Home    How To

Dash Swap

 

These instructions were provided by Eric Fisher (Turbofish38) on the Board.  With his permission, I am repeating them here as the subject comes up periodically, and, this is the best list of instructions I have seen.

 

Remove top speaker grille
Remove trim plates from speedometer and radio, remove the speedo cluster, radio and the 2 lower sound baffles with the lower steering column cover.
Remove the screws that hold the HVAC control into the panel. You don't need to unhook it as it will slide through the dash. Its a PITA to remove because of the cables. If you have C68 climate control than unplug and remove the control.
Remove the two nuts holding the steering column up and the 2 bolts holding the reinforcement to the center bracket. Unhook all of the wire connectors from the steering column.
Remove the one bolt holding the engine bay wire harness to the C100 connector by the brake booster. Remove the 2 screws holding the dash side of the fuse panel to the firewall. Disconnect the ECM connectors by the kick panel.
Remove the 4 screws top side by the windshield and there are 4 screws on the bottom side.
Look for other wires that need to be disconnected.
Remove the dash from the car.
Reverse procedure to reinstall.
 
To remove the speedo cluster:


Remove the trim plate
Remove 4 7mm headed trim screws that hold the cluster to the dash.
Push the speedo cable in towards the interior by pushing it through the firewall grommet. You should be able to push the cable in about 1-2 inches.
Reach behind the speedo, there is a spring clip that holds the cable to the speedo. Push the clip in and the cable should release.
Disconnect the VSS. Two ways to do this.
1-Use a 7/32" socket and remove the screw that holds the Hall effect switch to the speedo.
2-Find the buffer and remove the two connectors from the main wiring harness and pull the buffer up through the front leaving it attached to the speedo.
Disconnect the shift indicator cable from the steering column if column shift.
The above steps are for an analog speedo.
If digital do the same steps as above and also disconnect the main power connector from the speedo.

That's it. The speedo should come out without any problems

Tip #1
It maybe easier to remove the speedo trim plate if you lower the steering column first.  That will give you more room to work with, especially on column shift cars. Just remember to disconnect the shift indicator cable first on those models.



I've done this a few times and the only problem I ever have is tracking down the loose connections on some of the wires. Figure on about 2-3 hours to remove it on your first time.