Question on swapping dash pad out on 73 Satellite

[Tim Ziegler]

Good stuff. These tips will help me

 

[SureGrip]

It could be done with the windshield in the car. I removed the entire assembly (frame w/pad, etc.) out of my car. Nacho has a great write-up on the steps to get it done, its here on the site somewhere. I used that write-up to help me out. The dash frame can be rotated back into the car while resting on the two bolts which are located at the kick panels on either side of the car. As someone mentioned earlier, removing the front seat(s) is a huge help, especially if you will remove the entire assembly. If you elect to remove the entire frame, having a helper makes it a lot easier. If you must remove the windshield for other reasons, then so be it, but it is not necessary to change out the pad. Since your windshield is already out for paint, definitely would be easier to do it while it is out.

View attachment 1075850

What this man said.

Take off the speaker grill and you'll see the hexhead screws along the bottom of the windshield. A flex extension on a screwgun will help you get these out.

You will have to loosen the steering wheel/column by taking out the three (I believe) bolts holding the adaptor plate to the firewall and the three nuts off the underside of the column just under the wheel. let the wheel fall until it's resting on the seat.

Remove your two lower kick panels (couple of screws).

You will see a large-ish head bolt at the underside of the dash frame on both sides. The dash has a 'U' shaped portion in the dash that slips behind this bolt. Loosen this bolt by a few turns (DO NOT REMOVE). The dash will now tilt forward towards the front seats as in 73RedRunner's photo.

Be careful! Do this slowly and do not force it. You may need to finesse a few wires and such to allow it to come down all the way.

Once down, you can reach behind there and get all of the speed nuts off in a few minutes.

I've taken dozens of pads out of junkyards this way in a few minutes each.