Dashboard Removal Notes

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jbbush
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Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:19 am

Dashboard Removal Notes

Post by jbbush »

A while back I stripped a rusty 1976 530i parts car that had a very nice interior, particularly the dashboard and door panels/wood. The dashboard and door wood are slated for my 1981 528i. That project began tonight.

Some notes:

1. I used the First Fives dashboard removal FAQ, which is truly excellent. Great information, and well illustrated.

2. The hidden 9mm nut on the drivers side can be accessed from the area in which the instrument cluster normally lives. You have to remove the fresh air tube and loosen the vent plate (under the dash top) on the outboard side of things (2 itty-bitty screws) With every other bit of dashboard hardware removed, you can flex the old dashboard enough to get a 1/4" ratchet in there and remove the 9mm. I'm not yet sure how reassembly is going to go, but I hate mucking around with almost 30-year-old wiring blocks.

3. Everything under the dashboard is dirty, but this was expected. I'll clean everything gently and replace the foam for the HVAC ducting.

4. The AC box and remaining underdash components are coming out. When we replaced the engine, all the underhood AC parts went away.

5. The 1976 dashboard is subtley different than the 1981 dashboard, and not just because of the obvious speaker cutout. Some of the later mounting points (like the one on the right side of the instrument cluster hole) are not present on the 1976 dashboard. The mounting for the glovebox light is different. Otherwise it should just go together easily.

Next up is combining the two instrument clusters (later board, earlier 140 mph speedo), cleanup, and reassembly. And then a million other things.
Jonathan
1985 323i Baur
http://www.totallythatstupid.com
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