[rotorwrench]

The 50 & 51 dash pretty much has to be removed to work on anything under it. Most of what holds it are the screws across the top. The bolts on each side and the steering wheel support is the rest of it. The E-brake handle & OD handle (if applicable) also need to be dropped. I disconnect the heat & vent cables too. The radio was already out of one of my Mercs so that made it a little lighter to work with.

Disconnecting the bullet terminals for wiring to the front & rear takes a tool and a learned technique to get them to separate from the multiple block connectors. I made a tool to spread the inner connector enough to get the bullets to turn loose without breaking the wire. I practiced on the ones under the hood before taking the dash ones apart. I replaced ALL the wiring under there including the wiring inside the steering column. My wiring insulation fell apart just touching those old wires.

I restored the whole dash and windshield before reinstalling it. It's a job but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Doing it any other way can lead to broken parts if a person isn't slow and methodical about it. Those old die cast waterfall type dashes can be brittle and NOTHING is easy to get to.