True Connections

This month we will be discussing the replacement of a Malibu Sweep Dash for a SS Reproduction gauge dash for 1970-1972. First, remove your battery cable. Remove the bottom plate below the steering column ( 4 Phillips screws). It is easier to drop the steering column, there are two 9/16th head nuts that hold it to the dash, and five screws holding it to the firewall. If you have a column shift there is a little wire for the shift indicator in the dash and connects to the column with a Phillips head screw. This wire needs to be disconnected before the column is lowered.

To remove the dash, the top pad needs to be removed. Start by removing the four Phillips head screws across the front and the two in the glove box. Pop the front of the pad up from the dash and pull the pad towards you. Next you should remove the dash vent tubes so you can reach and disconnect the speedometer cable. Don’t worry if the ducts disintegrate, they’re usually crisp and reproductions are available. The dash itself is held in with seven ½” head bolts. There are two on each side, one horizontal from the front, on vertical from the bottom. The other three are behind the dash, two on the left side of the glove box and the one everyone forgets, right above the steering column. Don’t force the dash, or it will crack, take your time and be sure there are no wires hanging it up.

Once the dash is resting on the floor board you can disconnect everything easily. It is best to disconnect the harness from the car and take everything out as one piece. Start by disconnecting the forward lamp and engine harnesses from fuse box on the engine compartment side. Unbolt the fuse box from firewall, disconnect the door jamb switches, dimmer switch, intermediate harness and all other wiring connected to the car. It is also easiest to unbolt the temperature controller from the dash and leave it in the car, since dealing with the vacuum lines and cables can be a headache. Once the dash is free, it can be removed from the car as an assembly. Reassembly is simply the reverse of the previous process.

The glove box door will interchange between the Sweep and SS dashes, but the ashtray and steering column plate will not. Fortunately the are reproduced. On gauge assembly itself, you can find rebuilt originals or mix and match with the pieces that are reproduced. We will have an article on the gauges in a future column. One thing you should look at, while the dash is out, are the A/C deflector vents. If they need to be replaced, now is the time. They are held in the housing by two halves glued together, simply split them open with a red hot knife. Install the new deflectors and epoxy back together.

The whole procedure is not hard, it just takes time and patience. The reproduction dash does fit real nice and is finished with silver paint. We have had NOS (new old stock) dashes, some with silver and some with chrome. If you prefer, there are businesses around that will chrome the dash and you will have to detail it black.

Until this reproduction dash arrived the only things we had to deal with were used, broken, cut-up dashes, so we can all thank the reproduction manufacturers for making this available.