Dash pads started showing up in vehicles in the 1950s, in an era when some cars did not come with seat belts and air bags were not even an option. Dash pads were made of foam rubber covered with vinyl and protected the occupants from the hard, metal dashboard in the event of an accident. By the 1960s, the dash pad had become standard and looked like an integral part of the interior. You can change your 1966 Mustang's cracked dash pad with a new reproduction of the original.
Tools Used: Philips screwdriver, Flat-blade screwdriver, Nut-driver set
Install a New Dash Pad
Remove the screws in the metal molding at the base of the windshield from inside the car with a Philips screwdriver turned in a counterclockwise direction. Place the screws aside. Pull the molding, which consists of two pieces, away from the windshield and place it aside.
Remove the dash-pad holding screws from above the instrument cluster and from above the glove-box door (a total of eight screws) with a Philips screwdriver turned in a counterclockwise direction. Place the screws aside.
Remove the screws from the speaker grille on top of the dash pad with a Philips screwdriver. Lift the grille straight up from the pad and place it and the holding screws aside. Remove the speaker holding screws with a Philips screwdriver. Lift the speaker straight up from the dash and pull the wiring connectors from the back of the speaker. Place the speaker aside.
Remove the defroster duct clips from the top of the dash pad on either side of the speaker opening by prying them up with a flat-blade screwdriver. Place the clips aside. Remove the dash pad holding nuts, revealed after removing the speaker, with a nut driver. Remove the two nuts from either end of the lower corner of the dash pad in the same fashion. Place the nuts aside.
Pull the dash pad back towards the rear of the car and slightly upward and remove it from the passenger compartment. Place the new dash pad into position on the dashboard. Replace the holding nuts in the speaker cavity and at each lower corner of the pad and tighten with a nut driver. Replace the eight holding screws above the instrument cluster and the glove-box door with a Philips screwdriver.
Push the wiring connectors into the back of the speaker. Position the speaker into the cavity on top of the pad and secure it with the original holding screws. Push the defroster duct clips into position until they snap into place. Replace the speaker grille and tighten the holding screws with a Philips screwdriver.
Position the two halves of the windshield molding into place at the base of the windshield from inside the car. Tighten the original holding screws with a Philips screwdriver.
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