How To Replace Fox Body Convertible Upper Well Molding | 1987-93 Mustang

1. Start off by opening the hood. We made sure to keep the battery connected to a battery tender.


2. When doing this install, you will need to move the quarter windows and the convertible top up and down a few times to gain access to all of the hardware. This is not 100% necessary, but we highly recommend it.


3. Starting at the B-pillar cap seal, locate the first stud. I found that a few ¼” extensions and a swivel worked best to gain access to this nut.


4. Once this one is off, you can move the top up or down to allow you ample working room to remove the remaining 3 nuts along the molding. This is a very tight workspace so using stubby wrenches can help you out here.


5. Once you have the old molding off of the car, repeated these steps for the other side. You can take this time to inspect the lower moldings as well. Check out our lower molding replacement article if needed.


6. This is not a needed step, but we chose to go ahead and remove the center upper well molding and the hinge covers at this time. The center well molding will be held in place just like the left and right hand side. Remove all of the attaching nuts and take the molding off the vehicle. We did this so we can paint to match. It will be these little details that can really make the overall appearance of the car shine.


7. Now we can prep these parts for paint, remember to use a clean and ventilated working space when doing so. Go ahead and thoroughly clean the moldings using a grey scotchbrite pad and a soapy water solution. Once you have these cleaned off, thoroughly dry these using a rag or compressed air.


8. With a clean rag or towel, use some denatured alcohol and make sure to remove any remaining oil or grease from the surfaces.


9. Now it’s time to paint! Lay out your parts on a workbench and give them a few even coats until you are pleased with the coverage. Allow 15-20 mins of dry time between each of the coats. Now that the paint is dry, you can go ahead and get ready to install the outer quarter belt weatherstips back to the moldings.


10. Remember you can reuse your old weatherstrips, but we opted to replace ours since they have seen better days.


11. If you plan on reusing the outer quarter belt weatherstip attached to the molding, you will need a 9/64 drill bit and drill out the 3 retaining rivets holding the weatherstip to the molding.


12. After doing some initial dry fits with the weatherstrip, ensure that the notched area shown is facing the front of the molding.


13. Because we are using newer weatherstrip we enlarged the holes slightly with a razor blade which will allow the head of the rivets to pass through.


14. Start in the center of the weatherstrip and drill out a 9/64” hole. Once this is drilled, secure a rivet through the weatherstrip and molding to hold it in place. Do the same for the other 2 holes and repeat these steps for the other side.


15. Before installing the molding back onto the car. Make sure that removal areas of the vehicle are thoroughly cleaned.

1. Reinstallation will be just like how the moldings came off. If you did remove the center molding, go back on with it first. Thread on all of the attaching nuts and tighten these down.


2. Now you can move to the driver’s side next. Set the new moldings in place and make sure they are fully seated to the lower molding.


3. Because our hardware was old and crusty, we opted to use new hardware for the moldings. Remember to check out the link below to replace any rusted or missing nuts.


4. Start on the front edge and loosely tighten down the attaching nut. Take your time, and make sure you don’t drop the nut in the quarter window area.


5. Work your way around to each of the remaining three studs. Now you can fully seat each of the nuts. Do the same for the other side.


6. Now you can reattach the hinge covers if you removed them.


7. Check over your work and admire how much cleaner the area of your convertible looks!

We hope that this article has helped you, and you have a better understanding of how to install these upper well moldings on your Fox Body convertible.