Project JADED Gets a New TMI Terminator Interiorhttp://www.svtperformance.com/forum...ator-interior-build-kevin-tetz-trucks-tv.htmlhttp://www.svtperformance.com/forum...ator-interior-build-kevin-tetz-trucks-tv.htmlhttp://www.svtperformance.com/forum...ator-interior-build-kevin-tetz-trucks-tv.html
Combining a classic 66 Mustang Coupe with a TMI interior and drivetrain from an 03-04 SVT Cobra Mustang makes JADED a serious Pro-Touring Pony Car.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...ator-interior-build-kevin-tetz-trucks-tv.htmlCombining a classic 66 Mustang Coupe with a TMI interior and drivetrain from an 03-04 SVT Cobra Mustang makes JADED a serious Pro-Touring Pony Car.
JADED started out with humble beginnings. When we I bought it, I dragged home a clapped out 6 cylinder rusted hulk that was frankly worth more by weight than as a Mustang. Since 2002, this car has been slowly transformed to what you see today, a fully customized 66 Coupe with a borrowed Terminator drivetrain and interior, sitting on a full frame G-Machine chassis from Schwartz performance. The details are endless, and high performance was the goal in every aspect of this vehicle. Performance isn’t just about brakes and horsepower. Driver comfort, visibility, and safety are a serious consideration while building a “pro-touring” car so that the driver can effectively control and enjoy the vehicle. The 6 way adjustable driver’s seat in the 2004 Cobra is nicely bolstered, and with the suede insert and embroidered Cobra in the upper seat, they are unmistakable to people familiar to SN95 Mustangs.
Although the stock interior looked great on the floor of SEMA 2012, where JADED debuted, they showed signs of wear and fatigue. Many original Cobras share the same wear patterns, and original upholstery is impossible to find, and expensive if you can find it. That’s where TMI Products comes in to play. Waylon Krumrie from TMI was walking the floor with Travis Hill of SVTPerformance, and in a discussion about JADED and potential improvements we decided to work with TMI to not only address the shortcomings of the stock Cobra seats, but to beef up the styling and change colors around while still retaining the signature of the Cobra interior. Installing an interior from a car that is nearly 40 years newer and totally different in every aspect is a challenge to say the least. We wanted to share a little insight on what it took to transform the cockpit of this car into the comfortable, functional and completely unique interior that you see in these pictures.
This is a typical unrestored crap-stang, and the way JADED looked in 2002 on the inside.
We installed one of the first full replacement floors ever stamped into Jaded in an article for a Mustang Magazine. This set the foundation for the entire vehicle being worth salvaging.
Once the direction was set for the build, the 66 dash was (painfully) removed from the cowl, and the floor was altered to fit the T56 Trans, and the Cobra pedal box was installed n the firewall. Note the OE seat risers are not installed.
The Cobra (SN95) Dash fit without a lot of frustration. IT was obviously wider, but only an inch needed trimmed from each side, as well as the windshield profile matched to the vintage windshield opening. This eliminated the original defrost ducts, which had to be re-cut later. The center console fell into place, and locates using borrowed brackets from the donor Cobra’s trans tunnel.
With the dash out of the way, a closer shot of the floor reveals the support basket for the 2004 seats, which are deeper at the base, and much heavier than the OEM buckets. The seat risers are optional with a full floor stamping, and we opted to give ourselves the choice of seating arrangements, and the “basket” made from 1/8 inch by 1 inch strapping, gives the rigidity back to the single walled floor panel and eliminates any flex that would eventually crack the seat mounts.
Fast forward 3 years and hundreds of hours of construction, fabrication, innovation and frustration, and you can see on the insulated floor the mounting studs that are integrated into the support basket on the floor. Seat placement is critical, and plenty of time was spent mocking and measuring driver controls before things were welded into place.
All that’s visible is the stud through the carpet, although the cabin is smaller than the SN95, the seats fit with enough room between the driveshaft tunnel and rocker thresholds for the tiger cage, and seat belts to be installed later.
The seat mounts needed almost no tweaking, aside from a little clearance with a carbide burr.
This is a typical 04 Cobra seat with a worn insert, and what happens to the ultrasuede with age, abuse, and thousands of entries and exits out if the car.
The bolsters also suffer… leather cracks, and will eventually break down and tear.
During the SEMA thrash at Bay One Customs in Springfield TN, the Ridetech Tiger Cage was installed. Here you can see the reattached end pieces of the SN95 Dash, along with the wear and tear evident in the lower bolster of the original passenger seat.
Jaded sat proudly in Hot Rod Alley in 2012 at the SEMA show, but suffered all of the above symptoms. This is where Waylon from TMI found me and dragged me to the TMI booth a few aisles down. After being blown away with the skill and selection of options, a plan was hatched to both improve and enhance the interior of Jaded.
After SEMA, we shipped the seats to TMI Headquarters in California, Waited a very reasonable amount of time, and this is what we got back. Completely re-bunned with new foam, sexy black ultrasuede inserts, and new leather. The look matches the car’s interior perfectly, as the charcoal of the original seats was just a little off-color from the black ultraleather on the dash, headliner and rear seat transition.
