delco1946 Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Can anyone recommend a decent way to clean up the stock metal dash support structure? Mine is rusty (as I'm sure everyones is), whats the best way to clean it, without removing the whole thing? I realize it won't be perfect but as long as its better than current. Everything is see seems awful messy or an acid which i assume will destroy the plastic dash parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve83 Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 No, plastics are generally NOT affected by acid. But I still wouldn't do that. If you're not willing to take it out & apart, there's not much point to messing with it. Anything you do with the dash assembled/installed will look worse (to anyone who looks up there) and NOT help anything. Either do it right once & forget about it, or just forget about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco1946 Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 No, plastics are generally NOT affected by acid. But I still wouldn't do that. If you're not willing to take it out & apart, there's not much point to messing with it. Anything you do with the dash assembled/installed will look worse (to anyone who looks up there) and NOT help anything. Either do it right once & forget about it, or just forget about it. my dash, radio, and heater is out, i meant without removing the metal structure that the dash and components attach too. Just washed and cleaned everything.so far its not been too messy actually. I just put towels on the floor and sprayed things down section by section- one sprayer with clean water the other with soap. Found 3 dead mice . I might at the very least, apply a thin filmed oil to protect the good metal and reduce oxygen and moisture exposure to the metal. Also in this process i realized that the guy who put in the current radio ruined my bezel faceplate to make it fit. I also picked up a clock at the JY (my truck never came with one)....so if anyone has an extra rosewood XLT with radio and clock options for sale, let me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 my dash, radio, and heater is out, i meant without removing the metal structure that the dash and components attach too. Just washed and cleaned everything.so far its not been too messy actually. I just put towels on the floor and sprayed things down section by section- one sprayer with clean water the other with soap. Found 3 dead mice . I might at the very least, apply a thin filmed oil to protect the good metal and reduce oxygen and moisture exposure to the metal. Also in this process i realized that the guy who put in the current radio ruined my bezel faceplate to make it fit. I also picked up a clock at the JY (my truck never came with one)....so if anyone has an extra rosewood XLT with radio and clock options for sale, let me know There are products like Ospho and Rust Check that you paint or spray on and they convert the rust to something that stops the rust. You might try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 my dash, radio, and heater is out, i meant without removing the metal structure that the dash and components attach too. Just washed and cleaned everything.so far its not been too messy actually. I just put towels on the floor and sprayed things down section by section- one sprayer with clean water the other with soap. Found 3 dead mice . I might at the very least, apply a thin filmed oil to protect the good metal and reduce oxygen and moisture exposure to the metal. Also in this process i realized that the guy who put in the current radio ruined my bezel faceplate to make it fit. I also picked up a clock at the JY (my truck never came with one)....so if anyone has an extra rosewood XLT with radio and clock options for sale, let me know I have a user bezel with intact radio face plate, but no clock holes. You can always cut them out if you are careful but you canāt un-cut a radio opening š. On the clock, be aware that the 80/81 clocks and wiring harness were different than the 82-86 clocks and harness. I do not know if the connector to the main loom changed or not, but the connector to the clock did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco1946 Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 I have a user bezel with intact radio face plate, but no clock holes. You can always cut them out if you are careful but you canāt un-cut a radio opening š. On the clock, be aware that the 80/81 clocks and wiring harness were different than the 82-86 clocks and harness. I do not know if the connector to the main loom changed or not, but the connector to the clock did. Oh no I didnāt realize that. I donāt recall what year I pulled it out of but itās connector didnāt match anything I had. Iāll have to look up the electrical schematics to see if I can rig something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Oh no I didnāt realize that. I donāt recall what year I pulled it out of but itās connector didnāt match anything I had. Iāll have to look up the electrical schematics to see if I can rig something I put a later clock in an earlier truck a few years ago. If I remember correctly I pulled the pins out of the connector and plugged each one individually into the mating connector on my truck, and then wrapped that with electrical tape to ensure it didn't unplug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Also in this process i realized that the guy who put in the current radio ruined my bezel faceplate to make it fit. I also picked up a clock at the JY (my truck never came with one)....so if anyone has an extra rosewood XLT with radio and clock options for sale, let me know Not XLT, but.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-1980-1984-Ford-F-Series-Bronco-Radio-Dash-Bezel-Woodgrain-With-Clock/223449400843?epid=1123872360&hash=item34069f460b:g:qKsAAOSwbsRa0V1IĀ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Also in this process i realized that the guy who put in the current radio ruined my bezel faceplate to make it fit. I also picked up a clock at the JY (my truck never came with one)....so if anyone has an extra rosewood XLT with radio and clock options for sale, let me know Not XLT, but.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-1980-1984-Ford-F-Series-Bronco-Radio-Dash-Bezel-Woodgrain-With-Clock/223449400843?epid=1123872360&hash=item34069f460b:g:qKsAAOSwbsRa0V1I Iām guessing 80/81 Bronco since it does not have any nameplate mounting holes? You can always add a nameplate š Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco1946 Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 Also in this process i realized that the guy who put in the current radio ruined my bezel faceplate to make it fit. I also picked up a clock at the JY (my truck never came with one)....so if anyone has an extra rosewood XLT with radio and clock options for sale, let me know Not XLT, but.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-1980-1984-Ford-F-Series-Bronco-Radio-Dash-Bezel-Woodgrain-With-Clock/223449400843?epid=1123872360&hash=item34069f460b:g:qKsAAOSwbsRa0V1I Iām guessing 80/81 Bronco since it does not have any nameplate mounting holes? You can always add a nameplate š I have an extra connector mounted near the bottom of my dash that has 4 wires going to it, and its in the same area as the connector that the clock was connected to in the JY truck - so I think Gary's idea is the workaround. I might try and cut out the clock holes mostly for kicks, keep my current radio for a couple weeks, and keep that bezel so that if i ever decide that installing the original radio w 8 track is a bad idea, i'll already have the part. I don't have the knobs for my original radio and i'm not super excited to use pliers to change stations/turn it on/off lol. I went to the Portland Swap meet which was hugeeeeeee. Nary a single interior panel/dash to be found. I think i'm learning that when you find a compatible part of ebay, just buy it. And i might be changing my mind on nutmeg parts (cough *armrests*) - i may just start hoarding anything i find lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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