The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 51 dash board removal

:confused: i unbolted everything and it still wont budge is it welded to the cab if so how do i get it apart should i just try to fix the one i have

medicmax,

I removed a dash assembly from a rig that was to be scrapped..this was done with a sawzall, leaving a margin near the many spot welds for the buyer to clean up before installing.

After doing this and seeing what is involved, if I had my choice of sliding down a 50 ft razor blade into a pool of iodine or replacing a dashboard...I wouldn't hesitate to pick the razor blade. Fix your existing one, you will thank the spotweld gods the rest of your life!

Stuart

medicmax i removed a dash from a crusher that was the only good part. it was a time consumer but done carefully took about two hours best i remember. i used the donor to practice on so i would know what to tear up on mine later.if your is not rotted out like mine was repair would be a good choice

I am in the process of replacing the dash in my '51. The previous owner had cut out the bottom of the dash to insert some Ford controls. I used a spotweld cutter for the spotwelds by the window. There are also a bunch of spotwelds in places you can't get to...like on the sides of the dash by the doors. For those, I had to work a chisel between the dash metal and the metal it was welded to. I hammered a little bit, and voila! I got it out. All that was on the donor truck.

On the truck I am fixing, I used a Dremel with heavy duty cut-off wheels and just cut around the edges and left the spotwelds in place. When the dash was out, I ground around all of the spotwelds. It's a lot of time and work, but I know I will be satisfied when I am done.

How about an air hammer with a nice v-chisel end for those spot welds? Or an air-body saw?

The dash in my '51 was messed up and needed lots of welding and grinding. There were also lots of rust spots in the floor, cab corners, and damage to the cowl. I figured it would take me so many hours of body work that it would be worth it to just replace the cab- Which was very easy, but time consuming. I paid $500 for the cab and afterwords found several non functioning trucks with decent cabs for less than that, unfortunately.

Air hammer would definitely be quicker and easier, but with less control. The donor truck I used was in a pretty remote area. I had to buy a cordless drill too. I hate those darn things.

Ditto to all the above...

Under the windshield gasket, the dash is welded to the cowling...dozens of spot welds!

Like they guys said, it can be done, but it's a pain !

But go ahead and cuss the SOBs that hacked your existing dash...I've seen darn few that escaped "violation" !

I was lucky with my Grandad's '54 Chevy dash...they modified the center section where the radio mounts, to accomodate a '52 Chevy car radio...the original radio "delete"plate hides most of the carnage.

My former '51 AD was not so lucky - previous owners took a torch and carved a hole out of the dash (right through the stainless trim !) to fit something, then later pulled it back out, and boogered some sheetmetal into the hole...wuz UGH-ly!