Hello

There is a very large class of people that own 65/66 Mustangs that, as far as I can tell, anyway, have been, for the most part, ignored entirely. They don't really want that 100 pt. show car that is so nice and was soooo expensive that they're afraid to drive it, they also don't want to make their car capable of achieving warp factor three. They just want this car that they dearly love to be able to cruise around smoothly and reliably, without having it dump them out on the side of the road or have it start making weird noises or belching out big clouds of funky-smelling smoke. And I think, truth be told, that this is by far the largest class of Mustang owners. They take their car to some technician when what they actually need is a mechanic, and this, frequently, does not work out very well at all for the owner. They don't want to re-engineer the entire car, they just want someone to fix what broke. These are the people that I am trying help out with this blog. Some problems require a little bit of back and forth, as in, "Try this." "I tried that and it didn't change anything."
" Oh. well, you probably need to try that." " I tried that and it helped, but it still isn't quite right." "Now you need to try this...." If you go to http://www.allfordmustangs.com/ and then go to the classics forums, you will be able to do that with a pretty hefty gathering of some very knowledgeable people that also happen to be very friendly. None of that ridiculous one-upmanship, no flaming or abuse, none of that stuff. Just good, solid advice from people that know what they are talking about.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

1965 and 1966 Mustang headlight switch replacement

To replace the headlight switch, you have to first remove the instrument bezel. This is not a big deal at all, and I've given the very simple, step-by-step instructions in a piece called, that's right, instrument cluster removal.
Shown below is a picture of the headlight switch connector. Just unplug that from the old switch, as shown in the next picture. There isn't any secret clip that you have to undo or anything, it just unplugs. Sometimes it will be kind of tight and try to fight you a little bit, but, it will turn loose.




Next, pull the switch knob out, as if turning on the headlights.



There is a release button for the knob shaft on the switch, as indicated by the arrows. You can't see it with the switch installed in the car, but you can easily reach it, if you know where it is. This is where it is. You just push that button all the way in and, while holding it in, pull the knob shaft out of the switch.




Next, take a flat bladed screwdriver and unscrew the little bezel thingy from out of the switch.





Then the switch can be removed from the car. Place the new switch in the car, and re-install the little bezel thingy, insert the knob shaft into the new switch, while holding the release button down, and this is what you end up with. A brand new headlight switch installed in your car. When installing the knob shaft, be aware of the fact the shaft is triangular in shape, as is the hole that it goes into. Twist it around to get the shaft lined up correctly with the hole when re-installing the knob shaft. Don't use excessive force, because there are some things inside the switch that you can break. It takes a little force to get it in, but, don't start really leaning on it, or pounding it in with a hammer or something. It is a very simple job that you can easily do yourself successfully.