[leighton61]

I just bought my sweetie a 65 mustang automatic with a 289. The cars in pretty good shape but there is alot of to do's on its way to being complete. First things first, the tension bars in the trunk are not installed and i have no owners manual showing me how they are set up in the brackets. Anyone have clear pictures that show how they are supposed to be installed? If you would post the pictures I could take it from there. After thats done it's off to find original low back seats to replace the beat up ones in it, then I need a dash cap and glove box latch. An original automatic shifter on the floor just has to be better then this rediculous B&M shifter it has also. There is quite a bit more odds and ends to get but I have some good local places to check for the rest. It's amazing what you do to make your honey happy. Thanks in advance for any help and if your close to portland oregon and know some good places for parts and help let me know.

[leighton61]

I bought the mustang for my sweetie. She has always wanted a 65 or 67 mustang and why not make her happy. The cars not perfect but its straight and runs good. She knows its a project but I know I'm the one thats going to be doing most of the work on it for her. At least old cars are simple enough to work on without having to attend a tech school. Anyway, we got a pretty good deal on the car but the people who had it half ass'd everything they did to it. Why did they even bother, I mean do it right or not at all. Now to find all the parts and help with questions I need. I cant seem to quite figure out how the trunk tension bars are installed, anyone have pictures they can show me?

[white angel]

Hello and Welcome to the site!! Hopefully this section
and retitle will get you all the answers you need!!
Enjoy!!

[leighton61]

Hi everyone, I ordered a exploded view catolog for 65 thru 67 mustangs but have not got it yet. I need someone to share a picture of the trunk tension bars so i can see how to install them without having to guess and waste time trying to figure it out . I would really appreciate your help with those clear pictures. Feel free to send them to me on my yahoo or post here, either way, thanks! terryleighton1961 at yahoo

[mrvandermey]

Hello, and welcoem. Do check out our Classic Mustang section, for you are likely to get mroe responses to your question if posted inthat section. Good luck on yor project.

[duffman68]

hello.I wish I could help you but I have the same problem on my 68,I looked at a friends and installed them the same but the trunk wont stay open by Itself. Ill let you know if I figure it out..Dave.

[Soaring]

Here are some pics of my 65. Hope this helps.

[Soaring]

A couple more. Trust me, this is one of the hardest jobs ever when fixing these old dinosaurs.

[1965stang]

Digging up an old thread here...I used the pictures to reference how to install my tension rods and realized that it creates "tension" by twisting the bar and popping it into the slots. Well, after 3 hours of messing with this, I've managed to get one in, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the other one in. It's the bar in pic #1 above.

Any tips on how to twist the bar and pop it in without sacrificing fingers? Didn't know there was an art to this... Thanks guys.

[GatorPaul]

Far and away, the easiest way is to close the trunk lid, remove the gas tank and install them when there isn't any tension applied to the rods. However, removing the gas tank is a lot of work. If you have any really, really small friends stick them in the trunk with a flashlight, close the lid (removes the tension) and wish him luck. On my 65, the rods were installed backwards so they did a really great job of holding the trunk in a closed position but it took about 3 people to get the thing open and then you had to stick a 2x4 in there to prop it. You could do what I did: went to Mustang Unlimited and got gas filled trunk lift kits that work like a charm. Link is : Mustangs Unlimited - The Premier Source for Mustang, Shelby and Cougar Parts and Accessories

Good luck and watch out for your fingers if you are going to stick with the torsion bars.

[1965stang]

Thanks, I tried every configuration of open, full open, half open, closed and whatnot to no avail...I'll go back and try it closed again since I've got one installed. Believe me, last night I seriously considered those gas filled lift kits after that thing kept popping out on me and got a couple fingers wedged while holding it in.

It is easier to work on in mine - I'm in the middle of restoring my '65 so I don't have a gas tank in it, so I can just sit on the garage floor and mess with it.

[1965stang]

Well good news...after two nights of messing with the tension bars, they're in and holding the trunk open nicely. I found that installing them with the trunk open worked well for me. That may be different for others though, depending on which one you put in first.

GatorPaul - I tried with the lid closed, however I found with the one that was in that it was actually in the way of me installing the second one. By opening the lid, it changed the position so that the bar wasn't in the way anymore. Thanks for the tips, though.

[GatorPaul]

Congrats! Hope you still have all of your fingers.

[1965stang]

One bloody nail and one finger that got caught and I swear it felt like bone-crunching pressure, but hey, at least they're in lol! One things for sure...they are NOT coming out again