Anyone have a write up on how the dash mounts into place looking to install mine this weekend haven't had any luck on a write up

I know at least one of our members (ssninja ) had a thread with tons of pictures.
He did a dash swap from Monte to Grand Prix style.
I have seen details of locations of clips and fasteners in at least 2, but cannot find those.
I hope others chime in with more leads.

We should really have somebody edit a short video illustrating the points of various dash installs. I can put something together when I install my GP dash early in the spring.

About 12-15 years ago, there was a thread titled "dash replasement" (sic).
I used that thread to R&R my dash, very informative.
Don't know if the search function goes back that far.
G-body garage on you tube might have something.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUCtanlSqw8

I'll give it a shot from the write-ups I found and from what I remember.

- Remove the negative battery cable

- Set your front seat(s) all the way back

- If you have a center ash tray - remove it, or if you have a breadbox - remove it

- Pull the A-pillar trim on each side of the windshield - (2) screws on each side. I have a t-top so I had to pull the sun visors, removed the t-tops, and then loosen the front trim to get out the A-pillar trim, there is a screw in the front visor trim where it meets the windshield - be sure to remove these too

- Remove the (2) dash speaker grills by taking out the (2) screws on each. Disconnect the dash speakers on each side

- Undo the brake release handle on the lower left side, it slips out of the mechanism at the end and you also need to pull the yellow plastic thingy out of the little forked prong.

- Take the radio trim off - there are (2) lower screws and (2) upper screws, disconnect the cigarette lighter from the wiring and remove it

- Remove the ac controls and radio - there are (4) 7mm screws holding the ac/heater stuff in, remove the radio, then push the AC control unit into the dash

- Remove the lower steering column cover - there are (4) screws that hold it on, remove these and disconnect the air tube if there is one connected

- Remove the diag port - the computer diag port is screwed in above the transmission hump on the drivers side - again 7mm on these except the ash tray light it just pulls out of a clip(IIRC)

- Remove the gauge pod trim - there are (7) screws that hold the pod trim in. (4) along the bottom and (3) at the top

- There is a remote mirror adjuster on the lower right of the gauge pod trim, with the trim pulled ahead a little you can slide the retaining clip up and off. Then you can move the adjuster lever forward so you can use an allen wrench to release the adjuster from the cable

- Remove the headlight switch - there are (3) 7mm screws holding the headlight switch in, remove those and disconnect the wiring

- Remove the pod There are (4) 10mm nuts holding the pod in

- You need to pull the gauge pod forward to remove the speedo cable and the vss signal wires attached to the speedo. You can reach back and press the tab to release the speedo cable. The vss signal connector screw is 6mm or 9/32nd's or something pretty small

- There are (3) 10mm bolts along the bottom of the dash, one at each end and one in the middle above the transmission hump on the passenger side.

- Disconnect the light inside the ash tray under the dash and the passenger side floor light.

- There are the (4) 7mm screws, (2) in each defroster vent where the dash meets the windshield.

- Lower steering column - there are (2) 15mm nuts that hold the steering wheel column up, remove them and the steering column drops out of the way The dash plate slides between the two metal plates that are there

- Once the dash is loose, you will need to unclip the wiring harness that runs along the center behind it in 2 places above the pod and 1 above the radio area, try not to break the clips if you are going to use a stock style dash or your wiring will hang loose behind the dash and maybe even hang down below the dash in places.

- Remove convenience center wiring - there are (2) 7mm nuts that hold wiring called the convenience center to the dash above the brake release, I did it after moving the dash away from the firewall and getting it from the top

Take your time and watch where stuff goes. The gauge pod was the most time consuming for me. Stuff is brittle and the shift selector slowed me down a bit.

Some references...

Excellent, maybe PaulC or the mods will consider this as a sticky.
Only additional suggestions I have is to remove the steering column(or wheel) and the front seats if you are big.

I second this.

I had no idea you could do that. Are there any other models with dashboards we can use?

EDIT: After searching, there's some great info about the MC/GP dash swap in this thread, plus a link to a member's website with excellent photos:
http://www.montecarloss.com/community/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=863844

I third this. This type of question seems to come up a lot.

I browsed through ssninja's posts (130 or so pages) but only saw this one: old dash thread

One step I forgot to include in my directions was removing the long air vent trim above the glove compartment. I removed the screws under the glove compartment door and the screw inside holding the wire and took the door off. Then reached up to turn the tabs that hold the air vent trim on. Once that's removed you can take out the 7mm screws that hold the air vents on.


