by now and they said they will do their best to locate some older carpet to match the stuff for the front and will send it. They would probably like to bomb my shop and me in it. Anyway, IF you purchase carpet look it over carefully. I would say that the quality of ACC is in the crapper. Look for some older boxes - they might fit better. If ever there was a business opportunity for someone --- the carpet business right now needs a new player. As promised will keep you all posted as this saga continues. Good luck if you are buying replacement carpet right now. Are others of you finding the same problems? Share your misery with me.

Carpet set # four arrived yesterday. This was directly from ACC and was supposed to end all of my problems. If I didn't know better I would think they were sending the same carpet back each time - same issues. The lousey carpet just will not cover the floor on my fastback where the interior quarter panel meets the carpet.(the little place where one glues on the little peice of carpet to the quarter trim.) I called jeff at NPD - he has been very kind and understanding by the way- and he is sending another carpet set from their stock. He is aware of the problem and knows where the concern is and he said he looked at one in their current stock and it is OK. The carpet is also about as thin as a screen door mesh, although this one is not pressed where you can stick your finger through it. Talk about a company that has started putting out a shitty product. If Jack Holland - the former owner- were alive he would fire every jerk at Auto Custom Carpet and start all over. I am taking out better carpet than I am putting in because the color has faded in some areas. Enough complaining. Will keep posting about this saga until I get some decent carpet or I die. Hope that you all are having better luck with quality of parts then I have. Merry Christmas to those of you who are politically incorrect, Happy Holidays to the rest.

Did some checking on the Auto Carpet System and found one retailer who also actually installed what they sold. They sell both ACC and Autop Carpet System and was well versed in both brands. The guy told me that the Auto Carpet System carpets have the same shortcomings as ACC and that he could see little difference. He mentioned the poor fit, thin carpet, skimpy pile and the things we have discussed here. He said that he has sent some of both brands back and that eventually some decent material would be sent. Quality is not in their vocabulary any more. Looks like there is not a quality replacement being made that is molded. I have purchased some sewen carpet and installed it - it looks funny where it goes around corners. We seem to be stuck and going nowhere. I hope that the next box of carpet has some decent stuff. Would have liked to purchased some that is several years old as it seems that is a better grade and quality. Never dreamed that a simple area like carpet would be such a problem. Murf

In response to Ralph's post pertaining to California Mustangs new carpet, here is what I learned today. They do in fact have a new supplier of early Mustang carpet. The company is called Auto Carpet Systems, have no idea where it is located. They have been selling carpet to California Mustang for about 3 months now, mostly black and that is the color they have in stock. Other colors (such as the Moss that I need) take about three weeks to get "to your door". The retail salesman on the phone said they had had some issues with ACC in the past - thin, cut short, not molded deeply enough, fuzzy - the things we all have dealt with, and when presented with the opportunity to have a second supplier they decided to go with it. He did not know how it was working out when sold, he said he just takes the order. I wanted a sample but they have none, although he did take my name and addy and said he would ask his boss if they would send a sample. The material is called RAYLON what ever that is. Sounds like there may be an alternative to ACC but the quality is unknown at this time, unless with some luck someone on this board has already used the carpet made by Auto Carpet System and purchased through California Mustang. How about it - any one installed this type of carpet. Will post again if anything new develops. Murf

I moaned loudly to "Jeff" at NPD Michigan and he issued a pick up order for my disgusting carpet. They will compare to another set they have. I photographed the new carpet laying on top of the old so the difference was noticiable and will email photos if they need them. I think this deal has gone sour and will stay sour and that the quality of ACC if shitty at best. California Mustang does have a different carpet listed, as Ralph said. It is on their web site under new products. I predict that they will dominate the carpet if it is of good quality and fit. I am afraid that ACC has lost a long time customer with this deal. Will post some more when I know something. Murf