Gladiator (Kaiser) dash in later model

[royaustin2000]

Any one know if a gladiator dash will fit in a 81 cab? Has anyone done it?

[Elliott]

Yes it will fit because I went the other way on my '65. There are some differences around how the pedal assembly mounts/hangs and the support rods around the steering column. Towtruck (Eric) put a modified early dash in his late model J10 also.

[AKAMC]

Is there any place on teh forum that shows the different styles of dashes made over the years? Kind of like that Grille photo done in the grille poll thread.

[Elliott]

Not that I know of, but I think Eric posted pics of his modified early dash on the forum here somewhere...

[Towtruck]

There's a current thread titled "Interiors" in the General Tech section with some photos of modified dash possibilities. (I welded the left half of a late dash to the right half of an early unit...sort of a Mustang balanced look). And there's a thread dated 2-15-2006 called "Interior Pictures and Opinions", which has excellent views of the early dashboards. The basic shape of the sheet metal under the dash pads is all the same, although the stampings on the later units is full of nasty wrinkles and that big speaker hole. The early stampings are perfectly smooth.

But as Elliott explained, there are fairly big issues with steering column mounts and wiring when going from early to late and vice versa. Another issue is the fit of the air conditioning unit and defroster vents...the plastic difusers are different between the early and late dahsboards, and it's not as simple as swapping the difusers. If you don't have/want A/C it doesn't matter (or if you have the early unit to go with the early dash).

This is an early photo of the dash mod in my truck.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/bittersc/DSCN2922-1.jpg

[Gambler68]

I have a spare early interior part of the HVAC if anyone's doing a swap..and a spare outer metal heaterbox and blower fan setup. None of it swaps with later setups besides the bolt holes I believe.

[royaustin2000]

Thanks, I'm just putting ideas together for what I want to do, I kind of like
the look of the older dashes, and I was thinking aftermarket gauges might be easier to fit in the spot where the older dashes speedometer and
idiot gauges were. This info is helpful. I'll check out the references.

[Elliott]

Check with Zack at www.zmjeeps.com (http://www.zmjeeps.com) about dash panel upgrades, you may like what he has to offer.