Well here I am starting this project to put in a new heater/ac blower motor & fan (I see that's behind the radiator overflow bottle, fun), rebuilt speedometer, tach ciruit board, headlight pull down valve, new dash speakers, clock rebuild kit, all dash bulbs & screws, and some insulation under the carpet. I have all of the parts and today I took the seats out and removed the windshield trim, left dash panel and all other dash screws, I know I will need to drop the steering column to get the speedo & tach out. The left door sill came out without a problem but the right door sill will not budge, it seems to be glued down. When I go to drop the steering column down should I put something under it to keep it from going to the floor and how far does it need to go to get the dash panel out? I read that when replacing the circuit board on the tach it will need to be zeroed for a '75 or '76. How hard is that? If you guys got any helpful instruction or diagrams, I would be very thankful for your help. So far I am not afraid! Aaron19762009-05-27 00:36:48

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Aaron

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When I removed my left side dash, the worst part I had was in disconnecting the speedo cable. The steering column did not just flop to the floor so I don't think you should have a need to support it. I can't help with your tach question - and the AIM  and/or  service manual is your best source for documentation.

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All I can say is good luck and I hope it all goes well.

Aaron,

I am going very slow, I got the dash pad off & the steering column bolts out. I just got to figure out how to get under the dash to take bulb sockets out and the cables to the speedo & tach off without having the fire department to remove me from the car. There is no room to work and I don't want to break anything. I guess you can call me brave or CRAZY.

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Aaron

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ONE WEEK PROJECT

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C3VR Lifetime Member #93
 

Good luck with everything. I had to zero the tach in my 79. It required carefully pulling off the needle, connecting a 12V source and ground to the proper lugs on the back of the tach and then gently pressing the needle back on at zero. May be the same for yours - I'd call a gauge place to verify.

Having been deep under and  in the the dash of mine several times, I suggest removing the seat and the roof panels as it gives you someplace for your legs while laying under there in a very unfomfortable position. It is also good to keep you cell phone near by to call for assistance if you get stuck under there - no fun at all - good luck

Just been there and done that. If you don't have a job , family, livestock or any other interests you can get it done in a week. Go to Interiors and look at dash removal 101. I got some good help there. The best help came from Larry (Corvette440hp). I just printed out that thread and went to work. There is no room behind the dash and it's a real pain. Be patient. Things will break if you get to tugging on them.

I just put my heater assembly back in today, been just over a week and still lots of work ahead but I am doing most of the interior now as well. Best advice I got was take lots of pictures as you go so you can refer to them later when reinstalling if need be (my memory is not what it used to be) it is important to get the wiring back where it was for your space is limited as you know. I did my firewall, tunnel and floor with Por 15 then Pro Form 350 to help with sound and heat. After my dash pad was out along with the center gauges etc, I removed the two bolts under the steering wheel and it only dropped about two inches just enough to get at the wires on the back of the the speedo and then remove the dash itself. I put bolts back in the steering wheel after removing the dash so as to not stress anything. It goes well but not to fast so as to not break anything. It takes me a long time to get parts and wanted to be on the road by now. Hope this is of some help, Good luck and enjoy.

I have this week off from work and I really am going slow not to break anything. I got the left door sill off, it had some kinda caulk under it. I have the center gauge cluster & front consule out and removed the clock to rebuild it with the kit I got. I will be replacing the brake light switch now that the consule is out. There was no power wire going to the clock, I think it may be going to the (red wire) radio clock? The duct vent going up to the dash defrost had duct tape that was falling off with an inch gap. I still need to get the speedo cable disconnected to pull that panel out. I keep telling myself it will all be worth it in the end. I have seen the "Dash Removal 101" and will double check with it during this project.

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Aaron

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GOOD LUCK AARON,  THE SAME PROJECT IS ON MY LIST FOR THE WINTER,  DASH, CENTER A/ DUCT. CLOCK. NEW CENTER CONSOLES AND INST. PANEL   AHH THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. LET US KNOW HOW IT WENT. AND POST SOME PICS TOO.

I have the Speedo & Tach out, so now I can replace the old speedo with the rebuilt one and replace the circuit board on the tach. I will replace all the dash bulbs now that I can get to them all. I rebuilt the clock & spliced a wire for power. I installed the brake light switch. I have not had time to download pictures to photo bucket yet, but I have been taking pictures. I was up all last night working in the garage, I was in a zone and then it was 6 am, OH S#%$ !

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Aaron

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Well I kinda finished up this round of Corvette dash tear apart and put back together. THE BAD: I smoked (puff, spark, zap) my new tach circuit board when I zeroed it out the jumper wires moved and touch so I put the old one back in, it was working just was the old style. Now the tach reads way off, I zeroed out the tach with the old circuit board and when I installed it back in the car the needle was below zero!?! One of my new dash speakers is not working, I did not check them before I put the dash pad back, big mistake! I did not buy a new trip reset cable, I just used the old one from the old speedo, it does not reset. I now hear what might be a vac leak coming from the a/c -heater control. THE GOOD: The rebuilt speedo works properly. All of the dash bulbs work. All duct work (a/c-heater) is installed. I now have back-up lights.

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Aaron

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Good to hear a somewhat happy ending!

Another Brave Soul !!  I have in the past removed my center bezel to install am/fm/cd.  Lots of stuff to be on the lookout for!  Also been in my center counsel but so far not the left side of the instrument panel (Drivers Side).  Someday ......

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OK here is a little update. After all the trip reset cable does work. I was just pushing it in not pushing and turning it, DUH! Last night I took the dash pad off again to fix my speaker problem. I found that the wire connector on the driver's side speaker had been knocked off when I put the dash pad in. I replaced all four wire connectors for both speakers to made sure they stay on, then I was very careful replacing the dash pad. Both speakers now work great. So only two things remain with problems. 1: The Tach needle is off (not running is under zero). 2: I hear a Vac leak when the engine is turned off at the a/c-heater control (it must be a loose rubber hose in there?). I feel not so defeated now I feel much better. I still love my Vette.

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Aaron

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Here is a sliseshow of the fun I had with this project. The pictures show beginning to end and it is not exactly in the right order but you can figure out what's going on.

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Aaron

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Hey Aaron, KDADDY792009-06-07 16:42:22

Dang Aaron.....you are a brave soul digging around in that wiring mess!  Looks like fun though.  When you took out the seats, did you find anything that you lost?

By the way, thanks for posting the pics!

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MICK - C3VR Lifetime Member #113

I only found a pen, twelve cents (a dime & two pennies), an almost complete roll of Breath Savers, and dirt. Nothing was found to brag about. My carpet is nice and clean now.

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Aaron

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Still, my hats off to you for tackling a project like that.

I am very good a taking things apart.
Its the getting them back togather again deal thats the problem.