The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk '46 Dash Removal..

A previous owner decided they needed to carve a hole for a old school radio remote (the kind that had speedometer cables) in the dashboard.

Well as luck would have it, I have a '40 GMC that has the same dash as the '41 thru '46 trucks.. so I was thinkin' hey.. I could swap dashes!

I haven't really looked at it all that close, but it appears the dashboards are welded in there.. is that the case?

Guess it would be too easy if I could just pull out a dozen or so bolts out and have the dash pop out, huh?

So whats the best way to get a '46 dash out?

They should be screwed on. There's one on each side, and I think that you'll have to disconnect the dash from the steering column. And maybe pull the wheel.

Here's a breakdown diagram, courtesy of BradB:
http://www.brads41-46chevys.com/id31.html

There may be screws in the top, too, but I've not pulled mine, only stuck my head under there to see how it was attached and decided to wait 'till another day to replace my speedometer.

Fumblin, there are about 6 screws in the lower half of the windshield opening that hold the upper part of the dash on. It fits over the lip of the body at the bottom of the windshield, you must also remove the U bolt and column support for the dash. No welds to deal with.

The original screws are clutch head and the top ones are usually rusty from the windshield gasket leaking which ALL screw out windshields do. On a 41 and 46 that we pulled the dashes from we found if you used a very small torch tip like an 0 or 00 and heated the screws they would usually turn loose and no surrounding metal would be effected. While the dash was out you can restore the instruments and rewire everything(the guages, switches, ignition, etc) and not have to stand on your head doing them, just leave the wires extra long and trim to length later.

Cool, thanks for the info and tips!

When I was wrenching on my 50 1/2 ton awhile back I remember reading a thread where a guy mentioned the dash in the AD trucks was held on with a billion little spot or tack welds.. when I briefly looked under the dash, I didntt see any bolt or screw heads, so I was thinking it might be the same way!

Fumblin46
If its not too late I hade great success removing the old clutch heads particularly the ones on the dash by taking a thin grinder wheel and cutting a slot in the middle of the head so a regular screwdriver will fit. I clutch head tools had a small handle and were hard to get a good grip even when the head didn't round out.
Just my 2cents
Brian