jc1671

Hello - I purchased a new dash woodgrain for my 70 Cutlass Supreme and need your guidance on the best way to remove the original woodgrain along with the wiper ****/plate.

1. How to remove the current woodgrain, can I just pull on it or is there a chemical or other product that can ease the removal?
2. The new woodgrain came with a cutout big enough only for the wiper lever to fit through so I am assuming the wiper plate needs to be removed? If so is there a trick or do I pull it off and re-glue it after?
3. And if the plate needs to be remove which tool do I use to remove the wiper ****?

See picture attached.
Thanks in advance for your help!





Dash woodgrain

droptopron

I need to do this as well. To the best of my knowledge the plate is held on by speednuts that you have to access from behind. I'm not sure if its better to get them from underneath (I have an AC car) or to pull the gauge above it out.

scott_442

70 wood grain (burl wood?) is my favorite! I'm not sure about removing the old wood grain but a heat gun will most likely be needed to loosen up the glue. I'm sure someone that has actually done it will chime in.

As for the windshield washer switch plate (which I have done), that has to come off from the backside as it's held on by 2 really small nuts on 2 long studs. You'll have to use a small Allen wrench to loosen the set screw in the **** itself. Hope that Helps and that you have small hands!!

jc1671

thanks -
442 for the washer switch plate, did you remove the above gauges or had to do it from under the dash?

scott_442

I did it from underneath but mainly because I happen to be installing a new headlight switch at the same time. Not sure if you can get a good visual on the nuts from above as they are very small and recessed as I recall. And I had my seats out at the time so I didn't have to struggle much to get in position!

jc1671

Sounds good, thank you.

Dave26

I have found it is easier to reach in through the gauge holes, especially if it’s an A/C car. I use a 1/4 inch drive with a 1/4 inch socket.

My442

Remove the gauge bezel by taking out the 2 Phillips mounting screws that hold it to the dash.

Use a heat gun to soften the contact cement, and GENTLY pry up one of the corners......take your time.

To fasten the new wood grain, use contact cement.

droptopron

Just a standard 1/4" socket, not deep?
I can tell my sausage fingers and fat forearms are going to be an issue

Dave26

I use a combination of sockets and ratchets.

jc1671

is it a dumb idea to place the new woodgrain over the old one? Had to ask..

My442

Yes

droptopron

Even if you do, the trim plate for the wiper still has to come off. That sounds like the hardest part

jc1671

Finally getting to this project and now I am stuck on the windshield washer ****, i spend over 1 1/2 hours trying to remove the small pin that holds the **** with an alen rench and cannot, the screw may be stripped so any suggestions on how to remove the **** if I can't unscrew it? Do I have to suck it up break the **** with pliers and buy new one? Thanks.

dalilama

It's not a pin - it is held on with a small allen set screw and will come off with a tiny allen wrench. I forget what size, but you may be using one too big or too small and just spinning on it or in it. If it truly is stripped not sure what your next step is...short of using needle nose pliers to hold the shaft behind it and using another pair of pliers to try to wiggle the know off.

Good luck!

jc1671

Thanks - I tried many different Allen wrench sizes and the one that seems to be the best fit does grasps the pin inside the **** but not very tight so when I turn it just spins.

dalilama

Shoot some penetrant in there and let it soak overnight. Make sure you cover the dash with a rag. You may get lucky...

jc1671

Hi fellows - so I finally finished this little project but fixing one thing in my world means breaking 2 other things. I had to remove the TEMP gauge in order to access the screws behind the dash and after putting things back together my GEN light is now constantly on and my headlights don't work. Any ideas?
Could there be a short on the gauge if so how to I find out where and what would be the connection between the gauge and the headlights?
I checked all fuses and all are good. As always thanks in advance.

jc1671

Any takers on this one, should I post this additional question under electrical? Thanks.

Sampson

I would backtrack where you have been. Look for loose connections. The instrument cluster gauges and lights are grounded by the attaching screws that hold them in. Check for good connection there. Do the headlights not work or just the instrument lights? Check the connector at the back of the headlight switch to make sure it didn't pull loose while you were poking around behind the dash.

jc1671

The instrument lights do work and the side marker lights also work which is odd b/c I thought the headlights and side marker lights were connected. I checked for grounding on the cluster face plate and everything looked OK but will check again and get back with my findings. In the meantime thanks for the input and keep them coming.

jc1671

Update - I traced the headlight wires to the headlight switch but could not see the wires since the space is so tight so I just squeezed the wires connected to the switch and the lights turned on..
As far as the GEN Light, that was still ON even after making sure the ground screw and plate were well connected. What I tried next was replacing the light bulb and when I did that the GEN light turned off however when I inspected the bulb that was in place I did not see anything wrong with it. I repeated the process 3 times, using 2 different bulbs and the original and each time the original bulb kept the GEN light on. Any ideas? Could the issue be with the bulb housing? Thanks.