Most of you know and the fellow Corvette C3 buds all agreed on the dash. It is one of the toughest things you do on this car. I told them of the method we came up with, that's a variation of an old C2 dash install trick, we learned working on a '64.

And it still wasn't easy! The used dash I purchased a long time ago, was an iffy thing to begin with, even with age and having it in and out, more often than a Vegas...never mind. But these dashes are already weak in the spine and they're not hard to bend at all. After balancing in your lap or on top of the steering column a couple of million times, it starts to get a weak spine and soon the cracks appear, but you're sweating like a dog, trying to get it done, just so you can roll out at 6 next morning!

The poor dash finally folded in half. RIP even. But my bud John, told me to go away and give him ten minutes. I came back and he had a really nice brace put in between both the speedo and the tach on the back. It interferes with nothing, touches nothing, no wires, nothing. Sheet metal screws and suddenly the friggin thing, even with a broken spine is far more stronger and rigid, then I've ever seen any C3 left dash. It's got bracing now, front AND back! It's even got lateral rigidity and resists twisting. You feel safe handling it, instead of what they usually are.



Now the trick. We used giant zip ties and triangulated the dash and hung it from the upper dash pad! Total stability and it hangs in mid-air!
We ran a small long zip tie on the outside too, just to add to it.



Here's a side shot:



Now you can get your hands behind it. It is not flopping around on your lap, like a ten day old, dead stingray with rigor mortis, nor is it busting itself on the steering column. New harness and it was a totally tight fit, barely could even get the dash lights out there! An extra two inches all around would've been a total thanking God on your knees, friggin' luxury! One guy at the run, told me he extended all the wires!

Still, this is far easier! Before installing the speedo and tach lights, check them ONE more time, before you plug them in. Start on the left and put in the ground FIRST. Then do the lower lights and move up, left to right. If you do the top lights first, your hands and wrist tend to crush, abuse and pop them out at the worst possible moment. Some choice words usually pop out too. And yet another beer as well, what the hell?

See how we have the wire harness tied up and in the back? That's because it was so short, that there was no friggin way in hell, that it would go up and over the instruments! None. The left side of the harness would loop over, but the right side was hard and fast against the back of the tach and you were almost ripping stuff, trying to elevate it. Note: Lectro Limited, Wilcox, love you guys, but get them to add a couple of inches from the fuse box and for the speedo and tach lights! You might just save somebody's sanity!

With the dash lights on the left installed, slowly start cinching up the ties and then check the clearances and make sure you're not crunching, tweaking, breaking or smashing anything important, while you get it closer and closer.



Check and check again. We like pink and purple flashlights! No, no, we don't run that kind of shop! Seriously, they're a heck of a lot easier to find in black interiors!



Don't put the screws in yet! One more check of the lights, because you can still drop it at this point. Or live with three out of the four and have a nice little dark corner living in your speedo or tach at night. Late afternoon and still too bright to check, because C3 dash lights aren't exactly blazing bright and you can't tell the difference in daylight...

 

Love the zip ties....like extra hands

I'm going to have to go inside my dash again soon and I'll try this!

Thanks Regis!

 

God bless you sir, I extended all the wires and cursed a lot. Someone someday will thank you for this.

 

Thank you guys! I've got to contribute, just so my fellow Vette bros might have a little easier time with this holy beyatch of a job!

Let me add a couple of things

1. Drop the steering column completely!!! Out of the rag joint, firewall plate out, all the way down, till it sits on the seat. Disconnect the steering column harness too.

2. Take the Windshield pillar trim out, so you could lift the dash up. Have all the upper screws to the dash pad removed, but leave the side panel screws on the right side and the outside of the right dash.

3. Both the Speedo and Tach have two grey wires that are LONGER than the other ones. Use these to attach to the farthest point away from where the wires come out of the main harness Two far lefts or Far rights. Mark which wire goes in the top center, because there's only one other colored wire and that will go on the bottom. You don't want to remember sitting in the car, whether it's a light blue or was it a dark blue?

Believe me, you will save yourself some tooth enamel.

 

Hi,
Looks like it worked well.
I'd be concerned about what the zip ties might do to the fragile vinyl surface at the screw openings since it's so easy to enlarge those openings so that the screws want to push through it.
Regards,
Alan

 

Good point, Alan. These dash's are fragile, very fragile. And it's not hard at all to get the screw to push through the vinyl as it is very thin (like potato chip). So caveat here. If this dash absolutely has to have zero marks or damage because of the zip ties, then please don't use this method. Although, me thinks, they are subject to damage, just trying to put them in! The C2 dashes are much easier. Thanks for your thoughts as well.

 

great info, but how do you deal with the a/c ducts? which did you do first, the a/c ducts or the wiring harness?

 

I use zip ties to do seats. Instead of killing yourself with holding and then hog ringing it. You use zip ties and pull it tight then put in the hog rings.

 

You do the wiring harness first and then the a/c ducts. Those go on last, but make sure you test fit them, alongside the harness, so you route them under-behind-or-over as necessary.

 

That's a great idea too! Got to love, thinking outside of the box. It's what you have to do, with these cars, I swear!

 

It's a good thing for me that C130FE found this thread.....I need to replace a stripped odometer gear (and will add the rear brace).........

When I installed the new dash harness, I also removed some of the wrapping from harness in order to get more length out of the wires that go to the dash gauges.

 

Cool thanks, I'm headed out to the shop to give it a go.