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Rebuilding Your Dashpanel - Dashing ResultsTake Control Of Your Systems With Some Cosmetic Repairs To Your Dashpanel. From the March, 2002 issue of Mopar Muscle By Randy Bolig Photography by Randy Bolig
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With the dash removed from... With the dash removed from the car, you can place it on a pair of sawhorses face down to start removing the pieces. Keep track of the parts you remove so you can reassemble this thing with minimum frustration. Let's face it, when you climb behind the wheel of your ride, you're immediately face-to-face with something that could best be described as a necessity. Regardless of the rest of your car, that dashpanel with its lights and gauges is probably one of the most important pieces of automotive equipment you use when you drive. Without it, how do you know what the engine is doing, what your speed limit is, or how the car is functioning? As with all things, dashboards get worn out. So if you feel that the dash in your ride can best be described as "tired," this article will give you some insight into what it takes to return your dash to quality appearance using simple tools and a little effort. Some of the steps may look a little intimidating, but with patience and possibly a little help from a friend, you can get great results in your own garage. Today's quality reproduction parts and refinished original stuff can a go a long way toward making your dash attractive. The dash we will show you here came out of a '68 GTX with the car already in the process of a complete restoration. Pulling the dash from the car is best performed by referencing the shop manual for your model year, and once the dash is removed, disassembly will be a lot easier since the back of the components are accessible. That said, follow along as we guide you through the process of getting some dashing results of your own. To unhook the speedometer,... To unhook the speedometer, pinch the cable and the tab together and pull. Just Dash-ing
During our dash rebuild, we were fortunate enough that the upper and lower pads were in excellent condition and simply needed to be re-dyed. If your dash pad(s) are beyond that simple spraying or if re-dyeing is a step you do not feel comfortable taking, Just Dashes is there to help. You can send them the dash pads from your car and they will send them back to you with a complete new foam core and color-correct cover and stitching. The high-density foam that Just Dashes uses as core material is of a higher quality than the original and resists the heat build-up that makes the factory foam expand, causing the covering to crack. Each foam core is hand-shaped, then the vinyl with the original graining and stitching is vacuum formed over the dash, resulting in a perfect reproduction of the original. Many Mopar dash forms are now created, so contact Just Dashes for availability of your dash. Just Dashes, Dept. MPRM, 5941 Lemona Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91411; 818-780-9005; www.justdashes.com.  Using a 7/16-inch socket,...  Using a 7/16-inch socket, remove the eight defroster vent nuts. You'll need a long ratchet and extension with a 3/8-inch socket to remove the dashpad nuts down in the back. To remove the speaker, remove the two nuts from each side using a 3/8-inch wrench and slide the speaker out from under the dash. The speaker will come out with the bracket.  With the dash facing up on...  With the dash facing up on sawhorses, remove the six Phillips-head screws that hold the face trim. Now remove the four screws securing the heater controls (A). Be careful when removing controls and don't pull too hard and yank the wires out of the switch. (If your dash is still in the car, also unhook the cables going to the heater box). Next, take out the three screws from the maplight and remove it (B), noting that the wire going to the passenger-side doorjamb courtesy light is also on this circuit in this model. It must be removed from the doorjamb.  With the dash facing up on...  With the dash facing up on sawhorses, remove the six Phillips-head screws that hold the face trim. Now remove the four screws securing the heater controls (A). Be careful when removing controls and don't pull too hard and yank the wires out of the switch. (If your dash is still in the car, also unhook the cables going to the heater box). Next, take out the three screws from the maplight and remove it (B), noting that the wire going to the passenger-side doorjamb courtesy light is also on this circuit in this model. It must be removed from the doorjamb.  The glovebox door is removed...  The glovebox door is removed by taking out the five Phillips-head screws for the door and the six others that hold the glovebox in place. If you're not replacing the glovebox liner, remove all of the screws because the liner will need to be moved out of the way to remove the door.  Next, remove the face trim...  Next, remove the face trim by taking out the five Phillips-head screws on the face along the top and also the two speed nuts on the backside of the dash at each end.  With the face trim removed,...  With the face trim removed, take out the two bolts holding the radio and the one nut on the back of the radio. Carefully slide the radio out the back.  Next comes the switch panel....  Next comes the switch panel. Remove the five screws on the face of the switch panel and carefully pull the panel out the front. Hint: The pad may seem swollen against the switch panel due to age, but with a little care and finesse, it will come out. When you unhook the wiring, be sure to label all connections clearly.  After you remove the switch...  After you remove the switch panel, you can see and remove the four screws that hold the lower dashpad in place. There are also six speed nuts on the back holding the lower pad.  If you don't have the proper...  If you don't have the proper socket to remove the ignition-switch ring from the dash (if applicable), insert the twin tips of a pair of needle-nose pliers into the notches in the ignition-switch trim ring and turn counterclockwise to loosen.  The last piece to remove is...  The last piece to remove is the instrument cluster. The wire harness will need to removed from the cluster. Again, make sure you label all wires so you can put them back in the right location. Then take the six Phillips-head screws from around the outside edge and remove.  The only thing left now is...  