911 dash replacement

Does anyone know what it takes to replace the dash in a 911. I know that the windshield needs to be removed, but what needs to happen after that?

Thanks,
Charles.

That's the hardest part. Unbolt, pry, wiggle, cuss a little, it'll come out.

I am not sure if your '86 dash is the same as my '88 dash but I replaced mine without removing the windshield...Do you have a single defroster vent on top of the dash?

The '86 dash has one big vent on top. I was going to replace it with the one Pelican Parts sells which is for '86 to '89.

If it can be replaced by a DIY - Saturday afternoon mechanic like me it sure would save me a lot of cash.

Thanks,
Charles

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!

Very detailed description of the removal process!
I have more important isues right now but down the road I will replace my badly cracked leather covered dash with a standard replacement.

My question is: how come people say that removal of the glass is nessecary and you managed to do it w/o removing the windshield?
Is it a year by year thing?

Has anyone replaced the dash on a SC w/o removing the glass?

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Leland Pate

___79 SC Targa

Leland,
The removal of the windshield on older 911s is necessary because on these cars, it is held down by four parker screws at the foremost end, under the winsdhield seal. I'd guess they stopped putting these screws when the front part of the dash was held down by that one piece large defroster grille (not sure).
On my 1976 Carrera, there was no way to remove the dash with the windshield in.
My $0.02, GeorgeK

Sorry Charlie, didn't know there was a difference in the SC vs Carrera when it comes to dash replacement. My SC has screws and tabs that can't be reached unless the glass is out. Very inconvenient to say the least.

Thanks George, thats what I was looking for...
Oh well, if I ever get to the point where the dash is first priority I will just replace the windshield because there are a few small chips and some fading of the laminent on my old one.

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Leland Pate

___79 SC Targa

I removed my dash top yesterday. It was a crap job . So, on a 1975:

The windscreen does need to be out for the 4 screw along the front edge.

More or less as described above there are about 4-5 nuts to undo on the vertical surface (ie the front horizontally mounted). They are at the extremities (I hope you have thin arms) and evenly spaced to the side of the instrument cluster.

There was one nut to remove mounted vertically behind the tach.

There were about 6 press in clips.

Once the hardware is removed, pop these up and when free, pull the dash towards the back of the car.

I found it easier to remove the fresh air intake box and should have removed the flapper boxes too.

I hope I can get it back in!!

Cam

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Cameron Baudinet
1975 911S