Finally had a chance to work on the glove box. The repo that I ordered came with some metal inserts that had to be stuck through the cardboard from the exterior and then clamped into place by bending 4 tabs on each insert. There where 4 of these needed in my case, the two on the top, and the two on the sides. The bottom holes on my truck had captive nuts for the screws on the little raised bracket that is on the bottom of the dash in the glove box opening.
Although the instructions state you can use original screws, I was unable to get the original screws to start in the metal inserts. After some trial, my solution was to use a 8-32 tap to start some threads in the inserts. I didn't really tap them completely, just enough so that I could start the screws. With this modification I could easily start the screws.
The repo box fit the dash pretty well in my case. It did need a little stretching and wiggling to get it in place, but it wasn't really that bad. I was able to easily get it in place close enough to start the two screws in the bottom. Once those were in and still loose, I was able to push it up and towards the dash from behind while guiding the edges through the open box door. The cardboard goes on the outside of the metal portion of the dash on the sides and the top of the box opening. With the screws in the bottom, it helped to rotate the cardboard into place. On top there was some metal from below the windshield that the cardboard had to go under, yet still go above the metal around the door opening. It took a little prodding to get it to snake in through that area. Once in position I was able to start the side screws and then the top screws. After they were all started, I tightened them.
Comparing the repo to the original box, it was actually pretty similar. The main difference was that the original seemed the be lined with cloth instead of the felt, but it's possible that the cloth I'm looking at was just the bottom of the original felt. Otherwise, it was pretty similar, with maybe some slight differences in the size and shape of the notches. The biggest difference was the metal inserts. The part in contact with the cardboard is the same, but instead of just a bit of a keyhole for a sheetmetal screw, they have about an 1/8th inch tall tube with the 8-32 threads in them for a much easier and sturdy screw connection.
I didn't remember to take pictures until I was finished, they are in my signature gallery.
