Bought an '88 F-150. Good motor and tranny. Trouble is, previous owner was going to replace the heater core and tore the dash completely out (and up) getting to it. I got a replacement dash at the junk yard. Called some body shops and they either don't want to tackle it or want a fortune. Where to start? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

 

Install it exactly the opposite of how you removed the one at the boneyard. It's just a dashboard. You hang it, to hang other stuff on. Not sure if I would buy a truck from someone that stupid/ignorant (you pick). Dismantlement a dash to remove the heater coil? The dash might only be the tip of the iceberg! A maintenance/repair manual is only $17.oo!

 

Thanks. But I didn't have to remove the junkyard one. They already had some separate units removed. I think I could finally figure it out, except for all those dangling wires. Good chance to learn, I guess.

 

Yep. Start tracing the wires to what they're connected to & tag em. The connection for the dash instruments panel is just a 1 block connector. Hope you grabbed one w/ a tach, because it doesn't require any extra wiring. When you plug dash instrument panel in, it'll just work.

 

most of the wires will "place them selfs" i used to work at a body shop and yeah dash jobs are time consuming. jus pay attention to the detail and if a wire clip is missing or broke zip ties do wonders. take your time and "get the big picture" when doing and it should go in jus fine, do it right=do it once.

 

This guy's seen the movie a few times! The wires do have a "position" memory. Maybe some boneyard underdash pics & notetakeing will help also. The wire color codes usually stay pretty static during a generation.

 

Thanks for advice. I'm going in. Pray for me.

 

Go ahead and pray, but pack a lunch too!

 

A work in progress. Removed all the plugs from the junkyard dash. Found the ones on my truck that match up. While removing the instrument cluster, I guess the spring on the prndl indicator came loose. (I assume there's a spring inside.) Now I not only have to put in the dash, but try to fix that. This is fun.