My god, what have I done?
Ok, the dash is out. Thanks to everyone who offered assistance.
It really is not as hard as it might appear, provided that the
windshield is out. I have heard of people doing it with the front
windshield still in the car, but I cannot imagine that being feasible.
My windshield is out and will remain out until I have the dash back in.
Let me see if I can remember the steps.
As many said, it's not nearly so daunting if you take your time and
don't force anything. Make sure you look two or three times for hidden
screws before you try to pry something off and end up breaking it. I
did NOT remove the heater/AC unit which would have made it easier
because there is a screw that is right above it which screws up through
the bottom of the horizontal piece that you cannot get to with a screw
driver, which holds the instrument "shroud" down. I used some very long
needle-nosed pliers to loosen it and removed it by hand.
There are four or five 10mm bolts with "brackets" that hold the
horizontal piece of the dash to the metal interior of the car. Those
come off. The front chrome strip and brushed aluminum bit just pops out
(gently pry it out) to reveal 8 or 10 phillips head screws which hold
the bottom trim piece.
The top dash pad does just pop out with some gentle prying (clips hold
it to the top of metal interior, but you have to be careful not to force
it or to scratch your paint. You need to loosen the defroster vents at
the bottom where they get fed by the heater hose, but as I see it, they
still need to come through the top of the pad to get the pad OUT. Mine
were broken and brittle anyway, I'm hoping they're available and not too
expensive as they will need to be replaced.
After that, you'll see another 8 or ten Phillips head screws which hold
the vertical wood piece in. Then, you need to get behind the dash to
remove 4 or so 8mm nuts which hold the instrument "shroud" to the front
of the dash. With those, out, and with the instruments themselves
removed (I did not remove them from the car, just loosened and removed
them from the dash) it should come out. Again, take your time, and
check to make sure you haven't missed anything. The author may have
forgotten a screw or two so make sure before you pull and tug. This
stuff is fairly fragile.
I have a picture of the interior with the dash if anyone is interested,
it's fairly scary right now, with the guts exposed. I'm hoping to
refinish the dash bits the same way I did the side trim pieces and will
let you know what happens.
Also, I have made some more pictures, of the engine, of my manifolds,
and of the trim pieces that I have already done. If you're interested
let me know and I'll send them along.
I'm going to try to get some up on Yahoo in my briefcase ASAP for mass
viewing.
Regards,
TJ
TJ Noto AFM #134 Cowpoke Racing-"Friends in Slow Places"
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