Dashboard Removal How-to?

[1991notchbackLX]

Hey guys, I'm getting ready to lay down my new ACC Mass Back Black carpet in my 1991 coupe and paint some interior parts and I'm looking for a good dash removal thread or how-to with pictures. I've never had a mustang dash out before, and while I'm sure it's fairly self-explanatory, I always like to read up on what I'm going to do before I dig in. I really don't want to mess around and break any mounting tabs or anything. Work smarter, not harder, right? I did a search and came up with a few heater core removal threads, but none of them cover how to remove the gauge cluster/steering column. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I'm sure some of you guys have had your dashes out more times than you'd care to remember. Thanks a lot!

Chris

 

[S&B]

if your just painting it, I would leave it in there and mask around it, its a PIA job that isn't hard but very time consuming. If you interior is grey/black you know that you can just use a rag and some paint reducer and rub of the grey paint. make sure you tape off the black areas b/c the reducer could stain them. I did it to my dash and you would never know it used to be grey/black

 

[1991notchbackLX]

if your just painting it, I would leave it in there and mask around it, its a PIA job that isn't hard but very time consuming. If you interior is grey/black you know that you can just use a rag and some paint reducer and rub of the grey paint. make sure you tape off the black areas b/c the reducer could stain them. I did it to my dash and you would never know it used to be grey/black

seriously? i assumed the parts were molded from gray plastic... i think S&B is pulling my chain

 

[S&B]

start rubbing

I did buy a new and real black glove box, dash pad, under the steering wheel piece and vents, also center console

 

[1991notchbackLX]

ahhh gotcha, thanks for the tip! so by "dash pad" are you referring to the softer part where you have your three gauge pod mounted? i sound like a noob...

 

[S&B]

yeah there is 3 screws on the back (nuts) you will need to squeez you hand in for the one close to the cluster

 

[1991notchbackLX]

just snagged an oem black dash pad and vents off ebaymotors


thanks again S&B!

 

[Mustang5L5]

seriously? i assumed the parts were molded from gray plastic... i think S&B is pulling my chain

It is molded from colored plastic......at least the black ones are.

I have a couple black dashes here and you can def tell they were molded in black.



Yanking the dash is easy as pie. It's just a ton of screws. I think you'll need an 8MM nutdrive and also maybe sure you have an angled screwdriver or a low profile screwdriver for the screws on the side of the dash and above the gauge cluster.

 

[1991notchbackLX]

It is molded from colored plastic......at least the black ones are.

I have a couple black dashes here and you can def tell they were molded in black.

so can you verify that on a black/gray dash the gray parts are actually painted gray but with black plastic underneath? S&B's dash turned out pretty awesome using the "paint reducer" method he described

 

[aar0s]

just put the mass back carpet in my car, yer gonna like it.

 

[S&B]

the only part of the dash that you see is beside the glove blox and were the door closes on both sides. take a look at your dash. the center console and the glove box and the piece under you legs covers most of the area.

 

[lxixmarc]

My two cents?

 

[Mustang5L5]

so can you verify that on a black/gray dash the gray parts are actually painted gray but with black plastic underneath? S&B's dash turned out pretty awesome using the "paint reducer" method he described

I have a red/black dash (my original) i'll check it out tomorrow and see if it's molded or painted.

I'd just take it out. It's pretty straghtforward. An 8mm nutdriver makes things easy. Center console comes out first, then the glovebox, speaker grills, gauge cluster defrist trim and then you can start removing the 50 screws holding the dash in.

 

[ID89GT]

Does it matter what year the dash is for the paint removal trick?

 

[Mustang5L5]

Well here's an interesting twist.

I just looked at my red/black 1988 dash.

It's MOLDED In grey plastic and PAINTED both red and black!

 

[S&B]

I cant say for the red but 100% positive that my 1991 coupe that was grey is now back and i used paint reducer to rub it off, then I cleaned it immediatly with a spray bottle with laundry detergent and water and finished it up with armour all and it is a 100% match to the top of the dash

 

[BONE_STOCK]

wow! Interesting. What about like the kick panels and door trim or even the rear quarter plastics? They look molded in grey.

 

[1991notchbackLX]

Ooh back from the dead... S&B was a huge help when I did this. The rear quarter trim and kick panels are colored plastic, only certain parts of the dash are painted. I removed all of the grey paint with cotton pads I got from the chick aisle in Wal-Mart and some Graffitti remover. Needless to say, there's black plastic underneath! The finished product (note: my rear quarter trim plastics are now painted, steering column complete, and there's a florida 5.0 gauge cluster in the dash ):

 

[Shaolin Crane]

yeah i repainted my dash after rubbing off the dark grey and spraying black where it used to be, love the look of it now, and yours looks like teh sex too

 

[BONE_STOCK]

Damn!! It looks great!!