removing gauges from 65 valiant. help

You can leave the steering shaft connected at the steering box, but unbolt the 3 bolts on the firewall, left of the gas pedal that hold the column in place. Then you'll be able to lower the column further. The cluster itself has a low hanging portion for the speedometer, in which you need to tilt the cluster forwards to remove it, avoiding the speedometer portion from snagging on the dash frame.