Well all, its getting closer. Two weeks ago I removed the entire dash from
my 67. To be honest with you, at first I was a little intimidated, thinking
the wiring harness was more complicated than it really was. I looked at
the dash with its big hole and split right in the middleof the dash pad, the
crusty gauges, the less than desirable paint and knew I would never be happy
if I didn't do something! (this is truly an affliction, and is probably the
reason rebuilding this car is taking sooo long <g>).
The pad was probably the most challenging. I would love to purchased one of
Stans great fiberglass dash repos but even with his really reasonable
prices, I couldn't justify it as I need to spend my budget getting the rest
presentable. Instead I repaired the heaved pad with fiberglass, a DA
sander, new vinyl, and LOTS of time. It looks really good now, but my
fingers are crossed as to how it will hold up in the sun. I painted the
gauge rings gloss black and clearcoated the dash panel metalic silver. The
irony- replacing those really "dangerous" chrome bezels with black paint and
substituting the really flat colored dash with one of the more reflective
colors in the spectrum--whats the motor vehicle saftey board think of those
apples! :-)
Now to a question (would a post of mine be complete without one?-thanks for
all the previous replys!).
Can the pad and chrome trim ring be installed on the dash panel BEFORE
installation on the car? It's easy to see that originally the panel was
mounted first and the pad afterward. I think it would be amazingly
difficult to install all of the push clips for the outer chrome trim ring
after the dash was installed, especially with all the gauges in. I find the
seven screws under the front of the pad to be sufficient to take the place
of the one bolt in the center that attaches the dash to the body. Am I all
wet?! What have the rest of you done and what problems have you
encountered? I wouldn't mind doing a test fit, but with the new paint, I
would like to make the chances for a scuff, as minimal as possible.
Thanks again!
Nathan
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