Dash bent weird. How? And how to fix?

[K10-Kansas]

A previous owner somehow bent the dash. How in the world could this have happened? Also, I pushed up on this with a few hundred pounds of pressure to lift the left side to match the right side and it barely moved. Any ideas on straightening this up?

[Getter-Done]

PO probably pry it down to fit the late model steering column.
Do you have a welder?
I would make a 4-legged stand.(incorporate seat bolt holes in the fixture for no movement)
So that you could use a bottle jack underneath it.
To slowly move it back in shape.

Thats my first idea if the floorpan is solid enough.
Hope this helps.

[Grumpy old man]

That's accident damage , someones right knee did that , use the gauge cluster bezel to check alignment .

[Grumpy old man]

The right side of the dash ( right of the column ) is the weaker side of the lower dash , There's no reason for someone to intentionally bend that section .

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

That's accident damage , someones right knee did that , use the gauge cluster bezel to check alignment .

Good point
The gauge cluster will tell the story.

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

The right side of the dash ( right of the column ) is the weaker side of the lower dash , There's no reason for someone to intentionally bend that section .

So It is posible that it needs to be pulled down.

[special-K]

I wonder was the hoop ever cut and rewelded? I'd cut it loose, get the dash straight, and re-weld the hoop. Use your dash bezel for reference. Probably was an accident. Look the truck over for front end hit clues.

[Warrens69GMC]

The hoop is what's wrong IMO. I will bet if you center it again while pulling down on the right side it will go back into position. throw a level against the lower dash and see where it is high/low.

[Richard]

Does not look like 1.5" in pic, maybe .5-.75 ? Holding bezel up is a good idea. Would check the plane that bezel attaches to on lower edge. If lower center section is pushed back toward firewall it would pull up.

[68 C10 Driver]

That is really odd. Not sure if that is accident damage, I would think that if it were, the right side would have been pushed inward toward the firewall, not downwards.

Here are a couple pics of mine when I was refurbishing the dash.

[K10-Kansas]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

PO probably pry it down to fit the late model steering column.
Do you have a welder?
I would make a 4-legged stand.(incorporate seat bolt holes in the fixture for no movement)
So that you could use a bottle jack underneath it.
To slowly move it back in shape.

Thats my first idea if the floorpan is solid enough.
Hope this helps.

After removing a brace bolt, it bent back up fairly easily.

[K10-Kansas]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

That's accident damage , someones right knee did that , use the gauge cluster bezel to check alignment .

Great idea. I went ahead and lined up the broken guage cluster and will further tweak it with the new guage cluster when I set it in there.

[K10-Kansas]

Originally Posted by special-K

I wonder was the hoop ever cut and rewelded? I'd cut it loose, get the dash straight, and re-weld the hoop. Use your dash bezel for reference. Probably was an accident. Look the truck over for front end hit clues.

Yeah, that worked. After unbolting the hoop it bent back in place. I think there is a chance the previous owner bent the dash and busted the guage cluster bezel trying to fit a late 70s steering column in there.

[special-K]

I bet you are right about that. Glad you got it straightened out

[54blackhornet]

You guys ever watch Columbo ? Great detective work !

[K10-Kansas]

Getting ready to put the new steering column in I see that the previous owner cut a portion of the support away that holds the left side of the half-moon clamp for the steering column. How important is that half-moon clamp?

[special-K]

I think you're going to want to fix that. All the weight of the column hangs off that clamp and it helps stabilize that area across the bottom of the dash where you just straightened it. It's the other half of the upper 'U' that bridges that gap to brace that area

[K10-Kansas]

Thanks. The right side nut for the half moon clamp can be connected but the left side is gone. I guess my choices are to:

strap it down to anything,

weld in something to strap it to,

go looking for a replacement part to replace the part that's cut.

[K10-Kansas]

Another picture of the cut support

[K10-Kansas]

Another picture.

[Rods]

Just my two cents but It seems to me the best approach to fix your situation is to just replace the entire pedal assembly

It would be the best way to correct someone else’s mistake instead of trying to repair it.

The pedal assembly is a important safety feature in the bracing up of the dash and firewall and by replacing the pedal assembly you will be able to correct the dash alignment and what other mods were done by PO in that area.

That’s a tough area to weld at especially with all the wires and its a small working area.

I think replace pedal assembly and you will be happier and finish with less work and worry and a better repair in the end.

[K10-Kansas]

Originally Posted by Rods

Just my two cents but It seems to me the best approach to fix your situation is to just replace the entire pedal assembly

It would be the best way to correct someone else’s mistake instead of trying to repair it.

The pedal assembly is a important safety feature in the bracing up of the dash and firewall and by replacing the pedal assembly you will be able to correct the dash alignment and what other mods were done by PO in that area.

That’s a tough area to weld at especially with all the wires and its a small working area.

I think replace pedal assembly and you will be happier and finish with less work and worry and a better repair in the end.

Yeah, I'd rather do it right. I found a used assembly online.

[old51sedan]

Originally Posted by K10-Kansas

A previous owner somehow bent the dash. How in the world could this have happened? Also, I pushed up on this with a few hundred pounds of pressure to lift the left side to match the right side and it barely moved. Any ideas on straightening this up?

I had a problem with mine being bent a little, I found that an old fashion bumper jack work well for what I needed to do.

[K10-Kansas]

Originally Posted by old51sedan

I had a problem with mine being bent a little, I found that an old fashion bumper jack work well for what I needed to do.

When you pushed up on one side did the other side try to come up also?

[old51sedan]

Originally Posted by K10-Kansas

When you pushed up on one side did the other side try to come up also?

No, but what worked for me may not work for you depending on the situation, all I can say is if you have an old bumper jack it may be worth a try.