Well here I am again with another question: How is the dash pad secured in place/removed on the 68? I've done some searching and can't find anything on it. Thanks in advance!

there are nuts made of sheet metal that attach the dash pad from the back side, if i remember right like 6 of them

The nuts are toward the front of the dash. You get to enjoy laying on your back and crawling underneath and somehow getting your hands up there.

Unless you have already removed the front seats and stripped the other items from the dash 1st.

if you take the gauge panel and glove box out a few of them are easier to get to, I had those out already when I did mine
but some still suck, sorry

Wow...sound like they were built to stay on there. At least I know what I'm up against.
Thanks!

If you have A/C it's worse.

What about on the bottom of the dash pad near the kick panel, what type of screw or attachment holds the pad in place & how do you remove them? They are impossible to see!!!


Steve

The bottom of '68-9 dash pads are held in by clips that press in. Pry gently to remove.

There are four fasteners on bosses that extend out of the pad through the steel upper dash. The clips or nuts (I forget now) are just behind the upper dash and access is blocked by astrovent tubes, heater duct, glove box etc. If the glove box is original, it will probably be a loss going after these fittings. These are just about impossible to reach until the underneath dash stuff is out. The rest of the fasteners are readily visible.

The car is all gutted out for the most part, all the interior is out parking break, etc...are the clips ones I can pinch with a pair of plyers & work out the bottom of the dashpad? Top screws are out, all I need to get pad out is the bottom attachments.


Steve

I believe that if6 answered your question about the bottom. I was able to pry mine out quite easily, but now I have to contend with the stuff on top. Sounds like quite a chore. Anybody had any luck with the cheapo dash covers?

A friend purchased the OER dash pad for his '69 and returned it almost immediately as the backing was not rigid enough to keep the pad straight and without deformation.

I'm glad I didn't go that route for my cammer. I just went with the pad cover. You really have to look hard to see it's just a cover. But when you try to press on it you can tell right away it's a hard shell. Just Dashes recovers the factory backing. It's costly though. But hearing the OER is crap it may be the way to go.

For my 68 Bird I bought the more expensive one of the two different OER-versions from ClassicIndustries one year ago and installed it - together with the original chrome trim (had to drill new holes for this purpose) - about 8 months ago. Without the trim it looked like crap so I had to go this route (first tried to send my original cracked dash pad to JustDashes but they even didn´t reply on my inquieres if I may send it living in Germany). After installation I wasn´t pleased at first because the trim didn´t aligne well where it meets in the middle but after 8 months of being installed the dash pad has settled down and the trim alignes well now.
So after all I´m quite content...

That´s how it looked right after installation:






And these pics show the current state (just taking some space now... ):

Very nice Thomas!

Got my '68 dash pad off today. Two screws in the extensions. Two ball studs at the bottom, clips came out with them. Four speednut studs along the underside. And a couple of instrument panel screws.

Hmmmm, I guess that means you want me to take it apart and fix it the right way.