ZGB. Dash Installation

I was advised to start all the nuts and bolts before tightening any of them down. This was good advice. I had to shift the dash several times to start bolts, but all of them went in without issue. Here are their locations.

Once all of them were in, I tightened them all and replaced the covers.

Then I worked on bolting the steering column back into place. I first put one bolt in to support the column after positioning the two rear mounting points. The nuts were installed and finally the last bolt.

I installed the plastic cover over the steering shaft knuckle. It just clipped on.

The wiring connections were next. Starting on the driver's side, the large white connector had to be connected and attached to the dash frame.

The trunk release was reattached. It goes into the slot on the plastic and the nut holds it in place from behind.

Now I reattached the fuse block. It slips into a slot on the upper mount and two screws hold it in place. The two screws are threaded to fit into blind nuts so I was careful not to use the screws meant for nylon inserts.

This large black connector had to be reattached to the dash frame.

That finished the connectors under the dash on the driver's side.

I moved to the passenger's side and started reconnecting things under the dash.

First was this wire bundle on a white zip tie type anchor. It attached to the metal just above where the glove box fits.

Then the connectors on the far right side were connected. There is the large one with brown foam around it and the white one that connects at the fan. The yellow one is for the airbag. I installed it later.

Next was installing the A/C and heater controls. There are three control cables that are snaked back into the dash. The longest one is fed up toward the top of the fan unit. The other two go to each side of the heater core assembly.

Once the unit is close to in, the connectors must be reattached. There is one to the A/C switch, one to the defroster switch and a large one in the middle for the fan switch. The cable that they are attached to has an anchor that attaches at the rear of the control assembly.

The control cables all attached by slipping the end loop over a post and pushing the cable cover back into the clip. I used the old marks to position the cable cover into the clip. They may need adjustment later.

Now I installed my white faced instrument cluster. It has three connectors to plug into the back and it is held into place with four screws. Then the instrument cluster hood snapped on. The steering column cover lower half is held into place with two screws for a nylon insert and the one in the rear is a threaded screw for a blind nut. The top half snaps on.

The passenger's side airbag was installed with two bolts and two nuts. The connector is the yellow one mentioned earlier. I also installed the glove box after connecting the yellow connectors together. The glove box has a pin on the lower left side and a clip on the lower right that snaps onto a pin. The two stops had to be positioned before snapping it on.

Now I installed the pillar covers. Since I cracked the passenger's side cover, I got another one from Flyin' Miata out of a parts car.

I even installed some louvered vents from a Mitsubishi Eclipse. I love those. Now the dash is almost finished.

I have purchased a wood grain surround and it should be here this week. I will install it once it arrives. It will match the wood steering wheel, e-brake handle and shifter knob that I already have. I will use the original steering wheel until the painting is finished.

I also am going to replace the clock spring since the airbags deployed. Tom at The Parts Group is sending me one. Thanks again Tom!

This job is not bad after learning all the attachment points and connections to remove. It does have many steps, but I would do it again if I needed to. I will always come back to this to see the pictures so I can make the job go smoother.

I guess my success will be measured when it is powered up and everything works!