Dash pad removal - series 2 with factory AC

I’ve been trying to figure out a routing for the oil gauge hose to my recently acquired mechanical gauge. I’ve read through all the threads on this subject. I’ve got a used TR6 gauge, braided stainless hose with shrink tubing for the area behind gauges and the proper fittings. I think I can fish the line from the hole below the wiper motor to the area behind the dash under the center wiper arm because I was able to get my inspection camera (about the same diameter as the oil hose) in there.

The problem is, there’s no way I can access the hose to secure it so I can be certain it doesn’t interfere with the wiper assembly. I’d like to remove the dash pad for better access which is fine because I need to redo it. I just don’t see any way to access the tubes connecting the defrost vents with the AC evaporator, motor and vent assembly in place.

Am I missing anything?
Thanks
Dave

It’s a PITA for sure but I think I did all the disconnect work from above with the dash pad undone and partially raised.

For the oil line itself I used the hole already in place for the reverse lamp wires, dead center and just above the tunnel:

Yeah, the engine was out which made it easier but possibly doable with the engine in situ.

I removed mine about a month ago to fiddle with the heater cables so the process is fresh in my mind.

  • Remove the two nuts at the extremities of the dash panel.

  • Drop the gauge panel and remove the two nuts at the outer edge of each side of the space where all the fuses are.

  • Pull the dash panel up and toward you, the demister vent tubes will disconnect by themselves,

  • Set the dash top aside and do whatever you are going to do

  • When I reinstalled the dash top I found I could connect some of the corrugated plastic lines to the demister vents but not others.

  • Connect what you can and nut the dash panel in place.

  • If you remove any trim panel from under the dash at the far left of the driver’s footwell you can reach up and connect the demister vents on that side. Then replace the trim pieces.

  • The right side is a bit more complicated but doable.

  • I supported the back edge of the round blower box with a small hydraulic jack.

  • Then I removed the angle bracket that secures the AC unit to the right front kick panel.

  • Let the hydraulic jack down a bit to let the ac unit drop maybe about an inch.

  • There is a small trimmed metal panel held in place by a single screw; remove it.

  • Peering into the space you’ve just created you should see the demister tubing and the bottom of the vents that are attached to the dash cover. Reach in and reconnect everything.

  • Reassemble what you disassembled.

1 Like

What John jsut said is 100% true, but a major PITA, I should know too, I’ve had my dash top off multiple times.

  1. The first time was to remove the speedo and tach to get them rebuilt
  2. The second time was to get to the 4 inch square hole behind the drop down gauges to replace the heater and vacuum pipes
  3. The third time was to trace an elusive wiring connector necessary for replacement of the two rear wiring harnesses
  4. The last time was to reconnect the frigging demister tubes that had come disconnected.

I can now do it in my sleep, as long as I don’t mind waking up in the middle of the night screaming from a bad dream.

2 Likes

Thanks Geo, I didn’t see that opening.

That’s a huge help John. I’d like to remove the AC at some point and repair it but not right now. Thanks!!!

My suggestion is, before you do this, reconsider the braided line. Steel line is a dangerous thing to run past an open fuse panel, and so you have to cover it wit plastic. The resulting bundle is bulky and inflexible, which will make future maintenance difficult. I use 1/8" nylon line. It’s easy to snake through the dash, poses no short hazard, and leaving a bit of extra line makes it easy to fold down the dash and doesn’t block access to anything.

Mike,
I also have nylon line that I might try. I’m not worried about it bursting. I just don’t like the look of it. I do have heat shrink for the braid line to protect the exposed electrics behind the dash panel.
Dave

My aftermarket AC evaporator mounts in a very similar manner as for the factory unit. I would elect to lower it and drill an access hole for the hose as depicted in the first photo (instead of messing about with the dash cover and routing via the wiper area). The new hole lines up with a conveniently located existing hole on the engine side of the firewall. Once the line is through the firewall the routing and access is relatively simple. (A right-angle fitting at the gauge is required). This avoids very tortuous routing for the hose via the wiper area. Believe me, this is the easier solution.

oilguage1

oilgaguge2

1 Like

I wonder if it’s possible to get the end of the nylon line that’s attached to the gauge to take a set as a coil, like a spring. Maybe wrap about 8 coils around a 1" dowel and plunge it into boiling water for a bit and then let it cool. That would help alleviate any fears that it might get strained and burst. It would also look kind of cool.

Mine came coiled. It really wants to stay coiled.

1 Like

I just leave some extra length. It tends to stay coiled.

I removed my radio console and the angle bracket on the right side of the AC. It didn’t drop at all. I found an old thread that mentioned pushing the AC forward to the point where the fingers on top of the AC console clear the bottom of the dash. It worked. The AC is low enough to get to the defrost hoses.

I next removed the side clips and two nuts behind the gauge panel. The dash pad isn’t free. I’m guessing it’s just stuck around the base of the windshield. It’s low 30’s here so I’m planning to warm it up with a heat gun. Is there anything else I may have missed?
Thanks
BTW, this car had an extra mini radiator and two switches, one for the mini rad fan and one for the two big fans. Who ever did that put a lot of thought and effort into it. They even used a plug to make it easy to remove the radio console.


My dash pad surrendered - it’s out of the car. Yes, you really do have to remove all four nuts - dope slap.

I’ve looked through the various threads and my only question is, has anyone bought one recently? Looking at the photos on the usual websites, only Welsh has one with the small indentation at the front center of the dash pad. It’s substantially more expensive than the others but if it’s correct, so be it.

I recently bought a used one in case I needed any parts (I won’t). The used one has been poorly recovered.

I’m surprised there are any for sale. On my car, the body number is hand written on the back side of the dash top. One of those factory things you never touch.

Right now, unless I break something, I won’t need any parts from that extra dash.

One question. The dash pad separated very neatly from the aluminum panel. There wasn’t any glue on the bottom of the dash pad. The only glue was where the black material wrapped under the aluminum.

I thought I read that the pad should be glued down on top of the aluminum panel. I suppose it could have been glued and all of that glued lost its grip. That would be odd however because the glue on the material wrapped around the bottom was still quite secure.

Thanks
Dave

I started reassembly with a Welsh dash pad. It has that small indentation at the center front. My pad was only glued along the back edge. There wasn’t any glue on the front edge or under the pad so I’m putting it back together in a similar fashion. I got started this morning and realized I don’t have a good idea on what the ends look like. Mine was a bit mangy and the extra one I got is even worse.

Does anyone have a photo of the ends, top and bottom?

Here’s the first round. The little clips are on the front. There’s a bit of puckering that I’m hoping some extra clamps will tame if I leave them on overnight. I heated those areas up with a hair dryer first. Come to think of it, I heated every area up before I bent it around the old metal frame.

The old one was puckered too between the clips.

I figured out the problem. The new pad had extra high density foam that extended past the aluminium frame. Once I trimmed that off, finishing the ends wasn’t a problem. I’ve got all the vents trimmed using the metal rims as a guide. Now I need to go back and widen each vent opening so the metal rims will sit flush. You can see how much wider the original openings were.

1 Like

Done!!! Instead of cutting the vent openings like the original, I simply bevel cut them so the metal vents would sit flush. It was a very easy project. I think the hard part will be re-attaching the hoses to the vents without serious injuries.

I recently re-attached the hoses. Only minor injuries do to my paper thin skin. The hard part was figuring out where the bulbs sockets i pulled out in the process go.

1 Like