Black 92 spec Dash

[cozmeister]

Collected my new dash from Manchester yesterday, black and '92 shape - will post pics before, after and during the install soon

[RST-Steve]

Sounds good Chris! 

[Nash]

Theres some Black Carpet on ebay Chris, not going for much.

[cozmeister]

Just to let you all know - this 'conversion' is a BITCH!!!

Started it this weekend, and have nearly completed it.

The top half fits directly - no modifications to anything needed.  Though, what you WILL need is the heater controls and cables from a 92 spec Sierra, as the pre-92 ones are a completely different shape.

The centre console WILL fit IF you take the mounting brackets from a 90 spec (or later) Sierra.  One bracket's a T-Shaped one for the back of the console, and the other's right in front of the gear stick.  A small piece of plastic needs to be removed from the brown gaiter mounting bracket, as this isn't present on the MT75.

More in a bit...

[RST-Steve]

Sounds like a bit of a pain in the aRSe to fit lol, but i bet it looks superbbbbbb tho!!!

Pics, Pics, Pics!!

[cozmeister]

Pics are nearby...

Next...

The whole thing is a slightly different design to the original dash.  More obvious differences include the lack of high frequency speakers in the lower dash panels.  This poses a slight problem, as in the gap that these speakers created, on each side, Ford have fitted a control unit - one for the AWS (lights out/doors open) and one for the central locking.

The 92 spec dash has a wider glove box and a second, smaller glove box on the drivers side.  When the Mark 2 Sierra was face lifted the first time, cost-cutting determined that dual cone speakers in the door are cheaper than two component speakers; one in the door and one in the dash.  Modern cars have a component setup similar to the Sierras original setup - most have high frequency units on top of the dash or in the upper part of the door, and a bass/mid range driver in the lower part of the door.  Ford got it right the first time!!!

Anyways, because these modules are mounted where they are, they prevent these wider glove boxes from fitting.  I removed the passenger side module and bracket, and the passenger side part fits nicely.  All I need for that side now is somewhere for that ECU to go, and the bracket for the L6 and ABS modules.

More to follow...

[cozmeister]

Notice that the heater controls need to be the 92 spec ones, which are a completely different shape - the older ones like mine just don't fit in the hole.  I nearly swapped them from my spare Sierra but would have had to strip the lower dash out of that (which I couldn't be arsed to do) to detach the control cables from the blower unit.

Also spot the 'T' bracket required to mount the rear of the >90 spec centre console, along with the bracket at the front of the gear lever gaiter.


As promised:

[RST-Steve]

Nice work Chris, all looks spot on!

Be interesting to see the finished dash all plugged in and working when i see ya again.... probably @ Central Day!

[cozmeister]

Yeh, hope it'll be finished by then ...

[Churchy]

Fuck all that for a laugh lol !

[Kevin B]

I always fancied fitting the late spec dash to mine if I found one at the right price, however since reading this, I think I'll put that idea on the back burner!!

[cozmeister]

If you've got a 90 spec car you're gonna find less problems than I did, because the lower half, including centre console are already the right shape.  The wiring loom's also similar too - the 90-92 spec Sierras have pretty much the same loom, so connecting the heated window switches is a doddle - plug and play.

[tabetha]

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[cozmeister]

The electrical difference for the heated screens is odd-ish.  The front window switch is just wired differently, as far as I can tell, and I've not been able to decipher the wiring diagrams well enough to start cutting wires and swapping relays.

The rear window on 90 onwards Sierras is on a 10 minute timer relay (and the switch plug's built differently too) which is triggered by a 'one time' switch, instead of the earlier style 'latch' switch, which switched the rear window either on or off - it would also stay on until you switched it off.

I'll have to ask Matt very nicely to examine the wiring diagrams and request his expert insight...

[matt]

yeah, bring the diagrams along to the next meet and i wil try to guide you through them in laymans terms. I cant promise anything though cos i hate auto wiring as it is shit!!!!!!!!  and thats putting it politely. Put it this way, if you wired your house the same way as a car is wired, the only light you would get when you flicked the switch would be from you house burning down.

[tabetha]

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[cozmeister]

On a plus note however, I think I've weedled out my ABS problem - looks like the main ABS relay's had enough - the two 12 volt lines it provides offer less than 3 volts, so off to Ford again...

[tabetha]

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[cozmeister]

The green one under the dash.