With our Roadster back from paint and the goal of displaying it at last January's Silver Springs Ford & Mustang Round-Up, we had gotten ahead of ourselves and put most of the interior in place and assembled the exterior chrome and trim items so we could have a complete-looking project car to display. The seats weren't bolted in, the body louvers weren't attached, nor was the radiator aluminum riveted in place, but we didn't care. We were too excited about displaying our project for the first time. Once we got that bit of excitement out of our system, we stripped the car of its partial interior and chrome bits so we could properly document this part of our build.
As with any other full restoration or custom build project, as it progresses past paint and into final assembly, the excitement grows tenfold. The ideas and dreams you've had for so long are now in front of you, and nothing says you're almost done with your project like installing the interior-laying carpet, bolting in seats, and making that final pass of the vacuum cleaner before closing the door and stepping back to admire your hard work. We're just about done with our Factory Five Roadster, with just a few punch-list items left. We'll be wrapping things up soon, so for those of you just tuning in, check out all of our pre-vious build articles on our project, as well as our online build diary, on our Web site, www.modifiedmustangsandfords.com.
 The front turn-signal assemblies...  The front turn-signal assemblies are mounted to the body via supplied tapping screws. Predrilling the mounting holes with the proper drill bit will allow easy installation of the screws without stressing the fiberglass. |  Rather than using a stock...  Rather than using a stock 1157 bulb for the front turn signals, we turned to Mustang Project for its new Cobra replica replacement LED lamp kit (PN MP-0001-Cobra). The kit includes two 1157 amber replacement bulbs for up front. The LED bulb is brighter and has a uniform lighted look when lit. |  The headlight buckets, retaining...  The headlight buckets, retaining rings, and even the halogen lamps all come with the Factory Five kit. Again, the attachment screws for the buckets are self-tapping, so predrilling the holes is a good idea. We'll leave off the outer trim rings until we've adjusted the headlights. |
 Original Cobras used a small...  Original Cobras used a small rubber grommet in the body opening where the front quick-jack or over-rider mounting hardware passed through. We ordered reproductions from Finish Line. While installation requires a bit of silicone spray lubricant and some patience, the parts greatly improve the looks of the quick-jack mounting area. |  Our Roadster looked so much...  Our Roadster looked so much better, but we went the extra step and installed Finish Line's brake-duct mesh screens, giving the car a more racy and aggressive look. Installation was accomplished by sandwiching the mesh between the body and frame, and tightening the body-mounting fasteners. A few dabs of silicone around the edges of the mesh were added for security. |  At the rear of our Roadster,...  At the rear of our Roadster, the kit's taillights use mount-ing studs with nylon locknuts-it's a simple and effective way to secure the light hous-ings. As up front, we removed the stock 1157 lamps and replaced them with Mustang Project's new Cobra specific taillight modules included in its kit. |
 Laws vary by state, but in...  Laws vary by state, but in Florida you can be ticketed for not having a device to clean your windshield, so we purchased the optional wiper kit from Factory Five back when we initially ordered our Roadster. The installation requires careful measuring, cutting, and flaring of the wiper-motor's cable drive tubing and assembly of the tubing, gear boxes, and motor. This is another job that requires some patience. |  The windscreen requires assembly...  The windscreen requires assembly of the main glass and the two side mounting bars. The bars were previously cut to length, and the mounting holes were drilled, so with the help of your author's good friend and neighbor Russ Aljoe, the windscreen assembly was carefully lowered into place and secured to the frame. For a more finished look, we used Mike's Replica Parts' (www.replicaparts.com) polished windscreen trim plates where the side bars entered the body opening. |  The Cobra light kit from Mustang...  The Cobra light kit from Mustang Project includes one electronic flasher module, but we're running a hazard circuit with our wiring, so we ordered a second module. |