How hard is it to remove the front main dash "panel" from a Scout 80?

I am in the midst of making a new headlight harness and am seriously contemplating ripping out the dash...cutting the face up...and making an overlay panel to relocate gauges, light switches, and have space for extra shit in the future.

My cage is about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches from the dash and if it is just the bolts that go on the face...I might just take it off...

What do you say?

plan on cutting ,or drilling some bolts.

There's about a dozen of those big pan head phillips screws top and bottom, the two big thumb screws the hold the windshield (which you'll need to tilt forward). The hardest part will be removing the steering column (or just cut the piece at the bottom of the dash)

I have found that the easiet way is to get a sawzall, torch, or plasma and cut away everything that does not look like a dash. Then all you have left is the dash, making it vey easy to work on.

It won't be bad, unscrew the gauges and push them in, pull you defrosters off, and pull the column. Then it's a handful of screws and it should drop out.


When I made my dash, I stripped it out and traced it on cardboard. Then I bolted that in, sat in the seat, and with a pencil I outlined my tubes and sketched out my gauges. Then, plasma plus dremel and I have a new dash.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Fryloc/scout%20build/Picture080.jpg

It won't be bad, unscrew the gauges and push them in, pull you defrosters off, and pull the column. Then it's a handful of screws and it should drop out.


When I made my dash, I stripped it out and traced it on cardboard. Then I bolted that in, sat in the seat, and with a pencil I outlined my tubes and sketched out my gauges. Then, plasma plus dremel and I have a new dash.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Fryloc/scout%20build/Picture080.jpg

It helps when your beer is as cold as the Rockies :D

There's about a dozen of those big pan head phillips screws top and bottom, the two big thumb screws the hold the windshield (which you'll need to tilt forward). The hardest part will be removing the steering column (or just cut the piece at the bottom of the dash)

Thanks guys...I have never pulled one of these dashes and if it was going to be too much to hassle with...I was going to say FUCK IT...and just put another light switch and harness in...:homer:

Sounds like it is just the top and bottom row of pan heads then...

My steering column is not stock so it will probably fall out any way...

Thanks to you fuckers I now have another "project" to add to my list :shaking:

It helps when your beer is as cold as the Rockies :D

damn skippy!! :beer:

Easy Peasy....


Just have a drill handy if any of the screws are rusted in there.
I replaced all my screws with fine thread bolts.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/mochamike/Scout/primered-dash.gif

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/mochamike/Scout/Finished-Dash1.gif

It helps when your beer is as cold as the Rockies :D

A little beer helps me think. :D