Slowhand
Junior Member
While replacing the top dash cover on my '95.. the whole mainframe dash cracked & broke. So for the last few months I've been replacing the whole dash assembly.
I bought the mainframe from a guy who parted out a '97 2nd-gen, but I had to drive to a neighboring state to get it. (for the price it was worth the drive). However, since this was a used mainframe that was just as old as the original mainframe, I used aluminum tape on the back of the mainframe to keep it from cracking while assembling & reinstalling the dash. The aluminum tape worked great at stiffening the mainframe without any interference and the tape was also useful as a backing-plate when I plastic-welded a couple of holes from where a CB had been mounted.
The mainframe also needed to be painted to match the interior, so I used ColorBond spray-dye (med gray) with their pre-dye adhesive and it's a perfect match. Just hope it doesn't peel over time. (i also spray-dyed the original carpet while the seat was removed).
I bought the top cover off craigslist. The top cover is a new Mopar dash that was made in 2013. Mopar only offers their reissued dashes in one color -slate blue. When I bought the dash it was in the original box & I noticed that Mopar had placed a expiration date on the dash that read; Use Before 2043. lol.. But I didn't paint the top dash b/c the slate-blue is a nice contrast to the original seat colors & I also liked the darker colored top cover against the gray interior.
I finally cranked the truck yesterday after sitting for 7 months. It cranked on the 1st start, but I had pulled the coil wire and cranked it a few times to build oil pressure before I started the truck. After cranking the truck, it ran nice, with good oil pressure & didn't overheat while idling for an hour. It was good to see the ole truck running again..
I was hoping to have the truck back together this weekend, but I've found another unexpected problem. The aluminum bracket that secures the steering column has some stripped threads, so i'm going to buy a helicoil kit & rethread the screw hole. I also want to buy new bulbs for the instrument cluster & paint the seat brackets before I install the seat too.. So for now, it's still a ongoing project.
I bought the mainframe from a guy who parted out a '97 2nd-gen, but I had to drive to a neighboring state to get it. (for the price it was worth the drive). However, since this was a used mainframe that was just as old as the original mainframe, I used aluminum tape on the back of the mainframe to keep it from cracking while assembling & reinstalling the dash. The aluminum tape worked great at stiffening the mainframe without any interference and the tape was also useful as a backing-plate when I plastic-welded a couple of holes from where a CB had been mounted.
The mainframe also needed to be painted to match the interior, so I used ColorBond spray-dye (med gray) with their pre-dye adhesive and it's a perfect match. Just hope it doesn't peel over time. (i also spray-dyed the original carpet while the seat was removed).
I bought the top cover off craigslist. The top cover is a new Mopar dash that was made in 2013. Mopar only offers their reissued dashes in one color -slate blue. When I bought the dash it was in the original box & I noticed that Mopar had placed a expiration date on the dash that read; Use Before 2043. lol.. But I didn't paint the top dash b/c the slate-blue is a nice contrast to the original seat colors & I also liked the darker colored top cover against the gray interior.
I finally cranked the truck yesterday after sitting for 7 months. It cranked on the 1st start, but I had pulled the coil wire and cranked it a few times to build oil pressure before I started the truck. After cranking the truck, it ran nice, with good oil pressure & didn't overheat while idling for an hour. It was good to see the ole truck running again..
I was hoping to have the truck back together this weekend, but I've found another unexpected problem. The aluminum bracket that secures the steering column has some stripped threads, so i'm going to buy a helicoil kit & rethread the screw hole. I also want to buy new bulbs for the instrument cluster & paint the seat brackets before I install the seat too.. So for now, it's still a ongoing project.