The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors 46 1/2 ton dash

Can the dash be removed or is it welded in?

Ed

It comes out pretty easily, has lip over windshield opening. Lots of stuff to undo but it's much easier than working on everything in the truck.

That is great to hear because I need to work on the speedometer and it has a bolt that wont come loose.

Thanks
Ed

Ed,

I've had the speedo out in my 41 a few times. There are only three small screws to undo and the unit comes out from the dash. Is it one of these thats the problem?

Bob

Ed, Great question because I need to get the dash out of my 46 and work on the gauge cluster etc.Anyone have any do's or dont's that would help and or any tips ?


Warner

Bob,

I got two of the three screws out and am having trouble getting the last one out. I gave up after an hour or so and worked on other issues. The dash removal will work well because it looks like it has several coats of paint on it anyway and it will be easier to clean while it is out.The speedo is missing the needle and am not sure if it works at all, when I get it out I will go from there.
Ed

You can pull the whole gauge cluster at one time by removing the two nuts, one on each side, of the cluster. Then the whole thing comes out the back side of the dash.

Of course you have to disconnect all the guages but you'll probably want to pull the whole cluster anyway just to clean it up. Just a thought.

George

Ed,

If you are looking at cleaning up the dash then thats fair enough otherwise I'd go with George's suggestion. Good luck anyway mate.

Bob

Warner had asked if Anyone had any do's or dont's that would help and or any tips ? on removing the dash. Can I ask this question again before I start removing things.

Thanks

Ed

If you are going to remove the entire dash (not just the guage cluster) here's what you need to do.

Disconnect evetything from the guages on the back side. You'll have to remove the lever for the cowel vent and the bracket for the steering wheel.
You might want to remove the two pieces of interior trim on each side of the windshield also.

Then there are two bolts on the under side of the dash, one on each lower corner, that get removed. Open the windshield and remove the clutch head screws along the lower edge of the window opening. I think there are about six of them.

The dash should now be loose. It hangs over a flange on the windshield opening so you need to lift it up over this flange. You might need to bump it up with your fist a time or two.

That's about it. It's not hard to do.

Oh just one more thought you might want to remove the steering wheel also.

Good luck
George

Thanks George,
I may back off this for awhile and just work on the speedo for now.
Ed

George - Thanks so much for the info. I was thinking
should the battery be disconnected just in case ?
Can the dash be removed with out removing the steering wheel?

Warner

Warner- Any time I'm working on anything electrical on my truck I disconnect the battery, just for safety reasons. (Idon't want to short anything out)

You can remove the dash without removing the steering wheel, but you'll still have to disconnect the bracket that holds the column to the dash. It's just easier to do with the wheel out of the way.

George

George,
Thanks for the information because being just the novice I am I didnt want to over kill but thought it better to disconnect anything that is electrical and or gas - just like home projects!

Warner

Thanks for this thread. I am pulling the entire interior on my 1940 cab and this allowed me to pull the entire dash as one unit instead of trying to take everything apart. One added item I ran into, I had to remove the trim pieces that run up the windshield post to get the dash to pop out.

Thanks again.

Bill Schickling

I bought a new dash for my 37 about two years ago on ebay. Well, it's not new, but in excellent condition and I was planning to
refinish it and do a switch between the new dash and the old dash. The only thing that has been stopping me is trying to figure out what the finish on the dash should be. I have seen them with a gloss finish, with a wrinkle finish and with a hammetone finish.
:confused:
Does anyone know what the factory finish actually was? I'm not sure I would like anything but gloss, but I would like to consider the original finish.

Thanks for your help!

Joe

Joe,

Jim Carter's catalog lists: 1936-1938 Chevrolet and GMC Special "wrinkle" Finish paint.

2 colors Brown (Original color) and Black.

It also says it requires bakeing in a drying oven. Instructions on how to build one out of cardboard and hair dyrers.

Check it out.

Bill