You always find more to do, don't you? With the dash it's something I don't every want to take out again, so I need to take care of anything I can while it's out. Like the kick panels and vent pulls. I think they installed the driver's side kick panel first thing on the assembly line then the rest of the car around it. You have to remove the dash, then the e-brake pedal, then the fuse block. I worked around the high-beam switch but it was in the way too.

Almost done, maybe I can get the dash back in tomorrow. Check all the connections, don't want to see any smoke, then we're good to go.

Already got a a can of NOS Lucas smoke. Any smoke leaks in the electrical and I can recharge it. :p

Hey Guys don't be slamming Lucas as they are part of of the company I work for (TRW) and actually you may see that brand over here in the states in a few years. Actually, in 1994 Lucas bought Kelsey-Hayes and when we just getting into changing our name to Lucas TRW came in and bought us. Lucas is still one biggest aftermarket in Europe.

I remember a friend of mine had a Jag EKE and it ended up catching on fire from the Lucas wiring...and that is what everyone remembers so it will take a long time for them to overcome the bad quality over here.

Good deal Ric, I need the fuse block fitting for recharging the smoke, can you help me out?

Ray, got the dash in yesterday but ran into a few more challenges. The mounting posts that hold the heater control, glove box side were too long. The heater control and the filler plate above it did not sit flush on that side. Took a Dremel cutoff wheel and removed about 1/8", that was fun with the dash in the car.

Haven't started it yet but did start checking the gauges. The gas gauge appears to be ok. Amp gauge was working backwards. Pulled the connector out of the back of the gauge pod and swapped the wire. That was also a real challenge with the dash all bolted in. Temp gauge is pegged, not sure what that's about.

Had to stop before I finished checking things out. My son wants to borrow my pickup over Memorial Day weekend. He said he would wash and wax it for me. He used some 3M finish restorer wax on it. What a pain in the ass! My wife, my son and I worked on it for hours last night trying rub all the wax out.

Have to pour the coolant back in then I can fire it up today and finish it up.

[QUOTE=Hank70SS;9811]Ray, got the dash in yesterday but ran into a few more challenges. The mounting posts that hold the heater control, glove box side were too long. The heater control and the filler plate above it did not sit flush on that side. Took a Dremel cutoff wheel and removed about 1/8", that was fun with the dash in the car.

Been having some of the same challenges on my dash. Been cutting and custom fitting on my also. Hope to have my gauges back by next week to finish installing them.

HankSS - Looks great, almost makes me wish that I hadn't held out for an original. The chrome trim looks much better than my experiments with different paint pens. But then I read of your ancillary issues and then I think that maybe I did the right thing. 6 of 1 half dozen of the other I guess.

Could you tell me what you used for the tan color? I've tried 3 different plastic paints and none seem to have the rich color of yours. I did my sweep dash 15 years ago and like the color but don't remember what I used.

Rick, I would have stayed with the original if I could have but it turned out pretty good. The paint came from NPD. They only sell saddle for the 70's. The paint I used is 71 dark saddle, # C-AP5855. It's just about a perfect match to the original dash and kick panels. The saddle, C-AP5856 was correct for the other interior parts too.

If I was going to do the silver on an original dash I would mask off the silver around the gauge area and spray it with a chrome paint. Then use the leafing pen around the pods and on the lettering. The leafing pen works good if you can cover the area in one pass, which you can't do on the wider area that is around the gauge area.