The only thing left now is a naked dash. At this point, you may wish to paint the metal part yourself or have a reputable shop do it for you. If you do it yourself, make sure you thoroughly clean and prep the metal before priming and painting it the same color as the original.  With the instrument cluster...  With the instrument cluster removed, you can give your tired-looking instrument cluster the face-lift it deserves. Using a 1/4-inch socket, remove the eight hex-head screws that hold the lens in place. Now carefully lift the lens off of the cluster; remember, this thing is probably more than 30 years old.  Unhook the gauges by removing...  Unhook the gauges by removing the speed nuts on the backside of the gauge and carefully lift it out the front. To remove the speedometer, simply remove the two screws in the back and lift it out.  Whether your dash has a clock,...  Whether your dash has a clock, a tach, or a blank panel in this location, remove the three Phillips-head screws and pull it from the back.  Carefully pull the dash voltage...  Carefully pull the dash voltage regulator and condenser straight out of the dash. The fragile circuit board under the regulator is only thin fiberglass, so be gentle when removing it. The dash voltage regulator was used for several years and should still be available at your local auto parts store if needed. Remove the quarter-turn dash lights and the circuit board by removing the four hex-head bolts. Again use extreme caution with the circuit board, since it's very fragile.  The "idiot" light lenses can...  The "idiot" light lenses can now be removed by pulling the foam seal from around the red and green lenses, then carefully pop them out with a small screwdriver. On this model, they only fit one way.  The housing can be cleaned...  The housing can be cleaned with soap and water. The circuit board can also be carefully cleaned using Windex and a soft cloth. To clean the individual gauge faces, use a 50/50 mix of Windex and water to clean it. The diluted Windex won't hurt the old paint on the gauge face, but take care not to scrub the face with hard pressure.  To paint the indicator needles,...  To paint the indicator needles, place a small piece of paper between the gauge face and the needle. The needles can then be hand- or spray-painted using Plasti-Kote No. B27 orange glow enamel (A). If the white lines on your gauge need to be touched up, use a fineline brush and carefully do so. The black is just Krylon semiflat spray paint. With the face of the gauges painted, clean the threads on the back using a Scotch-Brite pad and be sure all contact points on the circuit board are also cleaned (B).  With the gauges reinstalled...  With the gauges reinstalled back in the housing, carefully reinsert the circuit board onto the back. When reinstalling components, do not overtighten any nuts or screws since most of the parts are only plastic.  Voila! With the lens installed,...  Voila! With the lens installed, the renewed instrument cluster is now ready to be installed in the dash assembly.  Since our GTX is getting a...  Since our GTX is getting a complete restoration, we took a leftover piece of the new headliner to the auto-body supply store and had them mix an appropriate shade of red dye to paint-match the two pads and the glovebox door. Remember, the vinyl parts are pliable, so standard paint won't work; it must be a dye. After the metal part of our dash was painted, we opted to assemble it in the car to help keep from scratching it. It's a little more difficult to do it this way, but it can be accomplished with a minimal amount of trouble.  Some of the first pieces you'll...  Some of the first pieces you'll need to install are the upper dash pad and the defroster vents. Be careful not to overtighten the nuts holding these dash parts; they're plastic, and if you're not using repop pieces; they're also old.  This part can get a little...  This part can get a little tricky. You need to install the glovebox hinge and liner at the same time, because the upper screws of the liner also go through the hinge for the lid. Do not tighten these screws yet, because you may need to adjust the alignment of the glovebox lid later. With the liner and the lid installed, put the latch mechanism in place and adjust the door as necessary so it latches.  The speaker in our dash was...  The speaker in our dash was in pretty bad shape, so we went to our local Radio Shack and purchased a replacement (Cat No. 40-1297c). The "cheese cloth" that covered the speaker needed replacing. This was purchased at an upholstery shop. This speaker is almost a direct bolt-in, with "almost" meaning that the only change we needed to make was to reinstall the bracket for the speaker upside-down and use machine screws to attach the speaker to the bracket. The speaker can then be bolted back in its original location.  Does this look confusing?...  Does this look confusing? If you labeled all the wires, it's not so bad.  To start on the wiring, you...  To start on the wiring, you first need to install the firewall plug by pushing it through from under the dash until all four clips snap into place. This gives a solid mounting point to route the wires from. Now carefully reroute the "labeled" wires to their respective locations. Remember, be gentle when pulling the wires.  Install the heater controls...  Install the heater controls by sliding the cables through the dash opening and routing them to the heater box. Remember to plug the wires into the switch before securing it to the dash.  Now you can install your "like...  Now you can install your "like new" instrument cluster in its appropriate location. Double-check the wiring in the back to make sure all connections are made and hooked up at the right location. At this time, you can also install the lower dashpad and ignition switch.  Next, slide the radio into...  Next, slide the radio into the dash from the back and attach with the two face bolts. Don't forget the nut in the back to support the weight of the radio. Now install the woodgrain trim and the switch panel. To avoid scratching your newly dyed dashpad, put a piece of plastic between the top of the switch panel and the dash and the bottom of the switch panel and the dash before pushing the panel into place. The switch panel will slide on the plastic and not harm the newly dyed vinyl pad. Remember how hard that panel came out? Be careful pushing it in.  Hmmm, looks pretty good. Let's...  Hmmm, looks pretty good. Let's go get some burgers!
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