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I'm trying to instal a new gauge cluster, but it doesn't fit correctly on my '70. Dash had been completely dissasembled and I'm now trying to get everything to back together. The lower dash pads interfere with the gauge cluster resulting in the top of the gauge cluster being 'squeezed' and pushed out away from the dash, towards interior of car. Seems to me I've seen pictures of some dashes with similar problem. Does anyone know the cure? I am thinking its the lower dash pads as they are already pushed outward towards the doors and there is some slight interference when doors close. I did have my original lower dash pads re-skinned. I am thinking of warming them up and squeezing them with some clamps. thoughts?
I just spent about 3 days doing my 71 from scratch. The big problem was all the wire bundles behind the speedo/tach cluster. They must be placed is such a way to not interfere with the cluster going all the way back as far as possible. The tack and speedo cables must also not interfere, I placed them up above a support rod. Then things will start to line up.
You can look in the AIM as to how to route everything but I always find the pics lacking in detail. Also do a search here others have posted real pictures!!
This picture shows what you describe... top of gage cluster sticking out at the top. For me, the problem was the upper air condition and defroster duct would not install neat and tidy making it difficult to push the cluster back.
More specifically, the upper center duct assembly was too far to the drivers side of car and woud no let the cluster rotate clockwise at the top to seat flush.
In my case the problem started with the heater core being mounted slightly to the left of normal which propogated the problem across to the duct system. Resolution was to back up and squish the duct system slightly back to the right as much as possible and retighten... all this was made more difficult as i had wrapped the duct junctions in foil ac duct tape.
It is unlikely i will ever willingly go that deep into the dash again.
Carl
Originally Posted by 1970greenLS5
I'm trying to instal a new gauge cluster, but it doesn't fit correctly on my '70. Dash had been completely dissasembled and I'm now trying to get everything to back together. The lower dash pads interfere with the gauge cluster resulting in the top of the gauge cluster being 'squeezed' and pushed out away from the dash, towards interior of car. Seems to me I've seen pictures of some dashes with similar problem. Does anyone know the cure? I am thinking its the lower dash pads as they are already pushed outward towards the doors and there is some slight interference when doors close. I did have my original lower dash pads re-skinned. I am thinking of warming them up and squeezing them with some clamps. thoughts?
I just spent about 3 days doing my 71 from scratch. The big problem was all the wire bundles behind the speedo/tach cluster. They must be placed is such a way to not interfere with the cluster going all the way back as far as possible. The tack and speedo cables must also not interfere, I placed them up above a support rod. Then things will start to line up.
You can look in the AIM as to how to route everything but I always find the pics lacking in detail. Also do a search here others have posted real pictures!!
Thanks for the reply. I believe I have all the wires routed correctly. I did a search for this issue earlier today and did find a post from Alan that suggested removing the console to make sure the height of the gauge bezel was set correctly. When I remove the passenger/right side lower dash pad and have the freedom to move the bezel around, i can get it to sit perfectly where it is supposed to be. The problem starts when I then try to put the passenger lower dash pad back on. It doesn't fit with the bezel in place. When i start to put screws in the lower dash pad, i have to move the pad left and it squeezes the bezel resulting in the top of the bezel moving away from the dash towards the interior of car.
My next step is to remove the upper dash pad and opening up the holes that the clip nuts sit in to allow the pads to move outboard / away from the bezel. I am concerned about having interference between the lower dash pads and the doors. But I don't think i have a choice. If this doesn't work I am going to machine the side surfaces of my brand new (repro) gauge cluster. I'd rather do that than cut up my newly re-skinned lower dash pads. Steve
This picture shows what you describe... top of gage cluster sticking out at the top. For me, the problem was the upper air condition and defroster duct would not install neat and tidy making it difficult to push the cluster back.
More specifically, the upper center duct assembly was too far to the drivers side of car and woud no let the cluster rotate clockwise at the top to seat flush.
In my case the problem started with the heater core being mounted slightly to the left of normal which propogated the problem across to the duct system. Resolution was to back up and squish the duct system slightly back to the right as much as possible and retighten... all this was made more difficult as i had wrapped the duct junctions in foil ac duct tape.
It is unlikely i will ever willingly go that deep into the dash again.
Carl
Carl, I did not see your reply when I posted my response yesterday. Thanks for the info and picture. Yes, that picture of a crooked gauge bezel looks very familiar to me! I have that same situation, plus the lower dash pads are being pushed outward towards the doors so much that there is an interference between the dash pads and the doors and I don't even have the door panels mounted yet. The cure for My rotated gauge bezel was same as yours: if I push the upper ac ductwork to the right, the bezel straightens out nicely. However I still can't get the passenger lower dash mounted as it is still being pushed out towards the door frame. Tonight I noticed the interference problem gets better if I push the gauge bezel in towards the firewall. But I can't get it back that far as there is 'stuff' back there that is in the way. One thing in the way is the cable that runs from the heat/ac control on the console to the blend door on the heater/ac box. I ran it between the upper ac duct and the defrost duct. If I remember correctly, that was the route that put the least bend on the cable. Does that route sound correct to you? Steve
Sorry... cant recall about the cable. I can visualize that seating the console closer to the firewall creates more space for the dash panels.
I suggest that by understanding the problem as you now do - you are really close to structuring a perfect solution.
For whats worth - my install is still crooked.
