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The first step is to make sure that you have the dash with the single large defroster vent. Some of the early dashes have two or three vents. Remove the screws holding the defroster vent in and remove the defroster vent. Also remove the steering wheel, speedometer (you can let it hang by the wires if you like) and the center A/C vent grille. Open the hood of the car and look along the right (passenger) side front quarter panel. You will see a threaded stud with a gold washer and a nylon threaded bolt. I used a long extension attached to a 10 mm deep socket. You should be able to slide the socket/extension combo down the quarter panel between the hood hinge and the panel to get to the bolt…it is tricky and you will need to reach up into the body to get the socket on the bolt. Because it is nylon threaded, it never gets ‘loose’ and you will not be able to turn it with you fingers. The next bolt is about 12 inches to the right of the first one. It was fairly easy to get with a shorter extension and a universal joint for the socket. Skip the next one (we’ll get to it later). You will need to remove the cover from the heater fan/control assembly and look back towards the car in about the center of the dash. There is another bolt that has to be removed here. I used the same extensions and also a universal to get to this one. Finally go over to the one on the far right (driver’s) side of the car. It is just like the first one in that you will need to slide the socket/extension combo down the side of the quarter panel between the hinge. It is a little harder to get the socket on the nut here because of the gauges but be patient.
Sit in the passenger’s seat and remove the air conditioning vent in the center of the dash. There is a bolt to your left. I used a 10 mm boxed end ratchet…you could probably use a wrench but who has the time?? You are almost done and the dash should ‘wiggle’ freely now! The last thing holding it in is a two bolts on top of the instrument cluster. You can access these from the speedometer hole. The dash should lift right out.
The famous words are “installation is the reverse of the removal”. I believe that the single large defroster vent started in 1986 but it could have been 1984…maybe you already know. I had my dash dyed blue to match the interior. In retrospect, I would have left it black. The rest of the dash/instrument panel is black so it would blend in fine. My biggest mistake was that I removed the old dash before the new one arrived. If I had the new one, I would have known where all of the nuts were! Instead, I had to go by feel. Good luck!
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