Ambitious Stereo Installation

cTindall · 12:55 PM

I've had my first 914-4 ('71) for about two weeks and I'm absolutely addicted to tinkering around with it. Here's my latest idea...perhaps any of you could provide advice.

I think I'll rearrange the dash. My goal is to move all of the round switches (headlamps, windshield wipers, etc.) over to the left side of the steering wheel, slide the heater and ventilation controls over to the right a bit, and install a Kenwood CD/MP3 player between the ventilation controls and the steering wheel.

Could anyone give me a little advice on tearing apart my dash? What is the easiest way to remove the padding on the top/front of the dash? I think it is just clipped in, (with the strongest space-age plastic clips available, apparently.) And I'll eventually replace the wood paneling on the front with some real oak. has anyone attempted this? Is it just glued on? I know I will have to grind some steel and drill some holes, but it will be fun don't you think?

BenI · 06-19-2002, 01:02 PM

There are 4 main components to the dash: the top pad, the dash, the front panal, and the knee pad. The top pad goes between the dash and the windshield, then work your way down through the list. For the work you're talking about, you will want to remove the knee pad 1st-this is easy, just some screws along the bottom and on the sides. Then remove the dash. The dask has lots of plastic studs that stick down through sheet metal and is held down with plastic nuts. If youre lucky, the nuts are finger tight, and you can snake your hand up there and undo all of them. You may need to remove the glovebox-cant remember. The front of the dash where all the switches mount to is a facade glued on to metal that is in turn glued to the dash sheet metal. Sounds like you have fake wood paneling-stock is the black boxweave vinyl I believe. Once the knee pad and dash are removed, you can pop off the front dash panals and re-work them. It will be easy to punch/cut new holes in this piece, then just recover with material of your choice. I think the only difficult part of this job is going to be moving the heater controler. This device is cable driven, so you may have to redo the cabling or put extensions on the wires. Maybe you'll find you can move it over an inch or two and that will yield enough space for the head unit. Good luck!

tat2dphreak · tat2dphreak's Garage

like this?
mine is a '72... and the head is a Blau Cassette... but the same type of setup? or different?

I plan to remove the heat controls completely and put an Alpine in...
I'm also going to take off the box weave and replace it with brushed aluminum...

chibone_914 · 06-19-2002, 05:58 PM

Hey Chris,

That wood kit came in a few 914s (dealer installed) I've only seen this kit in one other car other than mine. If you are going to go with the oak set-up, I'd be interested in the wood kit you have.

Kevin Powers · 06-19-2002, 07:14 PM

i've thought that removing the basket weave on the front dash panel and painting it the same color as the car would look great too. sort of old school, 365ish.

cTindall · 06-20-2002, 07:13 AM

Oh man. I've gone a bit further with this project then I intended to. Sorry, chibone_914, the existing wood facade is crap and was mostly busted up when I separated it from the metal backing.

Now that I have my entire dash apart and every wire disconnected, I think I'll replace the top pad, clean up my gauges, replace the wood paneling, replace the vinyl on the top of the dash, change out the lights in the gauges to make them brighter, add a few more switches for oddities (fog lamps, ejector seat, rockt boost..) and rearrange everything! It's going to be very easy now that I am this far. I'll post pictures by tomorrow.
Thanks for all the advice.

tat2dphreak · tat2dphreak's Garage

stupid question:
were the headlamp etc.. switches on the right side of the wheel previous to '72?

dman · dman's Garage

Here's another look you can think about. If you are going be moving allot of stuff around the metal makes mounting easy.

tat2dphreak · tat2dphreak's Garage

Dude!
that is *almost* exactly what I have in mind(if all of that is polished/brushed aluminum!) ... except I will delete the heater controls altogether, and move the head over there to be closer... also delete the "fasten seat belt light" also, I plan to find some smooth looking hex-head screws to fasten it(along with industrial adhesive...

how think is the metal... I'm thinking 1/16th" or so thick, and rounded at the edges... what can I say?! I have too much time on my hands!