Bent Dash Frame? How to fix?

[Phantom440]

Hello all, I hope you're doing well;
Not sure if I should post this here or in the Interior forum, but here goes.
'72 Coronet-
I removed the dash pad, and the glove box door and ashtray went out of alignment. I removed the steering column to replace the gauge cluster and swap to a floor shift column, and now re-installing, the cluster won't align, either.
I don't see any dents or obvious bends in the dash frame except for a small dent at the bottom to the right of the column, but it looks so minor that I can't believe it would mess up the alignment of everything else.
I've tried to (extremely) gently bend the glove box door hinge to fit, but no matter how I do it, it either won't look "closed" or it won't latch at all.
I can't believe the pad (even with the original steel core) managed to keep it all aligned, but that seems to be the case.
Has anyone encountered this before? Does anyone have any suggestions? Obviously I'd really prefer not to re-drop the column, uninstall the cluster and everything just to replace the dash frame, but I'm out of ideas.
Thanks in advance- you guys rock!

 

[69L48Z27]

Maybe post some pictures. I’m having a hard time following.

 

[MoparGuy68]

Yes, post some photos. I have misalignment of the two studs that secure the steering column in place on each side of it (with the plastic break away spacers). As a result my column points a bit toward the driver door instead of being lined up straight with the dash. I'll be having to take my dash apart sometime in the future, so I'm curious to see photos of your issues..

 

[Phantom440]

Okay, I'll try and get some pics today.

 

[Phantom440]

Okay, in "72Dash1", you can see how the glove box door is latched, but doesn't line up with the frame of the dash at all.
In "72Dash2" to the left of the steering wheel, you can see how the cluster bezel fits into the upper left corner, but the center of the bezel at the top kind of bows down, like the hole for the cluster is too small for it, or the dash frame is pinched somewhere. I apologize for only getting 2 pictures, it's dark in my garage and with the camera flash, most came out blurry or focused on the wrong area. If you want me to get a specific angle or area, please let me know.
Thanks again!

 

[Nacho-RT74]

glove box lid must be fitted over the box liner, so there is the reason why doesn't align. Once liner is installed, the lid hinge got its holes elongated to a propper aligment. Striker must be aligned after that.

Ashtray gets also some play on holes for screws to a propper fitment

cluster... I think is more about the plastic bezel being curved than the frame.

You don't have problems with the dash frame really

 

[Phantom440]

Hahaha, it figures it'd be something simple like the glove box liner. All of that makes sense- thank you so much!
I don't believe the bezel was curved before, but I'll see if I can massage it. Do you have any suggestions on how to un-bend it?

 

[Nacho-RT74]

about the glove box... here is a pic of my car one, so you can see the hinge over the liner box. That will raise the lid to the propper height location, then play with the hinge holes and screws.

about the bezel, I don't know, But I bet once dash pad is installed that won't be noticeable. You can allways replace the bezel too. Standard cluster bezels uses to go for cheap.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

ALTHOUGHT I think you could be able to get the bezel at the sun since we are on summer, over an already heated surface, and get some weight over it for a couple of days. Dunno, I'm just thinking out loud