Here is what I worked from when I did my dash but forgot who posted it:

Undo the brake release handle, it slips out of the mechanism at the end and you also need to pull the yellow plastic thingy out of the little forked prong. There are two 7mm nuts that hold wiring called the convience center to the dash about this same location, you may want to wait until the dash is loose to remove this... There are THREE 10mm bolts along the bottom of the dash, one at each end and one in the middle on the pass side. There are FOUR 10mm nuts holding the pod in, You need to open up the gauge pod to remove the speedo cable and the vss signal wires attached to the speedo. There are FOUR screws that hold the plate in that covers the column. The column is held in by TWO 15mm nuts just below the cluster. There is a plate above it that is held in by a 15mm bolt that you may need to take out to make the dash easier to get out. There are FOUR 7mm bolts holding the ac/heater stuff in, take those out and push the AC unit into the dash after you have removed the radio. There are the FOUR 7mm bolts, TWO in each defroster vent. There is a light inside the ash tray under the dash. there is a pass side floor light. The ALDL is screwed in under the right knee or under the ac& radio pocket at the back... again 7mm on these except the ash tray light it just pulls out of a clip(IIRC)

Once the dash is loose, you will need to unclip the wiring harness that runs along the center behind it in 3 or so places, try not to break the clips if you are going to use a stock style dash or your wiring will hang loose behind the dash and maybe even hang down below the dash in places...

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to Thank Kevin for posting his writeup for removal of a dash. I plan to get my dash re-covered. I used his writeup and finally removed the dash a couple days ago. Not as difficult as I thought it would be. The hardest task was removing the wire clips behind the dash that holds the wiring harness. I had to break two clips to get the wire harness released from the dash.

Below is a picture of the snake pit of wiring that is behind the dash. You can see a green bungee cord I used to keep the wiring harness up on the driver's side.

I did the dash replacement on my 86 many moons ago, good luck going back in!!

Great job! I remember mine looking like that too! Yikes. Glad the write-up helped. Let us know how the re-covered dash goes.

I definitely will Kevin. I'm shipping it out tomorrow.

Kevin - those posts are a great reference!
Fred - Just Dashes or somewhere else? Turn around time? I bought a used core from Mikes Montes so I would not lose two months of play time.
Will you be redoing the instrument clusters? I moved the passenger side mirror lever downward under the dash itself freeing up valuable real estate on the lower right corner of the cluster/bezel. Into that I put an electric fan override switch and a Dakota Digital LED shift indicator as I retained the automatic and was going to loose the string driven gear indicator in the OE instrument cluster as I used all (9) Speedhut gauges.
Keep us posted.
Thanks to you both.
Gordon

Gordon, I am using a company called The Dashpad Factory. I was told they will remove the existing vinyl wrap and foam and install new stuff on the existing substrate. A person on ThirdGen.org gave them a good review. I know a Monte Carlo dash is allot more intricate than a third gen camaro dash. Tell you the truth I forgot about Just Dashes. I plan on leaving the dash cluster as-is for now, but that may change, who knows.

I plan on replacing the carpet. Received it last week. I have it unfolded in the basement to settle out the wrinkles and folds. I bought it from OPGI. I also plan to replace the headliner too.

Fred, you should lay it out in the sun to help it relax the folds out, good luck on the installation!

Thanks 86ttop, I will do that.

To update this thread. It has been 10 months since I shipped my dash to "The Dash Pad Factory" to get recovered. I have not received it yet and the restoration was pre-paid. Two months ago, the office manager finally answered the phone. She said they had to get a mold for it. So I waited. Sent emails. No answer. I will keep trying to get someone on the phone, but I decided to move on. I regret not using "Just Dashes". I bought another dash on eBay. It was crack free, but it did crack during shipment. The crack is not near as bad as my old dash. I tried to repair it with epoxy, but you can still see it just barely. I painted the dash with burgundy paint from Mike's. Looks almost new. Now the job of installing it. Just reverse the steps from Kevin's post. Easier said than done. Fortunately, I did take allot of pictures while I was removing the original dash. While the dash was out, I took the time to clean up the aftermarket wiring that I have run over the years. Still looks like a rats' nest but an organized rats' nest.

After some Google research it seems they are F- in customer service and always handing out excuses. Once you recieve your product it could be really nice or could be trash. That's a shame and sorry for your issues with them and I hope it turns out well for you in the end. I feel people like that couldn't make it working for someone else because of being unreliable so they started a business for some income and just do enough for some income, but just my opinion. Glad you got something worked out to get a dash and good luck getting it in.

That was my main screw up. I did not do a Google search before using them. After the fact, I did a search and found all bad reviews. Similar situations. The dash was sent, the customer did not get it back. Customers who did get their dash back were not satisfied with the workmanship.

I am in the process of installing it right now. I'm telling you, if anybody wants to do this, take lots of pictures during the removal. The dash I am installing is actually from an early 80's Mailbu. But GM being GM, used the same mold for all G-body dashes so all the connection points are all the same. Taking pictures really helps in getting it back in correctly.

I got my replacement dash back in. It went allot easier than I expected. Having a minor electrical issue with the dome light. But she is ready to cruise. Now I need to get new front seats. I plan to go with the Corbeau RRX seats that Travis bought about a year ago.

86ttop, your suggestion to lay my new carpet out in the sun to relax the folds worked great. Thanks.