Normally I bag n' tag, take pictures etc.. However I was starting to work on floor repairs and realized I didn't want all the dust in the instrument cluster. So, I removed it in a hurry to move on. Now many, many months later I'm a bit confounded. I'm ALMOST SURE there was a narrow 1/2" trim piece that covers where the cluster brim screws onto the underside of the dash eyebrow. Emphasis on "ALMOST SURE."

I have been going crazy (4+ hours searching at this point) looking for a part I THINK I had..., but am not 100% sure and can be found NOWHERE! I do have one piece and assumed that there were similar pieces on the cluster AND the glove box. However, that piece does not line up with the last hole by about 1/2", but it does match the holes on the glove box side. Thus I assume the one piece I have is a glove box only piece???

So, did the '61 dash use a trim piece over the cluster brim or was it only something of an "upgrade" and possibly used with a padded/vinyl dash (mine is all metal, a 700 model)? I did a significant amount of Google Image searching and found a number of examples. The green dash appears to NOT have the trim and the black dash does. The manual shows a piece "like" the trim piece but calls it a "seal." Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm losing my mind..., or there never was the trim piece on the cluster.

I do not think I have ever seen a seal on a dash before.

It isn't a seal. It is a metal trim piece that I'm about 99% sure was only used with the padded dash.
FYI the padded dash was optional on the 900 Monza too. I have '63 and '64 convertibles without padded dashes.

Joel
Northlake, TX
5 Ultravans, 145 Corvairs and counting...

It's interesting because the green dash above looks like it is without the metal trim piece but has the appearance of a black rubber gasket that slightly protrudes around the edge. Odd too that the manual calls the piece a "seal" instead if "trim."

Anyway, the instrument cluster is in. It looks so simple... . The steering wheel is off, the column dropped, I have no defrost ducts at this time, the heater controls are removed, the seats are out and I have an outdoor lounge cushion to lay on. Yet it was a hassle to get in properly. I used cardboard around the edges but still scuffed the newly painted dash. Those little extensions on the eyebrow that go horizontal at the ends need to go upward and inward and the only way it was accomplished was with a prying screwdriver. With things like this I marvel that cars get built efficiently.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2023 08:40PM by wittsend.

Interesting. I've removed and installed a ton of those and don't recall ever messing with that horizontal part.
GM called lots of things strange names. I wouldn't think twice about that. Does the parts manual say anything about using the "seal" with the padded dash?

Joel
Northlake, TX
5 Ultravans, 145 Corvairs and counting...