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My dash swap pics

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black98svt

CEG'er
Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Messages
165
Location
Kansas City, MO
My dash on my SVT was incredibly warped and ugly, and I wanted to do the "recall fix" on it. So when I was at the local "pick n pull" junkyard when I stumbled upon a Mystique with MNB interior in it with a perfect dash. Wow! I didn't even know they made Mystiques with MNB interior until I layed my eyes upon this certain car. Out came the dash with a little elbow grease and $59.99 out of my pocket. I tackled this project on Sunday with my father-in-law (he was looking for something to do)and it took a total of about 4 hours for the removal/install. Here's a couple of crappy pics of the job....

Old warped dash

dash002.jpg


Scary looking huh?
dash004.jpg


Me hard at work (prepping harness for install)

dash005.jpg


Final product!

dash006.jpg


Everything worked properly the first go around and I couldn't be happier. Also a thanks to my father-in-law for his HUGE garage and help.
 
Look good i need to do mine soon..Its not that bad i will probally try the Dash Warp repair kit..Not to bust your bubble but what year did you get that dash out of..It appears to be a Post 98 meaning it could warp again..
 
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fordman302 said:
Look good i need to do mine soon..Its not that bad i will probally try the Dash Warp repair kit..Not to bust your bubble but what year did you get that dash out of..It appears to be a Post 98 meaning it could warp again..
Click to expand...

It came out of a 2000. I know those are a problem child too, however a garage and tinted windows should prolong that I hope.
 
God I hated doing that. Why did you drop the steering column though, I just took the steering wheel off and there was plenty of room.
 
nice job, good pics - I would hate to have to put the dash back in and hook everything back up.... destruction is easier and more fun
 
much much better. tinted window and a front window shade when your in a parking lot might help some:shrug: it looks as if your getting some warp around the guage bezel on the far left.
 
FWIW I don't think it's MNB. It's close though. I've seen cars at te junkyard with that dark blue. Even found a pre98 manual center console. I've been meaning to get it so see how close it is to matching.
 
BrApple said:
since the dash warp kit instructions basically have you remove the dash they say to just drop the column also
Click to expand...

i was going to say because I have removed my dash 2 times already and both times I just removed the airbag and then steering wheel.


black98svt did you remember to connect those hoses to the vents on the side of the dash? Its a real pain but it must be done.
 
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todras said:
FWIW I don't think it's MNB. It's close though. I've seen cars at te junkyard with that dark blue. Even found a pre98 manual center console. I've been meaning to get it so see how close it is to matching.
Click to expand...

To my knowledge there were only two colors of blue offered in Contours/Mystiques.
Atlantis Blue - all pre98 blues
Midnight Blue - all 98+ blues

The dashboard obviously came out of a 99 or 00 Mystique (confirm, black98svt says 2000) so it must have been MNB.
 
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I found a mint Atlantis Blue steering wheel at the junkyard this year. When I put it next to my SVT's interior, there was barely a difference and I didn't care cause it's hard to find the leather wrapped steering wheel's in good shape. I will be swapping it out when I start my engine build/swap :cool: That dash looks great!
 
Nice work...
My dash made it through 5 years in Michigan without so much as a bend in it.
2 years in Florida and she is starting to warp... UGH...
 
Thanks for the compliments guys! It was a pretty tedious job as you can see, but like I said I couldn't be happier with the results. Fortunately everything worked the first time, even the side vents. Let's just hope it last as this is a post 98 dash. LOL
 
black98svt - is there a reason why you didn't just install a fix kit on the new dash before you installed it? You probably could have addressed all of the other known problem spots as well. Don't get me wrong, the "new" dash looks good, I was just wondering if there was a reason why you didn't do a preemptive attack on that bad boy! Nice work & congrats on the find & price.

-Aaron
 
It does look very nice.

Psshh.. I dont have to worry about my dash warping. The old woman that owned my car originally had it serviced regularly at the dealership so they installed the "fix it" kit on the dash. The only thing about it is, it is warping around the gauge bezel some. But it kinda looks natural to the unknowing eye.
 
looks nice :cool: im pulling my dash right now :blackeye:
 
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Nice work. Looks 100 times better than before.

I just can't imagine pulling the dash and swapping with another warping dash (99-00) with no repair kit.

For me, it'd either be a 98-98.5 dash or 99-00 with repair kit.
 
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