It appears that there should be a trim piece between my dashpad and windshield, but it’s NOT. I see such pieces for earlier models but not for the '70. Should this tell me I’m in for it; what can I do as an alternative?
70’s do not have trim pieces between the dash pad and the windshield.
Thanks for that; no wonder it was so hard to find. Why then does my “union” look like this? Just bad installation of the dashpad?
Thar’s a terrible job of installing it. It should not have screws in that area. It also should be pushed closer to the wind shield. My Cougar that could be an example is on the top of my lift with another below it. I don’t think I’ll have time to get it down for a few days. If no body else posts a picture of that area I’ll try Sunday.
Edit;
It also looks like the corner area may have shrunk some.
Thanks for that. I have enough to keep me occupied presently, it will be awhile before I get to the dash issues. Appreciate the help.
Some amount of gap there is common as the dash pad shrinks with age. Mine otherwise looks new but has a gap there as well, just not that extreme. Mine has some amount of adjust-ability but pushing it too far forward makes it look worse in more visible places.
Shouldn’t be near that much gap between windshield base and dash pad edge. Mine has shrunk with age too, but gap isn’t more than 1/8”.
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Thanks for the responses bmwhd1 & Calicat; maybe I just need to focus on making what is exposed a little more presentable. We’ll see what happens when I pull the dash (month’s from now). Thanks again for the input.
It’s possible that those screws are keeping your dash pad from going all the way forward up to the windshield. It looks like the pad was seperating from the metal support underneath and screwed the pad down instead of just gluing it back in place >.<
I was kind of hoping (when I get to it) that I could stretch and glue. It sure is pitiful as is.
For whatever reason that the dash pad was screwed down, it had to have been done when the windshield was NOT in place. Not exactly the kind of repair or correction that is employed by anyone who would be looking for the root cause of such a ‘gap’.
Delightful; that likely means I won’t get the dash back out without taking out the windshield. This is getting more interesting by the moment. Thanks.
Well, 24 months later I finally get to address this issue; and bundling it with 37 other associated issues. Started with me getting annoyed that my parking brake light doesn’t come on to REMIND me that I’ve applied it before I drive back home with the brake on! Thought you all might be interested to see what it looked like behind my dash/console. Additionally, a rubber chock fell out when I lowered the steering column, maybe someone can give me an idea of it’s proper orientation - I’m sure it goes between the column and dash, just don’t know how positionally. Thanks in advance.
Between mouse house, rust, and electrical spaghetti I’ve got my work cut out for me.
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Rubber piece is taped to the lower cover. Look closely, you should see tape glue remnants.. I have some pics somewhere…
I would remove all the venting pieces, soak,clean & dye with SEM to seal it. Replace flex hose too.
Thanks for that Bill; if it was only taped on that would explain why it fell off as soon as I dropped the column. I figured I’d better address the vent hoses and ducts while I’m in there - didn’t think about soaking them, and didn’t know about SEM sealer; is that different than their paint? I wish I had taken a better picture of the “before” with the center A/C register, because it came out beautiful, like brand new! Do you happen to know what keeps the “orb” registers in place? Mine spin like free willy.
The round outer corner A/C dash vents have a piece of felt like material that goes around them. This allows the vent to be moved to redirect the air flow but is tight enough to hold the vent in the desired position. This felt material deteriorates over time and results in a vent that will no longer stay where you put it. Someone on here did a post that showed how to take one apart and replace the felt. I am thinking that it was a Cougar Bill post but I could be wrong on that. If you do decide to take on replacing the felt keep in mind that the metal piece that the vent goes into are left and right side only parts. The actual vent will work on either side.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
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Thin strips of the fuzzy side of self-stick Velcro would probably work as a replacement for the felt in the vent housings.
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Super, thanks Randy. I’ll try searching the thread out. I haven’t cracked into the lower segment yet.
Sounds like an interesting plan; and likely NEVER deteriorate.
found the orb repair thread: A/C Vent Register Felt - #6 by Cougar_Bill