I need to know how to remove the complete consol? i want to rustproof my ineer firewall!
thanks

I'm sure there's a way to do it. Most dashes Ive removed have only needed a minimum of disassembly. Usually I unplug the firewall bulkhead, drop the column cover and column, remove all bolts and screws around the perimeter, and start wiggling the dash and look for attachment points. I can usually get a dash off a strange car intact in a couple hours, more of course if it's got air. The heater controls are usually the hardest part, and you can either unbolt and slide back the whole panel, or unclip each cable, depending on the car. Consoles are pretty easy as a rule, basically once youve unscrewed and pulled up all the bezels there will be a few large bolts holding the big black part to the tunnel, and less often theyll be attached to the dash with nuts or capscrews. Sometimes the shifter has to come out as well, but not often. Then just pull the carpet back.

I'm sure though you can get away with simply removing the seat and lying on your back and just spraying the metal upward if oiling is all you want to do. Ive always wanted to do the same thing, but Ive been to worried about staining the carpet or dissolving rubber parts to try it. There is a place in Dorval Quebec that rustproofs cars this way for about $600 CDN. They strip the interior basically. If I'm ever up that way I'll ask them what they use and post it here. Good luck!

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

I'm assuming you are talking about an A-body here. First, you really won't be able to pull the dash unless you pull your windshield. The weatherstripping on the botom of the wqindsield covers about six screws that sit at an angle which requires the glass to be out to unscrew them. Other than that there are two bolts, one on either side of the dash on the bottom, and that is it. It helps to remove the heater controls and instrument cluster and drop the steering column too.

Reed

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

I haven't removed a complete dash since I had my parts car.. that was a while ago... but I recall having to pull out the pedal assembly first. I'm am unsure on this one though, will have to check the service manuals.

Should i just bite the bullet and paint as far as i can? sounds like alot of work but i do need to replace a couple of wiper arm bushings!
thanks for the info

Well it depends.. are you willing to take your windshield out or not?

I suppose you could pick your dash apart as much as you can and then pull your hair out trying to piece it together again... You know, I would just crawl under there with a can of Rust Check green and spray all the steel bits as best I can and say goodbye. That's all anyone else does. In Kingston theres a brown 77 Aspen wagon that has been driven every winter since new, owned by the Rust Check there, and has about 750,000 miles on it. The interior was never taken apart and it looks great. Save for the seat covers...

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

That's how the factory did it on most models, paint what you can reach and forget the rest, on the GT at least the factory masked the demarcation. Only problem with this is you can get rust on the firewall behind the dash, right where it is out of sight. On mine I painted this portion along with the inside of the dash With some POR-15. At the proper time my 63 T-Bird console will also get the full treatment prior to installation.

I have now come to believe that dashboards are the automotive equivalent of black holes in terms of time and money spent working on/under them. When I first started to disassemble my dash, the intention was to sand and paint it in the car after careful masking. I had already found a set of deluxe trim panels to cover the nasty hack job that had been done to it in the 80's, and hoped to complete the job over a weekend.

Two months later, the whole dash is apart, heater box is out, wiper bushings are on order, I am searching for a replacement wiper linkage in the local yards. Deluxe trim and instrument bezel are all stripped bare and I am trying to find someone locally to rechrome them. On top of this, I am planning to wait until I get my garage so I can replace the dash with an uncut one once I don't need to worry about parking the car outside. This will, of course necessitate a new $70 weatherstrip. If I have it all back together by April for under $300 I will be amazed. Not bad for a weekend job, eh?