Dashswap pitfalls and worries and advice please

[webshot]

I have a 88 GT, that I am preparing to swap in the interior from a 93 cobra. My main concern is the dash. Is there any fitting issues I should know about? And advice on how I should approach it? All around any advice would be great. I am worried about all the ducts and wires back there and being able to reconnect them and everything matching up. Hate to get it ready to go in and realize it doesnt fit for some small reason.

 

[iwashmycar]

it should all swap right over if you have everything.

the only area that is diff is the steering column...i dont know if 93's had tilt or not...the 88 also has those little warning displays near the steering wheel that are not there on the 93...but like i said, if you have it all, should be a piece of cake

 

[TokyoJoe]

Best advice I can give is to just take your time. That's old plastic and if you are too aggresive you can end up breaking something. If something feels like it's not free check for a hidden screw

 

[TokyoJoe]

As for the ducting I think that was prob the most difficult part. THere are a couple screws in the drivers foot area that need to be removed.

 

[fiveohlxhatch]

I swapped in a '92 interior into my '89 Hatch and there are a few things to be aware of. The seatbelt height is different and I needed to drill some new holes higher up(or was it lower) to mount the seatbelt on the inside B pillar. The other issue I ran into is where my fuse panel was there wasn't a specific mounting point for me. I ended up modifying the lower part of the dash so it would clear and I could access it easily. Other than that it's a fairly bolt in procedure.

 

[webshot]

thanks guys....Yea it looks like everything is there. But I wasnt the one that did the pull :O ,

 

[Mustang5L5]

It can be done. You don't need to swap the actual heater boxes. Just take the plastic dash skin off the metal fram and swap. You will find you'll have to drill into the frame in a few spots and use self tapping screws to support it as a few screw locations are different.

Then just use your original cluster, gauge pod and steering column trim.

Here's a '90 interior in my '88

 

[93 LX]

I guess I am confused but.. why would one swap out the dash from 88 to a 93?

 

[Mustang5L5]

He's swapping an interior from a '93 into his '88.

Most likely it's either black or grey and he has red...which is the most common reason to swap

 

[trbkrb]

The only real differences in fitment are the AC controls - the 90-93 mount differently than the 87-89 controls, so I would recommend using the 90-93 controls if you can. You will have to extend the yellow defroster damper vacuum hose a small bit since the control is moved to the right side from the left, but it all works. Or you can drill a couple of new holes and mount the old panel in the newer dash. It will be covered by the trim anyway.

Also the fuse box mounting is different. The 90-93 have the fuse box under the dash, not behind a removable panel like the 87-89. You can mount it under the dash (a bit of a PITA to get to the fuses unless you get the 90-93 metal frame that folds down) or you can cut out a hole in the 93 dash and mount it in there under the knee pad. Just omit the metal backing panel from the knee pad and it works fine.

Pics of mine - I should have cut the hole down a bit as it was cut up too high at first:

http://statefilingsoftware.com/pictures/fusebox1.jpg
http://statefilingsoftware.com/pictures/fusebox2.jpg
http://statefilingsoftware.com/pictures/fusebox3.jpg

 

[PUNISHER RACING]

Tokyo your dash bares a striking resemblance to mine at this time!