Editor Turner was supposed to make the Drag-Week journey with your tech editor, and keeping him comfortable was of the utmost importance. In an effort to keep the project 'Stang passenger friendly, we decided against mounting the MSD Digital-7 Programmable ignition box (PN 7531) in the passenger's footwell. Since the coupe's original center console was beyond restoration, we used it as a stunt console and cut it to mock-fit the MSD in the opening for the e-brake handle.
Our buddy, Jeremy Thompson (aka "V8Only"), whom we know through the popular Web site www.foureyedpride.com, set us up with a '79-'86 center console that's in much better shape than the T-top car's original piece.
Bobby uses Omni-Pak spray-on interior dye ("Tech Inspection," Mar. '07, p.180) to color match the Black replacement with the rest of the Charcoal Gray interior, then Saul uses the template made from the original to open the new console for the ignition box.
The wiring for our 7531 runs below the carpet, similar to the way it's done for most of today's new vehicles. We cut small, pass-through slots in the carpet and the console's mounting plate for the MSD, which helped us complete the ignition's below-console wiring connections and keeps things clean inside the car.
We covered the tech specifics on this bad-boy ignition in our Feb. '06 issue ("Bite in a Box," p.126), so we suggest you reference your 5.0&SF library and check out the details on what the Digital-7 Programmable is and all that it can do for your street/strip 'Stang.