I made this step by step to help others and to document it so that I will remember what to do for next time too. This information is based on my own experience and I give no warranty whatsoever.


Step 1
Get a good nights sleep, have a good breakfast and take a deep breath. This is not a fun job, but it only takes around an hour and a half.

Step 2
Remove the 4 screws in the left side pillar and swing the visor up out of the way (or remove the other visor screw too and take the visor right off).




Step 3
Remove the 4 screws in the right side pillar and swing the visor up out of the way (or remove the other visor screw too and take the visor off)




Step 4
Remove the two pillar pads. This is not easy as they will be somewhat adhered to the pillar if they have not been removed before. WARNING: these pad may be very brittle and may crack easily, so the greatest care must be taken! I found that if I pulled the bottom corner toward the centre of the dash, and jiggled it a bit, the pads came away relatively easily (easier than they went back in though).

Step 5
Remove the two screws on each side of the Left and Right front dash pads, and the row of screws along the top of both the left and right side dash pads (only the left shown here).




Step 6
Remove the screws around the instrument cluster, there are two on each side and one at the top.




Step 7
Take the Right side Dash panel off completely. This should come away easily.

Step 8
Remove this screw from under the dash top.




Step 9
Unplug the speaker plug on the right.




Step 10
Lift twist and pull the top dash pad out from the right corner and lift it out (unplug the left side speaker connection when you see it too). WARNING: this pad may be very brittle and may crack easily, so the greatest care must be taken!




Step 11
Remove the three screws in the cover under the steering column




Step 12
Remove the two bolts supporting the steering column.




Step 13
Allow the steering column to drop as much as it can, then shuffle the left side dash panel forward as much as you can to make a gap between the back of the speedo/tach dials to get your hand down the back. WARNING: this pad may be very brittle and may crack easily, so the greatest care must be taken!




Step 14
The fun part! Reach in behind the dials and remove the top bulb then replace it. Then working clockwise around the two dials, replace all the bulbs. Even if the bulb is still working, I would suggest replacing all of them anyway, as a new bulb has to last longer than one that has been in there for 30+ years – besides, who wants to do this every weekend? The bulbs are a GE1895 which is a 12v 6w BA9s. For the Spedo and Tach (inc indicators and brake/high beam) there are 12 required. If you also do the instrument cluster, get 21 plus a few spares.




Step 15
Test the dash lights, indicators, parking brake light and high beam light to make sure that they all work (the dash lights can be almost impossible to see during the day, so you may need to black out you’re your garage, or just trust the gods that they will all work.

Step 16
Rebuild everything in the reverse order. Just be careful of all the brittle parts that you are working with.

Step 17
Wait until it gets dark, gather all your friends around and bask in the subtle glow of your new dash lights!

 

Good help guide, Kevin . It looks like your moving forward, and soon have it ready.

 

Thanks Brian, yep, I'm getting there. Its a big job, but a fun one

Cheers
Kev

 

WOW looks like a good time to do heater core.

 

OMFG. lolol ok i have most of the dash out now because of the heatercore. I guess i will re-lamp the car while its this far apart. Thanks for the write up. Gret job.

 

Great info, so don't cry !
Maybe a good time to replace light bulbs in the center console panel, too...
Thanks !

 

Oh no, what is the heater core and why would one re-do it? I dont want to pull it all apart again, but just in case I have to for something else, what is it all about?

Kev

 

Good write-up. An alternatative [but un-tried] procedure is as follows:
1. Disconnect battery. 2. Remove driver's seat from the vehicle. 3. Hire midget with very small hands (or train a dexterous toddler to change light bulgs). 4. Put pillow and florescent/LED trouble light in driver's footwell. 5. Remove bulb sockets...one-at-a-time...then curse loudly as most of them fall apart. 6. Repair all faulty bulb sockets, then install new bulbs. 7. Reconnect battery and test bulbs. 8. Extract midget (or child) from vehicle. 9. Place bandaids on all finger/hand cuts. 10. Pay midget or pat child on head.

 

Thanks for the write up and pictures. Pictures are always great. One suggestion, don't let the steering column hang on the 2 bolts that go through the firewall or you could cause some damage to the lower part of the column. Loosen those bolts before removing the upper ones that hold the column. It's best also to lower the column and support it on something rather than let it hang on it's own weight.

Thanks again. When I go behind my dash I'm doing everything I can think of like bulbs, adjustment of temp slide cable that connects to vacuum valve on right side, replace plastic oil pressure line with copper or go electric, tach and speedo cable, replace clock with air/fuel guage, headlight switch, new radio, new speakers in dash pad, throttle cable and grommet and anything else I can think of that has a history of failure. The car is 38 years old.

 

Hi C3FM,
VERY NICE POST!!!! This is a question that gets asked often.... "how do I take the dash apart"?
Thanks for taking the pictures, taking the time to post them, and doing the write-up.
Regards,
Alan

 

And the biggest problem is : they often fall apart AND the old light bulb falls inside the speedo or tachometer...
Same thing with the center console instruments panel...

 

Oh, yes they do!

 

This is great.

Ever since the first night I drove my 73 Corvette, I knew that this light bulb job was on the TO-DO list. It just seemed like a daunting task. Your write up and especially the pictures are a great help and a great motivator. Thanks for taking the time post the procedure.

Steve

 

Excellent post !!! The pictures sure help out alot.

 

Thank you C3smallblock for putting the time and effort into these step-by-step instructions.

I really appreciate it.

 

Then there are guys like me....who modify the whole assy/wiring harness to allow the entire speedo/tach to be removed and reinstalled in about 20 minits...easy....getting it outta there is a PIA the first time, but go to radio shack and get a 6 pin plug for all the lights....I converted to 75-77 electronic tach...so have just two plugs for electricals, and the grounding wires with two connections and the speedo cable....

3 screws for the column cover...two 9/16 hex bolts to drop the column, 6 screws, on on the console cover plate, two on the door jamb...and 3 up top....simple as can be....

 

Sounds like good thinking, do you have a picture of the connection you put in?

Cheers
Kev

 

Sorry man, it was done many years before digital cameras were invented yet....been finalized for a long time now....next time out, maybe I remember to pix it....

 

Just think Kevin you can do that all over again to lube the speedometer cable.

 

Thanks very much for taking the time to document and share.

I'm about to replace every dash bulb plus replace the speakers and stereo too and this will sure help a lot.