Bought my red '74 coupe last August. Someone totaled their 74 and bought a good chunk of their interior. I'm replacing the lower dash panel and as I'm slowly pulling it out, I see some papers between the tach and speedo. After what Bubba has done to the car (I only paid 3k...so you can imagine) I figured there was no possible way the build sheet would be saved...but sure enough! Pretty exciting! Car has made it from Coffeyville Kansas to Madison Wisconsin.

Ok, I'm a newbie to a lot of this and I've already googled and searched the forum, but any suggestions for taking out the lower dash pad? Also, I need to check on the tach since it doesn't work. Thanks for the help!

 

Hi V74,
Are you SURE the pad needs to come out? It's a very involved job!!!
Do you have the Assembly Instruction Manual for reference?

If the car has a/c the duct running across under the dash pad must be removed. ( just looked at your 'sheet' and see the car does have a/c… this means extra work.)

The safest way to remove the driver's side lower dash pad is to remove the 2 bolts that hold the column to the support that's right below the center of the pad, and also the 2 bolt's at the column's flange at the firewall.
This allows the column to drop down about 4 inches. You should still support the column in it's lowered position so you don't 'stress' the column's rag joint.

You can then remove the 7 screws that hold the pad in place… 2 on the side of the pad at the center gauge bezel, 3 across the top of the pad, and 2 on the lefts side of the pad in the hinge pillar.

I also recommend removing the sill plate and kick panel which helps give the dash pad room to move down.

You can then gently work the pad back and down. The pad will only come back a couple of inches because of the speedometer cable hook up. If you're going to remove the pad the cable must be disconnected as well as all the electrical connections. Lable the connectors positions well!

If you can do what you need to do without removing the pad entirely that's a GOOD idea.
BE GENTLE!!! Don't inadvertently knock a hose or connector loose without realizing it.
Regards,
Alan

Lower steering column cover removed to show the 2 bolts on the column.



The pad down and back about 2 inches.

 

Nice find! I found a build sheet in that same exact location on a '73 I had back in 2002. As I was working on the steering column little flecks of familiar looking paper kept dropping out from behind the dash...I picked up the pieces and thought could it be? Lo and behold, I dug a little deeper and found it wadded up and stuffed in the brace between the speedo and tach. Much was missing, but I did find that the car was sold at Rockenbach Chevrloet in Grayslake, IL. They were still open at the time I found the build sheet...I called them looking for any records they might still have and learned that if I had found the sheet and had contacted them 3 years earlier I could have gotten the archived sales records for the car, but just my luck, they remodeled and destroyed all of those old records. They are now closed.

Congrats on your find!

Dave

 

Alan, yes it needs to be replaced. The silver interior is shot and I'm replacing it with medium saddle interior. Thanks for the help. I was having trouble with the steering column so thank you!

 

Hi V74,
Do you have the Assembly Instruction Manual for your car?
IF you don't, you should REALLY buy one now.
Regards,
Alan

 

I do have the AIM. It's a pain to read sometimes.

 

I totally agree!!

 

Here's a 74 AIM indexed.
http://www.birkes.com/corvette/sprea...Alpha_Sort.htm

 

Nice find! One of your codes which is a statement of origin code ZV1. I wonder what that was for...most unusual. If you have other paperwork, it may tell you the car went overseas before returning to the states.

 

Great find, wish I had mine! Preserve it as well as you can!