The dash pod needed getting out and looking at as there were a couple of things that have been bothering me.
The speedo is under reading the actual speed by about 10mph, and, the dial glasses on the speedo and fuel gauge are loose and rattle.
What looks like a simple job to the uninitiatated :lol: of just removing four screws from each corner of the dash pod is actually a pita because of the heater levers that need to be removed first. No pics of this process but basically you can apparently remove the little white b@st@rd clips holding onto the removable tops of the levers by using a small socket 4 or 5 mm and sort of punch it out.
I decided to use brute force and a sharp stanley knife.
I just cut off enough of the clips to be able to push or pull them off the levers one at a time. In fact I still have enough of the clips left to re-use. I am not going to though, because the levers actually are held in firmly by a spring plate attaching to the inner part of the lever.
If I want to take the dash pod out again for any reason, like a new digital speedo, or a rev counter install, then it will be a lot easier without the clips holding in those heater levers.
I had to remove the radio and ash tray so I could my hand in to get at the white clips.
speedo cable unscrewed
There was quite a lot of dust behind the dash so time for a quick tidy up.
Before removing all those wires I took a few pics and also labelled each wire so I knew which terminal to put it back on. :shock:
Having done that I removed the dash pod completely
So in the warm now in the house I removed the dials and the metal rings that are supposed to hold the dial glasses firmly to the dash pod. They don't any more because they are held by small plastic posts and they have become brittle over the years and nearly all snapped off. The remains were mostly in the dash pod when I cleaned it out.
The gap around the dials
So looking at the rings they were a bit rusty and I sanded them down and put some paint on them, grey primer then Ford Nimbus grey which is a pretty good match. I also painted the bottom of the metal dash frame with Zinc primer as it was also slightly corroded.
I forgot to take pics during painting the top coat but I used two or three thin coats. I'm not really that good at painting, so I was quite pleased when no wrinkles appeared between each coat. :mrgreen:
Whilst waiting for the paint to dry I thought I'd have a go at the speedo. I found this thread on the Samba amongst others that gives guidance on how to do it.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=474291&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Basically you just remove and re-position the needle by however much it's out. However you have to be able to remove the needle first :evil:
I tried several methods using different tools and even the two teaspoons method but it would not budge.
So I was faced with a choice; am I prepared to remove the needle at any cost which may mean wrecking the speedo, or do I just leave it ?
I decided to leave it - for now.
I was actually using quite a bit of force and it seemed that the mechanism that the spindle is connected to would break rather than the damned needle come away!
I had to have a lager to calm my nerves :lol:
I wonder if any one else on EB has done this successfully.
I had an idea that maybe it had already been done once as there was a mark on the back of the speedo that wasn't original. If it had been done before maybe the PO glued on the needle and that it why I was having such a hard time with it.
Oh well, some you win some you lose.
So, now the paint was all dry on the dial rings I put it all back together and used some clear adhesive to stick the ring to the posts and therefore hold the glasses in.
The Nimbus grey is slightly lighter than the OG shade but I am pleased with the look. There was a lot of muck over the speedo dial and especially the warning lights under the fuel gauge so I carefully wiped them clean. I used an old tooth brush to clean the back of the speedo. The warning lamps are a lot brighter now.
The lights around the edge of the dash pod are some sort of reflection I think.
Can't wait to start camping in Monty again, but first I want to renew the lower ply panels inside.
Thanks for looking.