73' Dash help please.....

[x73mach1x]

ok this is my first thread so i will say a little about me im 15 years old im curently restoring a 73 mach 1 with a 351c with a fmx 4 speed, which is fully loaded with rear seat fold down delux interior and the hole bit.

ok my question is how to take out my whole dash. i need to repaint it and replace my dash pad. i have been tinkering on it for a while taking bolts out but it seems i cant find some cause the bottom of my dash is lose but i cant seem to find what connects the top. i can lift the dash pad up but it seems it is still attched to the dash cover... any help would be great from people who have taken their dash out completly... thanx

 

[mustangdave]

Just guessing but did you take the screws out that are in the defroster vent? If it's like other years you will need a short screwdriver or right angle screw driver because of the windshield.

 

[mudbilly]

i didn't remove the "whole" dash in my 73 ragtop...........

everything is plastic facia and comes out in pieces......to take out the middle part you have to start by removing the bezel for the heater controls and radio........

after it is all apart, the only exposed metal pieces are where the knobs are for the wiper,lighter,etc and a little piece under the glove compartment door and part of the glove compartment face itself...

everthing has to be disassembled and reassembled in a certain order, which eludes me right now, but it becomes obvious after about the 10th try

if memory serves me correctly, the dash pad has a couple of clips that hold it down near the windshield, if you get it unbolted toward the front you should be able to pull it toward yourself to free the clips from the dash itself, there might have been a couple screws that you can't get to until the facia parts are off the front, and you have to reach up inside, maybe the duct screws that mustangdave mentioned

I wish I would have taken notes :damnit: but I do have alot of digital pics if that will help

good luck

mud

 

[x73mach1x]

ok i think i need the two screws that mustangdave said .. i would like to get the dash top off and out of the way. i need to take the dash out to paint it as well as put my floorpans in by the firewall.

 

[7D3mach]

ya like mudbilly said it has to be taken out in the right order. The hardest piece to get out is the one right above the glove box. The way I took everything apart was dash pad first, then the pieces on each end, radio bezel, center piece, the front piece around the speedo, glove box, and finally the piece above the glove box. That may not be the same way anybody else did it but it worked for me. If you need more help I most likely can offer more advise. You tend to learn a lot after having the dash out 4 times.

 

[electricgreen]

First, grats on picking a 73 to restore A friend of ours did the same thing with a 65, he's had it for about 10 years now, pretty neat.

We've had our dash pad out for so long, I forgot how we got it out . I will suggest checking your cowl while all that's out of the way-ours looks like this :

 

[Platonic Solid]

ok i think i need the two screws that mustangdave said .. i would like to get the dash top off and out of the way. i need to take the dash out to paint it as well as put my floorpans in by the firewall.

After you remove those 2 screws (and the ones that you've obviously already removed from the front) lift dash slightly and pull towards yourself. There are 2 spring clip like things on the metal underside of the top dash that may require a little force to dislodge.

Removing the whole metal dash is quite an involved proceedure, which I have done and have pictures of. The fasteners that you have to remove become obvious as you look around. I strongly recommend using a digital camera to take pics of each area before disassembly and put fasteners in labelled bags as you go (you'll thank yourself later). Though I'm not willing to do a pictorial write-up, I should be able to answer any questions you have.

Svend

 

[dsmGST91]

Did you think about painting it when it was right in there? I took out the dash pad, center guage thing, speedo/tach, and its trim peice. Then I just masked stuff off and painted it with Krylon Fusion satin black. I really really reccomend this stuff, it worked amazing. the dash looks brand new. Just mask off what you dont want painted obviously, and paint it just like you would a car. Really quite easy. Here is what i stripped it down to, when I can find a picture of what it looks like now I'll attach it

 

[x73mach1x]

yeah i went out today to try to take it out with some of your advice and i took out one screw directly between the two vents but i dont see where the other two screws are near the two vents. i can lift the top up but no matter how hard i pull and tug on it i cant seem to pull it from the clips. its seems to be stuck up by he front of the windshield... anyone got some thought i what i should do..

 

[electricgreen]

it might just be stuck in the wondow goo-I do remember that part of getting the dash pad/metal piece out of ours-it took some work to get it free-then the whole lip of the metal piece had to be cleaned up because it was covered in the black window sealer...

 

[mudbilly]

i do remember it being tricky

where any of the fasterners you removed "nuts" instead of screws???

there may be a couple studs that protrude from the bottom of the dash pad, and you have to make sure that you are lifting the pad up far enough so that these are not getting hung up in their holes..............while yanking the dashapd toward you

also, you can find out if you missed a screw by trying to determine where it is sticking and then looking up underneath there to see if there is a screw/nut still holding it down

the only thing i know for sure is that it CAN be done without breaking out the gas wrench

 

[Pakrat]

Invest a few dollars in a shop manual, you'll have exploded views of everything and you'll likely need it to put it all back toegther anyway as removal is usually the easier part.

 

[x73mach1x]

yeah some of the bolts had nuts on them i will try to get my dad to help me pull on it a bit..... those shop manuals go for about 100 bucks dont they????

 

[x73mach1x]

just went out to the car and me and my dad got it out with alot of pulling when it came out thought we broke something lol

 

[Pakrat]

yeah some of the bolts had nuts on them i will try to get my dad to help me pull on it a bit..... those shop manuals go for about 100 bucks dont they????

Uh, more like $60 bucks I think, after 68' they are 5 volume sets that include other vehicles than the Mustang like Cougars for example. When you are taking apart and putting back they are invaluable at any price or budget. Time is money too and with one, the dash probably would have come out the first try.