TMI also shipped matching door trim panels, with the same ultrasuede insert. We opted for a cleaner look with no armrest and customized “Pony” door handles from Mustang Depot that double as pulls. Note the power window switch pod. Power windows (from Electric Life) became a necessity with the placement of the Cobra dash covering up the hand crank stud location.
A closer look at the seat back reveals the cool (now) green Cobra emblem. Although TIM doesn’t do custom emblems or embroidery, they do reproduce OE signatures, and can offer different colors. The grey stitching also matches the stainless and grey accents of the car, giving a tasteful touch that really pops.
Make no mistake, the interior is full! However, seating position is correct, driver controls are easy to reach, and the heavily bolstered and newly refreshed Cobra seats are comfortable and stable.
The Ridetech 4 point safety harness finishes the interior and compliments the tiger cage and TMI seats for a complete interior package that screams function and is as cool as it is necessary with a car pushing just under 500 HP at the rear tires. Look for a full feature on Jaded on the newsstands in Popular Hot Rodding soon! We’ll also be sharing many “behind the build” details here that won’t be seen anywhere else.
With the combination of parts we have in JADED we managed to build a car that can do it all.
It's as at-home on an autocross course as it is on the street.
Speaking of “behind the build” details, would you guys like more details about what is going on in this photo? Is so, let us know by posting a reply in this thread.
We installed one of the first full replacement floors ever stamped into Jaded in an article for a Mustang Magazine. This set the foundation for the entire vehicle being worth salvaging.
Once the direction was set for the build, the 66 dash was (painfully) removed from the cowl, and the floor was altered to fit the T56 Trans, and the Cobra pedal box was installed n the firewall. Note the OE seat risers are not installed.
The Cobra (SN95) Dash fit without a lot of frustration. IT was obviously wider, but only an inch needed trimmed from each side, as well as the windshield profile matched to the vintage windshield opening. This eliminated the original defrost ducts, which had to be re-cut later. The center console fell into place, and locates using borrowed brackets from the donor Cobra’s trans tunnel.
With the dash out of the way, a closer shot of the floor reveals the support basket for the 2004 seats, which are deeper at the base, and much heavier than the OEM buckets. The seat risers are optional with a full floor stamping, and we opted to give ourselves the choice of seating arrangements, and the “basket” made from 1/8 inch by 1 inch strapping, gives the rigidity back to the single walled floor panel and eliminates any flex that would eventually crack the seat mounts.
Fast forward 3 years and hundreds of hours of construction, fabrication, innovation and frustration, and you can see on the insulated floor the mounting studs that are integrated into the support basket on the floor. Seat placement is critical, and plenty of time was spent mocking and measuring driver controls before things were welded into place.
All that’s visible is the stud through the carpet, although the cabin is smaller than the SN95, the seats fit with enough room between the driveshaft tunnel and rocker thresholds for the tiger cage, and seat belts to be installed later.
The seat mounts needed almost no tweaking, aside from a little clearance with a carbide burr.
This is a typical 04 Cobra seat with a worn insert, and what happens to the ultrasuede with age, abuse, and thousands of entries and exits out if the car.
The bolsters also suffer… leather cracks, and will eventually break down and tear.
During the SEMA thrash at Bay One Customs in Springfield TN, the Ridetech Tiger Cage was installed. Here you can see the reattached end pieces of the SN95 Dash, along with the wear and tear evident in the lower bolster of the original passenger seat.
Jaded sat proudly in Hot Rod Alley in 2012 at the SEMA show, but suffered all of the above symptoms. This is where Waylon from TMI found me and dragged me to the TMI booth a few aisles down. After being blown away with the skill and selection of options, a plan was hatched to both improve and enhance the interior of Jaded.
After SEMA, we shipped the seats to TMI Headquarters in California, Waited a very reasonable amount of time, and this is what we got back. Completely re-bunned with new foam, sexy black ultrasuede inserts, and new leather. The look matches the car’s interior perfectly, as the charcoal of the original seats was just a little off-color from the black ultraleather on the dash, headliner and rear seat transition.
TMI also shipped matching door trim panels, with the same ultrasuede insert. We opted for a cleaner look with no armrest and customized “Pony” door handles from Mustang Depot that double as pulls. Note the power window switch pod. Power windows (from Electric Life) became a necessity with the placement of the Cobra dash covering up the hand crank stud location.
A closer look at the seat back reveals the cool (now) green Cobra emblem. Although TIM doesn’t do custom emblems or embroidery, they do reproduce OE signatures, and can offer different colors. The grey stitching also matches the stainless and grey accents of the car, giving a tasteful touch that really pops.
Make no mistake, the interior is full! However, seating position is correct, driver controls are easy to reach, and the heavily bolstered and newly refreshed Cobra seats are comfortable and stable.
The Ridetech 4 point safety harness finishes the interior and compliments the tiger cage and TMI seats for a complete interior package that screams function and is as cool as it is necessary with a car pushing just under 500 HP at the rear tires. Look for a full feature on Jaded on the newsstands in Popular Hot Rodding soon! We’ll also be sharing many “behind the build” details here that won’t be seen anywhere else.
With the combination of parts we have in JADED we managed to build a car that can do it all.
It's as at-home on an autocross course as it is on the street.
Speaking of “behind the build” details, would you guys like more details about what is going on in this photo? Is so, let us know by posting a reply in this thread.
-KT:beer: