blowitup

Looking for instructions or steps in removing dash assembly for 1972 cutlass supreme.Want to paint black.
Thanks Scott

rocwal

Hi. Its been awhile but , upper and around the inside edges of dash should have several nuts to be removed , on bottom sides where it fastens to door frame should be couple bolts , remove the wire harness ,lights, wiper, etc and speed cable from insturment panel and heater selector remember to mark your vacum hoses, should lower the steering colum makes it easier . If you want to paint the metal dash the windshield should come out . And a manual would sure help.
If you need more let me know and I'll check the manual .

rocwal
Dan B

hamm36

The nuts are 11/32", if you are removing the pad. The two studs on the furthest sides of the pad are just pushed in to clips, no nuts. I removed the heater/ac switches first. I did not want to mess with the vacuum lines getting messed up.

2blu442

Hello Scott
Be careful removing the end studs that hamm36 described, I've broken a couple off being too forceful. The following are links to photographs I took of the fastening points of a 1970-72 dash. (I intened to post links, but I did the photos by accident!)
P1010270.jpg
I believe this was one of those studs, but it came out of the plastic and stayed in the metal dash

P1010269.jpg
Passengerside below the vent

P1010268.jpg
Above the glove box, passenger door side

P1010267.jpg
Above the glove box, radio side

P1010266.jpg
Between the radio and glove box

P1010265.jpg
Broken stud above the headlight switch and outside the vent

P1010264.jpg
Between the headlight switch and windshield wiper switch

P1010263.jpg
Between the heater controls and the radio

P1010262.jpg
Between the steering column and the heater controls

P1010261.jpg
This was a stud I broke off, above the headlight switch and outside the vent

P1010260.jpg
Between the windshield wiper switch and the gauges.

oldsdroptop

I have done this once....I guess it's a right of passsge (kinda like rebuilding carbs filled with rust on 20 year old japanese bikes) The right ones are MUCH easier to reach when you pull the cardboard glove box out. The rest you have to feel around with your fingers and search out but 2blu has done an awesome job with those pics of his (keep up the good work!) I found pulling the head switch away (which involes holding in the pushbutton on the oustside the headlight switch box and pulling out the entire shaft for the headlight controls (it sounds like fun...and really.... it is!) and when you get the shaft off you can turn the funny nut with 4 slots in it to completely pull out the headlight switch. the pics 2blu shows have the left stud broken off...this is common since it is absolutely the hardest stud to get to out of all these bolts. I have found a great trick to lay a beady on them is to take 1 of those mirrors with the telescoping shaft and ball swivel end and use it with a flashlight or something similar to light up under the dash. And then you can actually look where you are trying to get your 1/4" drive rachet and deep well socket with a 6" extension and possible the swivel adapter. My dash had a small line of brown where the trim shop painted the dash and never pulled it out so they missed the very front edge....which really isn't that noticiable UNLESS YOU LOOK AT THE DASH THROUGH THE WINDSHEILD!!...other than that.....you'd never notice it...lol..hope this helps....I know I really made it sound like disarming a nuclear warhead, but afterall....it's pretty close.....good luck let us know if you get stumped.....Oldsdroptop

oldsdroptop

sorry...I forgot 1 thing in the last message about removing the bolts on the left side of the dash. On the left side you have to remove the 3 guage bezel which is held on by philipshead screws. After you remove the bezel take out the Fuel guage (which the reason we all know it is so big is because Oldsmobiles are so fuel effcient) remove the fuel guage and this makes a great hole to insert your hand to get to the aforementioned left hand bolts. After you remove the headlight switch you can easily get to these bolts. I would like to mention that the oversized clock makes a great place for a sun super tach 2 as I have shown in thumbnail pic shown below. Good luck with the dash project!! Oldsdroptop

blowitup

Thanks for the reply's.took about 1 hr. to remove and 3hrs. to install,but well worth it.

Goldhawg

I'm trying to do this now; after much pain I got the 5 nuts off the studs (two missing per post), but pad doesn't easily move. Passenger side rocks a bit, but the driver side seems pretty much stuck. Do I have to have the steering column out? Are there other bolts that must be removed? How did you pry this out? I'm just afraid there must still be more connections and I don't want to break anything.

Thx

2blu442

Goldhawg, welcome to the site! I count 9 studs, 8 with nuts on them and one that presses into a clip in the metal dash framework that the pad/instrument panel attaches to. The pressed in stud is located on the drivers end, between the vent and the door. I'll gently tug on the dash until I can pull the end out far enough to see the stud. Then I'll use a big screwdriver to gently pry right next to the stud. I have broken off some of them, but this method has worked the best for me. Here's a series of pictures again starting with this clip and in order working down the dash. Make sure you've checked each one of these studs before pulling on the dash. Let me know if you have any more questions. John

P1010111-2.jpg

P1010110-2.jpg

P1010112-2.jpg

P1010114-2.jpg

P1010115-2.jpg

P1010116-1.jpg

P1010117-1.jpg

P1010118-4.jpg

P1010119-4.jpg

P1010120-3.jpg

P1010121-3.jpg

kitfoxdave

If you need a vacuum diagram that is a bit easier to understand than assy manual, one is posted on my website www.sport-pilot.us just follow the oldsmobile links to vacuum diagram (from an old chiltons) saved my bacon a few times!

Goldhawg

Thx much. However, one of the main reasons I'm pulling the dash is to rewire the car and add a classic ac system. Won't be using stock vacuum style operation.

nj_cutlass72

I need to do this one day, great feedback.

