The Ford convertible is a bit different from the typical coupe or sedan in that the body mounts are not thick rubber pads. Since the body lacks the rigidity of its hardtop siblings, Ford chose to use a 1/4″ thick metal plate with only an 1/8″ rubber pad in an effort to reduce some of the body flex. 

To begin with I started with a piece of 1/4″ x 2″ bar stock which I cut into 14 – 1 1/4″ long pieces. Laid out the center on each piece and drilled a 1/8″ pilot hole. Switched over to the large drill press and opened the pilot hole to 1/2″ using a step drill. 

After priming the pieces I used RTV silicone to glue the rubber pads to the metal mounts. After the RTV had set, I RTVed each piece to the frame and used the body bolts to keep them centered until they cured. 

To aid in locating the body to the frame I cut the heads off of 4 3/8″ bolts and ground a chamfer where the heads were. The center of the frame is flat and straight, toward each end it starts to kick up, so I selected the mounting positions that were at each end of the flat sections. 

Today we will see if it all works… more to come!

Body Mounts