I am attempting to remove the thin metal brightwork on the lower side of a 1959 Impala dash. What are the in's and out's of doing this without damaging this very flimsy metal? I am also trying to remove the entire dash from the car and didn't have too much trouble with each of the sides, but the center is a little more challending, where the metal is sandwiched very tightly together just under the windshield (which has been removed). Do I just need to get a very thin chissel to get them apart or is there a better way? Thanks for the help.
The dash is spot welded in, you need to cut the spot welds. If you're taking the dash out to put in another car, then you can cut it as needed. If you're building the car, and you're just taking the dash out for fun, I suggest you leave it in the car, and save yourself a lot of headache. It's not designed to be removed. What type clips are used to hold in the trim? spend some time looking at them from the back, and you should be able to figure it out.
Sawsall! I knocked the broken windshield outta the car I was working on and cut all the way across the windshield seem under the windshield trim, then you have to cut the sides and detach the bracing and pedal mount bracing... along with the column if it's in there.
OK, thanks for the sawsall tip. I had a 4.5inch cutting tool, but didn't work well at all. The hammer & chissel seemed to work better believe it or not. But for the tough area the sawsall does seem like it would work good. Will give that a go. Once i have it out, I will really be able to get a good look at the clips from behind as Jim suggests. The car is going to the crusher, and I want to salvage as much as possible. I don't own it, but the owner is letting me strip what I want before it goes, which is nice. The car was sitting upside down in a ravine, so there wasn't much left: Dash, a front fender, some outside trim, from bumper, grill, that was about it. The rest had deteriorated away for the most part.
Upside down it's rough, I've done them the same way, just get a cordless sawzall and several fresh blades and start cutting stuff until it's loose. Worry about the trim removal and so on once it's out.
The car isn't upside down anymore, we pulled it out, but the roof and alot of the rearend staybed behind in the ravine. LOL
The car is not upside down anymore, we pulled it out, but he roof and rearend stayed buried in the ravine. LOL
I cut a dash out of a 57 Chevy in the woods with a hammer and chisel just to hang on the wall of my barn.
I think that is what I might do with this one. Especially since it is so complete and in pretty good shape.
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