Pulling a '64 Valiant Dashboard

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armyofchuckness

armyofchuckness

The Flying Valiant
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Hey, gang.

I'm in the middle of dismantling my Valiant for restoration and the time has come to pull the dash. Here's what I've done so far:

1: Pull the windshield
2: Disconnected and removed the instrument cluster and pushbutton shifter
3: Removed the connector bar under the steering column
4: Removed the radio, headlight, wiper, and heater switches, under-dash air, glovebox liner and door.
5: Disconnected the bolt from emergency brake bracket, but there seems to be some connection with the bracket still.

It looks like I'm just down to the five bolts along the top holding the dash in, but before I do something stupid and bend the dashboard, I wanted to consult the collective wisdom of the forum. Are there any additional bolts or brackets I'm missing? It looks like the wiper motor and linkage aren't connected, and the heater box looks separate, but I've been wrong and broke stuff before.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
armyofchuckness said:
Hey, gang.

I'm in the middle of dismantling my Valiant for restoration and the time has come to pull the dash. Here's what I've done so far:

1: Pull the windshield
2: Disconnected and removed the instrument cluster and pushbutton shifter
3: Removed the connector bar under the steering column
4: Removed the radio, headlight, wiper, and heater switches, under-dash air, glovebox liner and door.
5: Disconnected the bolt from emergency brake bracket, but there seems to be some connection with the bracket still.

It looks like I'm just down to the five bolts along the top holding the dash in, but before I do something stupid and bend the dashboard, I wanted to consult the collective wisdom of the forum. Are there any additional bolts or brackets I'm missing? It looks like the wiper motor and linkage aren't connected, and the heater box looks separate, but I've been wrong and broke stuff before.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Click to expand...
Only thing i can think of is the (2) 1/2 inch bolts under the dash on ethier side, the dash is very strong and should be easy to remove once all bolts all off.
 
I agree, the dash as a unit is stout. You would have to really wrench it to damage the assembly.
Check for braces that run from the firewall to the dash frame.

Just loosen the bolts on either side bottom,
remove the top screws & pivot the dash
you'll find out if anything is still attached.

Lawrence
 
Thanks for the advice! I'll check for those side bolts. Like I said, after a few dumb moves in the past, I'm getting paranoid about pulling stuff. I almost ruined my defroster controls because some of them come off by removing the trim and going back through the dash while others unbolt behind the dash and come forward. :eek:ops:
 
It sounds like it's been summed up for you. I have pictures of all that being taking apart on my car, but they aren't on the computer. I need to scan them one of these days.
 
That would be great! There's really not enough pictures of early A disassembly out there. It'd be nice to start building a reference collection for everyone else. I'm video taping my progress and putting it on YouTube. It's pretty tedious, but at least I have a copy saved and it may save other people headaches along the way.
 
Its not to bad to do once the windshield is out and the steering colum is dropped and the upper bolts are out then you can loosen the 2 side bolts by the kick panels and swing the dash downward to acess the things to detach behind it
 

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Thanks! Anything special about the emergency brake lever? I keep trying to get it loose from the bottom of the dash, but it looks like the metal bracket is levered in there as well as bolted. Do you disconnect it from there, or further back and take the whole lever out with the dash?
 
There is a pin that has a clip on the end of it to remove for the parking brake
 
Dashboard pulled! Thanks everyone!
IMG_7035.JPG
 
PM sent on the fresh air system and battery moved to the trunk, This site is so big I mis allot of builds, Know I see what our early a dash boards look like taken out
I could not find a restoration thread stated by you, Glad to see you have the dash out ok, enjoy and I will keep up with your progress
Your Arkansas friend Mike on the hill.
 
I really should start a restoration thread. I've been keeping a blog which I link to in my signature, but I think it's time I start sharing with my early A body friends. :) Thanks again for your advice, Mike!
 
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