Dash replacement - glove box

I bought a used dash for my 1973 B that the owner said came out of a 1974. While prepping it for installation I found that my original glove box and door don't fit. I also noticed that some of the switches fit but not as tightly as they did on the original dash. My 1973 B had the original dash in it so I assume either there was a slight difference between the 1973 and 1974 dashes or the 1974 dash I bought was an aftermarket that was close to the original but not quite the same.

Here's my dilemma: I can buy a new dash from VB or Moss but if the used one (the one out of the '74) I bought was an aftermarket I'm afraid I'll end up with the same problem. If so, I could buy a new glove box and door but I'm not sure they will fit the used dash.

Has anyone run bought a dash from VB or Moss? If so, are they identical to the originals or are there fit problems similar to the ones I'm encountering? Are there differences between the 1973 and '74 dashboards?

73 and 74 dashes are the same. How is it not fitting?

I thought they were the same. The glove box from the '73 is too big for the opening in the '74 dash and the lid doesn't fit the contours of the dash exactly. That's what leads me to believe the '74 is an aftermarket dash.

Hey Gary,

post a couple of pictures of the dash's you have. The '74 dash someone sold you may have been a later model rubber bumper dash; the glove boxes are not interchangeable. Gauges and wiring are also different.

Moss/VB et al sell replacement dash covers. These have to be glued over the your existing dash metal frame.

Do some search's on this site for "dash" and it may be helpful.

Sounds like you got a 77+ dashboard Gary, got any pictures?

Those are the photos taken by the guy who sold it to me. I can get some more detailed pictures if needed.

Thanks for your help.

Those are photos taken by the guy who sold me the dash. I can get some more detailed pics if necessary.

Gary,

I think I got it and you've bought a recovered dash, which by the way looks pretty good. Frequently people have some issues like you have - gauges, switches, and particularly glove box fitment problems. You may have to enlarge the opening to get the glove box in and then maybe re-drill a hole or so to find the best mounting to get your glove box cover to line up well. If you need to enlarge the opening, do it in small steps; if you open it up too much you can't go back.

If you've got too much slop in installed switches, try to beef up the switch body to make the fit tighter maybe with a foil tape, being careful not to short anything i.e. power/ground connection points.

Work with what you've got rather the buying a new dash cover; it's a pain to do and can be easily screwed up. Also, you can consider contacting the guy who sold you the dash and ask him about the glove box and if he has one that might work better for you. Do search on dash in the forum and you'll find some discussion talking about recovering the dash and getting glove box to fit well.

Or take the dash and the glove box to an auto upholstery guy/shop and can work wonders. Check gauge fitments, vents too. If you have multiple problems, take the whole shebang to the guy. That may be your best option and money well spent. No shame in going to a professional. After all, you're still going to have to re-install the dash in the car.

Good luck.

I'll second what Mark has said. I've redone 3 dashes; 2 72-74 and 1 post-77. No matter how careful you are to get things lined up, the glove box usually requires some fiddling to get it to fit. The door itself rarely fits right into the opening but can be shimmed to be as close as possible.

In the case of the gauges and switches, if the material isn't sitting right flush against the metal backing, this will cause some fitment issues as well. Not a big deal with the gauges as they're held in place with clamps but the switches require as tight as you can get the pad and metal together to fit properly.

The 72-76 dash is the same design so as mentioned, you've probably got a re-done dash that just needs some tweaking.

Yep, a LOT of fiddling.

So I'm going to have the same problems with the replacement dash from VB? Crap. I just ordered one yesterday. That's okay. I'll get it and if it looks like it's going to be a problem I'll return it and try to retool this one.

The interesting thing about the one out of the '74 is that the contours around the glove box door don't match the door itself. I think I could make the glove box work but the door is never going to look right.

Thanks to everyone for the help and suggestions. I thought this was going to be a simple replacement but it looks like I have some work ahead of me. It's been in the high 60's to high 70's here for several weeks and it's killing me that I can't drive this thing.

Here's a photo of the glove box in my GT. As you can see, it's not a perfect fit but it does latch and lock so I'll live with it. This is the later dash but I recall the 72-74 glove box in my V8 not fitting perfectly either.

Good luck!

What about the possiblilty that you have the 74 dash and the 77 glove box and lid?? A new dash will come with nothing cut out; you do that after installing. When Simon says he has the later dash in the pic, I think he means that he is showing you a 77-80 dash.

Chris is correct. The dash shown is a 77-80. The glove box door is flatter (in design) than the 72-76 door.

I seem to recall the box itself is very similar between the two designs but there might be just enough differences to mess things up.