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Dash removal


John Mulders

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X-mas and the weather forecast is good (hot to very hot).

Couple of days off and therefor hopefully some time for the P15.

The rims and the window moldings are now at the painter. But that is without the dash.

I am having these items painted in a sandy/yellow color that should match the cruiser maroon outside. Interior will be light (grayish or beige), need to make up my mind on that.

The dash needs a paintjob aswell but I am not sure I can get the dash out easily. Not worried for the screws, these have been loosened but more for the gauges and especially the Temperature one.

If I recall correct (from other questions) the needs to be disconnected at the engine side and if it is stuck chances are high that this will break.

Anyone has a step by step for Dash removal and/or suggestions on the dashboard cluster?

Appreciate your input !

John

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John if the temp gauge is stuck you can take out 2 screws and remove it from the cluster. Then remove the rest and leave that one hanging. I replaced mine in the car without removing the cluster. Its not much fun but possible.

Ed

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John...removing the dash was a real learning experience for me and I said a lot of swear words that I hadn't said in a while. The best thing to do is disconnect the gauges from the back of the cluster before anything. I didn't do this and busted the amp and oil gauges. The cable to the temp gauge cannot be disconnected from the back of the gauge. You can either unscrew it from the engine and lose all your radiator fluid or just unscrew the whole gauge from the back of the cluster like the rest and let carefully hang loose in the back. The oil line will unscrew from the back of the gauge with a small wrench. When disconnecting the fuel and amp gauges, just remember what wires go where so you don't get confused when reinstalling. Unscrew and disconnect the high beam indicator, unless it's no longer connected. I would disconnect the choke and throttle cables from the engine, pull them through the firewall and keep them in the dash because they, especially the throttle pull assembly, is virtually impossible to unscrew from the back. It would save you a lot of time and stress to just pull them out with the dash....believe me. These and the high beam indicator also keep the gauge cluster assembly bolted to the dash. The heater control assembly with the ignition under the radio grille work can either be removed from the dash by the removing the nuts that are holding it up under it or you can disconect the heater control and inition switch from the harness and disconnect the defrost and temp control cables from the heater.

Then, unbolt the dash support in the center under the dash near the heater control assembly and then remove the windshield moulding and you will see the screws holding in the top part of the dash. Remove those. Losen and lower the steering wheel column from the dash by unscrewing and removing the botom portion of the support. You might want to put a support under the steering column to let it lower enough so that it doesn't damage it, but still allows you enough room to remove the dash. Remove the kick panels and you will see a bolt below each end of the dash that is screwed into the body. Remove these and becareful that the dash doesn't suddenly fall. In most cases, you might have to lift up on it a bit to losen it. That should do it. If I've left something important out, I'm sure someone else can chime in. Good luck!

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John.....does your heat gauge still work?? If so, then you need to be real careful with it. If not, you can do what many others have done---replace it with an aftermarket unit that hangs under the dash.

The tube from engine to the gauge is flexible, so you can remove gauge from the dash, move it to the side, and tie it to something that is out of your way. Don't have to take it loose from the block. If you do detach from the block, use some liquid wrench type stuff first.

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IM002913__Moved_heat_gauge_t.jpg

Now, the oil pressure gauge is a different matter. It has a metal tube that will not give. So you need to loosen it from the engine to allow it to move out of the way. At least, that's how I think it needs to be done. Been a while since I messed with mine.

And, of course, you need to probably remove that clamp and rubber part from the firewall where all those items go thru to allow them to move.

100_2348.jpg

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I would take heed and do as suggested on removing the temp gauge from the dash and not the motor. I've done it and seen a few others in the past had the same problem with trying to remove the sensor bulb from the motor. It can be done but in my opinion if you can get by doing this from the dash, you would be much better off. When removing mine I didnt know what to expect and had no previous warnings on "how to" and ended up breaking the lne near the sensor bulb. Once it's been broken your looking at a whole new can of worms trying to fix it or replace it with an original.

There's been a post on how to fix the line from a newer setup but I was'nt exactly sure if I could do it the way it was described or exactly which sensor to look for to use as a repair part so that was never done. Eventually it will have to be addressed but this is the sensor on my project car and it's still sitting there untouched for a couple years now.

The line connected to the bulb is very sensitive. It's like a copper wire, you wiggle it one too many times and it's going to break and then you've lost the gas inside it as well as the use of your heat gauge. Something else to keep in mind is many switchs that your wires are connected to have very old insulated boards that the wire attachments are usually rivited to. These are very brittle so be gentle while trying to remove the wires. Even if you need to wiggle the wire to get it loose be careful because you can cause the rivits to either crack the board or cause them to become loose and result in bad contacts. Look at the back side of the light switch and you'll see what I mean.

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Thanks all for the information.

Think I will try to see how the temp gauge can be kept hanging while removing the dash.

Also will take a close look at the oil gauge, did not realize that was a possible issue.

Will take pictures from the removal and post them.

I am sure this can be done, my oldest son just arrived from the Netherlands (where he studies) and probably wants to help as well.

Quality time with the family, that is very important !

I wish everyone a merry X-mas !

John

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Thanks all for the information.

Think I will try to see how the temp gauge can be kept hanging while removing the dash.

Also will take a close look at the oil gauge, did not realize that was a possible issue.

Will take pictures from the removal and post them.

I am sure this can be done, my oldest son just arrived from the Netherlands (where he studies) and probably wants to help as well.

Quality time with the family, that is very important !

I wish everyone a merry X-mas !

John

John, the temp gauge will not hang, actually, but will kind of stay there suspended from the strength of the line it's connected to. Be sure it's clear or any wires before pulling the dash out so that it doesn't snag. The indicator needles are very fragile. REMEMBER that what I described above may not be the OFFICIAL way to take the dash out, but's what worked for me, except for when I got angry...LOL! Good luck!

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