Installing a metal dash in a later car is not all that difficult, but there
are a couple of necessary items besides the dash itself. First, the cowl
that the dash fastens to is about 2" shorter on the later car, so that with
all the padding, the face of both dashes is approximately the same distance
from the driver. The lip on both early & late cars is at a much different
angle as well, making it impossible to just bolt on the early dash.
To do the swap, it is best to have the cowl from the early car (cut off) and
the defroster vents, as they are also different. You can trim the early cowl
to overlay the original later cowl, stopping just under the windshield. I
used structural adhesive & sheet metal screws for the installation, then
ground off the screw heads after the adhesive was set. I cut new slots for
the defroster ducts with a dremal.
The next problem that appears when you attempt to bolt the early dash in
place, is a conflict with the steering column. The early column is much
slimmer & has a very small plastic surround. On a chrome bumper car, I
believe you can substitute the entire early column. On a rubber bumper car
such as I converted, there is a lot more involved, as the column is larger
than the opening in the dash.
Some wiring changes will be required, but nothing too major. Wiper controls
are a problem as the early switch is for a single speed wiper, & later cars
have 2 speeds. You will probably want to change the speedo & tach to the
early larger gauges & perhaps convert the tach to negative ground. While I
was at it, I changed to 2 wipers instead of 3.
All in all, it is a lot of work, but I enjoyed doing it, & am considering
doing it to a GT I am working on.
Jim Stuart
Reply to <jimbb88@usa.com>
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