My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head

Pretty much everything I did is covered in the first two pages of the this thread. I made a template from a real rallye dash frame, used it to make my initial cuts to the dash with a set of tin snips making sure to leave some extra, and then just did a TON of fitting and trimming. It took forever. And you need to be able to weld or somehow attach the mounting tabs for the new dash, because obviously after you cut everything to fit the rally dash there won't be any mounting tabs.

Restoring the bezel is just patience. Lots of sanding with 220 grit or finer to remove all the imperfections, then cleaning up with alcohol and painting. I used Plast-Aid to do the plastic repairs, it worked pretty well and you can get it on eBay or at pool/spa supply stores. I really didn't do anything to the gauges, just cleaned them up. I did buy several rallye dash's though, so I picked the best set of gauges out of the few that I had.

As I mentioned already at the end of my little how-to, I wouldn't cut another standard dash frame up to fit a rallye dash. The rallye dash frames are easy enough to find, and not really all that expensive. If for some reason I HAD to do it again, I would remove the dash frame completely from the car. Working around everything under the dash is just a pain.

Hate to bug you, but just curious what you did about the heater controls when you swapped the rallye dash in. I doubt you used the original '74 controls (at the very least the fan switch looks wrong) but did you use the original cables with the different controls?

Edit - Never mind, found it 70 fit a 67 ? Non AC Heater box

Just bought a bezel and cluster so trying to put together what I am going to need.

Been looking back and pictures to make sure you didn’t already answer the question and can’t wait to get it in. Haven’t decided if I will cut my dash or look for another one (I know your opinion), just not excited about having to pull the windshield to get it out or it wouldn’t be a question. Also still debating about modding the one I got since it looks to be whole and complete. Just fairly shabby.