Carl
Thanks for the vote of confidence Carl. At this point, i would take a crooked install if i could get the dash pads mounted and be able to close the doors!
I did just check the AIM. It looks like I did install the cable wrong. I'll re-route that later in week and see if i can get the bezel to go back towards firewall. Steve
When I put my 71 together the speedo housing was stuck on the bracket that holds the column. It caused everything to be pushed forward. I loosened everything up, pulled out the trim on the windshield pillar post and just pushed the dash up until everything seated correctly. After that everything went in fine. Even the center gauge cluster lined up perfect.
When I put my 71 together the speedo housing was stuck on the bracket that holds the column. It caused everything to be pushed forward. I loosened everything up, pulled out the trim on the windshield pillar post and just pushed the dash up until everything seated correctly. After that everything went in fine. Even the center gauge cluster lined up perfect.
Good Luck, Bill
Thank you Bill. That makes sense as at one point I noticed if I pulled the bottom of the gage bezel (grabbing it where it mounts to the center console by putting my hand thru the radio opening) upwards and back towards the rear of the car, things lined up much more nicely.
I will do a bit of disassembling and try your method. Steve
Hi Steve,
Since no one has mentioned it yet I'll remind you that you have to be VERY, VERY, careful pushing on the center bezel!
It's extremely easy to break it just above the level of the gauges… it was designed that way to protect someone's head in the event of a crash.
Again, be careful… these a reason we see so many interiors with broken bezels.
Regards,
Alan
Plus… at this time there's no correct 69/71 reproduction bezel available, so good originals can be difficult/expensive to find.
You did say NEW gauge cluster. I have a NEW gauge cluster in mine which doesn't fit well either. I made a cardboard template of my OLD cluster's edge contour and matching it to the NEW piece I discovered that there is more downward curvature at the top of the NEW cluster. As the screws in the sides perfectly meet the holes in the adjoining dash pieces I have to conclude that the NEW cluster will never fit perfectly. Thanks aftermarket! I am now trying to think of a way to make this a feature.
You did say NEW gauge cluster. I have a NEW gauge cluster in mine which doesn't fit well either. I made a cardboard template of my OLD cluster's edge contour and matching it to the NEW piece I discovered that there is more downward curvature at the top of the NEW cluster. As the screws in the sides perfectly meet the holes in the adjoining dash pieces I have to conclude that the NEW cluster will never fit perfectly. Thanks aftermarket! I am now trying to think of a way to make this a feature.
Thanks to all for the replies. i will be very careful with cluster bezel. My original cluster was broken in exactly the spots Alan described. I bought an aftermarket bezel and am having a hard time getting it to fit. But I will try some of the ideas mentioned from you all. Steve
When I put my 71 together the speedo housing was stuck on the bracket that holds the column. It caused everything to be pushed forward. I loosened everything up, pulled out the trim on the windshield pillar post and just pushed the dash up until everything seated correctly. After that everything went in fine. Even the center gauge cluster lined up perfect.
Good Luck, Bill
I finally did get my dash installed, but the top of the bezel is still crooked. I went back and saw this old post. Bill (and anyone else familiar with this problem...), when you resolved this problem by freeing up the speedo housing, was the left lower dash pad still attached to the upper dash pad? I haven't found the trick to getting things freed and aligned correctly.
I get what you are saying about getting the upper dash to sit higher. That should allow things to fit better. But there is nothing but a flimsy bracket under the dash to hold it up. I have an aftermarket dash pad that isn't as stiff as the original dash pad. That may be contributing to the problem. Any thoughts as to how to solve this would be appreciated. The other problem with the install is the lower ac duct on the drivers side sits too low. When I move my foot from accelerator to brake, my toe hits the AC duct. Any ideas on how to fix these problems would be appreciated! Steve
I am digging up an old thread - have the same issue on my '75 coupe upper gauge bezel sticking out on top left side by ac vents. It appears to be untouched, I have a factory ac car.
Bezel is not cracked....should I just leave it alone or is it worth loosening up and seeing if anything behind it like ducts or wires are pushing out top left?
Not sure if its worth trying to fix or not. It probably depends upon how much its misaligned, and how much that bothers you.
For what its worth, I finally fixed mine by removing and loosening dash pad and bezel screws, heating up the entire dash, pushing things back into place, holding it in place with clamps etc, and letting it cool back down. I left the clamps in place for about a week before I took them out. Nothing moved, even before I tightened the screws. It came out just about perfect. I heated it up by parking the car the sun on hot summer day with motor running and heat on full blast for about 20 minutes. It got pretty hot in there. The dash pads were all very pliable. My guess is the AC ductwork behind the gage cluster got hot as well so was also able to be moved.
Hi pmr,
I agree with 70 green that what you do depends on how badly the top of the bezel is misaligned, and how much it bothers you.
Here's a photo of what I think is a bezel in a 69 that hasn't ever had the dash taken apart.
While the fit's not bad..... it's not really anything to be proud of either.
It takes some time and effort to improve on this fit. And the problem is that the tendency to want to push on that upper left corner is often what breaks the bezel.
Gauge cluster doesn't fit correctly
The big problem was all the wire bundles behind the speedo/tach cluster. They must be placed is such a way to not interfere with the cluster going all the way back as far as possible. The tack and speedo cables must also not interfere, I placed them up above a support rod. Then things will start to line up.