My dash is the hideous brown and I want to paint it black.

oldsguybry

this is incredible , it should be a little easier for me to take my dash out now using this thread as a guide.........a million thanks

Goldhawg

Sorry, but just now getting back to pulling this out. Have all the studs out, but still a bit tough and I'm afraid of breaking something I'm not seeing. Maybe a stupid ?--does the steering column and wheel have to be out? Haven't pulled that yet but can if needed.

jensenracing77

it is easier to lower the stearing column a little. is it moving at all? if not i would say you still have screws or nuts still in it. also, the wireharness has clamps and screws in the back side to where the harness will want to hold it into place also.

oldzy

I also found a mirror helpful.

Goldhawg

Well I finally got it moving, but still seems to be held by the wires. Didn't end up messing w/steering column. I'll see about removing the wires later this week.

Aceshigh

2blu442 that post showing every bolt location came in VERY VERY handy.

I saved it all to a Word doc for future reference. Thanks again.

brown7373

Don't forget that even after you remove all the nuts, bolts and stud pressed in, you still have to disconnect many wires going to switches on the dash as well as the speedometer cable. SSome of the wiring harness attaches to the dash, and comes out with the dash. Some of the wiring is connected to or through the firewall and secured to the firewall or dash with clips that stay in the car. But they need to be disconnected at all the appropriate places, including at the fuse panel. It's not difficult if you have the correct manual, but it involves a lot of little things that you can't skip. The worst thing to do is damage the wiring that remains, because that will open another whole can of worms.

An Oldsmobile Service Manual is very helpful and lists everything that needs to be disconnected, and is usually pretty good in explaining how to do it. Actually the Cutlass is easier than a lot of other cars in some respects. Since the fuel, speedometer and clock all can be removed from the front, it makes access to the drivers side a lot easier. Some cars have all the gauges attached from the back, and getting to them to disconnect adds a whole other dimension of frustration.

CLcutlass

holy...this seems like a lot of work. My pad is in great shape and is the correct color. I wasnted to remove it to paint the metal portion of the dash but now I mau just paper over the dash...

These pics are awesome if I do venture down that road. I think I will try just masking first.

Alex72cutty

? Does anyone sell the Stubs. I think my dash is missing them.

trucker442

How do you get the shaft out of the headlight switch?

Octania

Disconnect battery
feel outside of switch opposite wireds for a protruding spring loaded button.

get ready to press button.
pull **** out all the way - 2 clicks. Push spring loaded button in, then pull shaft/ **** out more- and remove it.

DO not mangle the nut with an incorrect tool. If you can't fabricate a correct tool from say a piece of pipe, tubing, plastic, etc. then at least use a tool that fits the slots nicely- grind as necessary to achieve this. A plastic tool would be easy to fabricate and non-marring.

Sometimes your fingers is all you need. Using fingers, proper tool, fabricated tool, or the best fitting screwdriver you can muster... apply CCW rotational force- lightly- to the special screw/ bezel where the **** used to be. MEANWHILE, twist the switch body back n forth backside of the dash- it will move a little... and with each little motion, the nut should get a little looser, until soon it just practically falls off.

NOTE that on a recent '69 Cutlass resto, there was NO WAY to remove the ****/ shaft. I had to cut the shaft. Subsequent investigation revealed a CHESSEBALL AFTERMARKET SWITCH with a poorly copied part inside- the part that grips the shaft when inserted. It was incapable of letting go by use of the external springy button. BAD execution of a copy of a switch. That was the only time I have ever seen such a painful extraction though.

trucker442

octania, thanks for the info. i'll try your way.

Goldhawg

Ok, finally ready to reinstall my dash, and yes, I can't find the nuts that hold the studs in place. Yes its dumb, but as many things as I'm foolishly doing at once, I'm amazed I haven't lost more.
http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...dayton-oh.html

Anybody know the size so I can just run down to HD and get some? I saw the external size is 11/32, but wondering pitch/thread size.

Thx!

EDIT: was able to unscrew one of the studs and take it in; nut is 8-32 for anybody else needing them.

Sampson

Wow what a great thread and so much good info and pics. I have been trying to figure out how to get this done and ordered my assembly manual this morning. Thanks for all the good info guys. I` will let you know how mine works out.

kitfoxdave

This has been an excellent resource! I removed the dash pad from my parts car referring to this thread. Did not break a single post! Thanks again for your effort!


Dave

Racer24ksi

We pulled the dash pad from our '71 Cutlass this weekend using this post as a guide. The pics are incredibly helpful!

A few things learned:

1. Definitely remove the glove box and the far left gauge.
2. Its easier if the air ducts are out of the way.
3. Remove the windshield pillar pad covers too.
4. There are two screws that attach the gauge area to the steel backer, easily removed from the front with a 1/4" socket. You'll crack the dash here if you miss them.
5. There are two or three similar screws attaching the glove box door catch, also easily removed. The passenger side will not budge if you leave these in and you'll crack the dash.
6. To remove the dash pad after all screws are out, you'll want to rotate the bottom out. When you do this, the long threaded studs tend to drag. I used a wide chisel to pry the botttom up in the area of each stud and could hear the threads grinding as the dash moved out. The entire dash seemed to be pinched such that the bottom had to be lifted to allow it to be freed.
7. Once free from its perch, you can then see the individual wire harness connections that hold it back. The vacuum lines to the A/C and the air damper cable also have to be disconnected.

Hope this helps!

Bill

455man

I did this recently also. I had to lower the steering column to reach one of the nuts. Good instructions though.