Guess who changed his dash out this weekend and took lots of pictures and notes

I'm hoping to have the write-up done in the next few days.

Here is a sample picture:

 

Another picture:

 

Another double post. Something up with forum tonight/this morning

 

A dash rebuild... where does one still *get* dashboards that are intact? My baby came with a dash that had been backed quite thoroughly in the california sun, and is cracked just about everwhere. The boot for the stick-shift is ripped (both of them, actually) and the center console has... issues.

In fact, I think most of the interior is pretty fsck'd up... would you by any chance know where to *get* interior peices? I have a wish to (once the engine work is done and I have money) begin rebuilding my first gen into a flashy car the cops will love to chase around, including interior to go with it.

As another note... where did all the '83 parts go? Pick 'n Pull only has 2nd Gens lying about left in its yard... and only one recycler I went to nearby even *had* anything first-gen...

 

Go to Victoria British and order one of their free catalogs. They have all kinds of new parts you would otherwise have to go to a junkyard to find, Including interior parts. Prices aren't too bad either.

 

Cool, i definatly will be looking forward to it. I have been putting this off for 9 months. because im afraid i wont be able to get it all back together fast enough.

 

More teasing:

Tools used:

1. regular phillips screw driver

2. sideways, ratcheting phillips screwdriver from Chapman (great screwdriver company)

3. 8mm Craftsman racheting open/box wrench

4. 10mm Craftsman racheting open/box wrench

5. 13mm open/box wrench

6. 21mm 1/2" socket

7. 3" 1/2" extension

8. 18" 1/2" breaker bar

9. Needle nose pliers

 

Job time is approximately 6-8 hours from tear down to re-assembly. Now that I've done it, I could probably do it even quicker than that but I was taking my time, writing notes, taking pictures and just trying not to f*ck anything else up

 

My dash isn't cracked and actually in perfect condition.

 

would you do it on an 85 dash and take lots of pics for me

 

lol....from picture A to picture Z without the filling...you are indeed a master at building anticipation! On a Pontiac board I also post on, one of the ppl there has the actual source that the company Just Dashes uses to restore vinyl dashes. Surpise, surpirise...they DO NOT do it themselves, apparently, as you see in all their ads...and the real place costs about a hundred dollars less for your typical '67 GTO dash...this source/company is the best way to get a perfect dash since they use your core and rebuild it from scratch using better foam and heavier vinyl material in the color of your choice or to match factory colors...

 

i know how to do it.
got a good dash to in good condition.

PM me.

-Ryan

 

How convenient.... I need to swap an 83 dash to an 81 car very soon....

You may be my new best friend

 

You did it like this?

http://www.nellump.net/peri/epi/firs...shRemoval.html

 

All these 79-83 style dash, keeps me missing my 80 interior.... sigh... I hate this stupid 84 dash...

Now I see what kinda crap Mar3 went through from driving his 80 with the user friendly style dash, to driving the 84 with the loser style dash, haha...


But, let me finish off my 84 like I want it for daily driving..... then I'll get back to work on my 80


I dont think its that hard to swap dash's after you initially get to it, and do it... Its just would be nice to have notes on some things to make it a bit easier....


Laters, Andrew

 

hey, i just took my right hand drive dash out and took it to them(just dashes) its costing me $550.00 !!! but... i have no choice, where else am i going to get a perfect RHD dash??

some good news though..... guess whats next door to them..... SPEARMENT RHINO!!! yes i did stop in and see some naked ladies....it was nice

 

So, what is the company?

 

www.justdashes.com


the phone # is 818 780-9005
talk to Frank Veloz Jr.

tell them Robert sent you and you will get the same price i did....

i went there in person and made friends with him so he gave me a better price ,, he said

 

he meant the company that "just dashes" sends too.....

Its about $100 cheaper, appearently... so why shouldnt that $100 go into quality, instead of business finders fee?


Laters... Andrew

 

no..... just dashes does it in house , i was at thier facility.... they do EVERYTHING there ...trust me, i searched everywhere before i took my dash there....they are the only place that would touch it...

 

Instead of installing a old 15 year old dash that if it does not have any cracks will have some soon.

My dash was recovered in leather for $225.

It was a tight fit to get the a/c vents back in but now it looks great!

Alien really know his RX7s because it took me a good part of a day to swap my dash and I have a whole automotive shop at my disposal.

What else should be done while the dash is out? I went ahead and put new jute and sound deading material on the fire wall. Also I install a new heater core while I was there as well as A/C condensor & expansion valve.

My 79 also had a 1/2 wide faux wood stripe along the dash board. I replaced it with chrome wheel well molding from Autozone. It looks greatr!

Inntab keps telling me "Pics". I'll get some up soon.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to document the R&R Alien!! You Da Man!

 

The other Forum was being rebuilt and just "opened" its doors again...the guy making the claim hasn't replied yet on who they were...the example given was a $700 1970 GTO dash that he had done for a mere $370...everyone is waiting for him to reply over there...

 

Heh, not quite. I remove less ductwork and took off more nuts than what he describes. My writeup will be much more detailed. I didn't need to take out the seats but having the instrument cluster out in my opinion is required. Sorry for taking so long to get the how-to posted. Lots of overtime this week. I'll post a draft up on Sunday for review.

 

This maybe stating the obvious but there are undamaged dashes for sale almost all the time on ebay. usually around $50-$75. I believe the 79-83 dash is the same piece thru these model years.
Also, the factory parts diagrams go a LONG way to helping you visualize what needs to be removed/unscrewed. Mazdaformance.com has downloadable PDFs of all model year's parts manuals (and the free software to read them if you don't have Adobe Acrobat). Great resource. For those with 79-80 RXs, I have a text file I'd be happy to email individually that I think is pretty detailed on the SA's dash removal in my 80. I'd post it but its about 9 pages and I don't think the forum allows that much space.
Stu Aull
80GSs
Alaska
aull@alaska.net

 

There was a '85 GS Auto at Pick n'Pull with only 122K miles on it and the interior was in great shape. There was no fading or flaking of plastic, it still had one floor mat and the carpet was excellent.

Needless to say I have stripped that car clean. I started last weekend with the steering wheel, ignition switch, seats, rear carpet, and seat belts.

This week I went back for the dash and the rest of the carpet. Man that was B.I.*itch to get out. Apart from not being able to open the doors all the way, the thing was really not meant to be removed at all. Some of the pieces that need to be pinched/deflected/unscrewed can't be accessed until you have already removed it (especially the side plates and the defroster grills). The clear plastic connectors for the ductwork have screws with the head facing the firewall!

What a pain!!!! It took me two+ hours to remove it, and I still ended up breaking some minor catches/retainers. Fortunately I don't think it will matter in the end, much of this was way over-engineered.

I wish I had seen these write-ups earlier! There is absolutely nothing on removal in the '83 factory service manual or in the Hayne's manual. I also hope I can fit this into my '83 - I like this dash style much more.

Thanks,
Brian T. Carter