Pop out switch Install

[Bruce of MN]

I took out the pop out a few years ago and put in a modern replacement, which worked fine. Recently, posts here about rebuilds by Dick Crabtree inspired me to send mine to him. It came back and looks great. Installing it is proving to be tough for some reason. The three #6-32 bolt holes in the switch don’t all line up with the holes in the housing on the back of the dash panel and the armored cable presses hard against the rim of the panel, keeping the four tapped holes in the dash from lining up.

Any suggestions? The switch sits okay in the panel with only two bolts into the switch body.

[ericr]

is your instrument panel a repro?

[Bruce of MN]

I don't think so and I don't remember it being so tough to reinstall the assembly when I was using the popout.

[springerpete]

Bruce: When faced with a similar situation I used an original panel and it was still a problem getting the holes to match. Checked with other club members and they said that the "pot metal" the switch is made of often changes shape with age. Seems funny but I guess that is what happened. Just keep trying other panels or ream holes a bit. Bill

[rotorwrench]

Original Ford stuff generally always has good fit. Zinc die castings corrode but I've never experienced warpage without cause on a die cast zinc part. I would fit the dash to the switch body before trying to install anything just to make sure of fit prior to assembly. A person may need a round needle file to loosen up the hole fit for one or more screw holes on the cup in the back side of the dash.

The 1928/29 armored cable (29" + or - 5/16" length) was shorter than the 1930/31 (30.5" to 31" length) so a person has to be sure that it's long enough to give good fit. If it's too long then that would have to be pulled through the firewall grommet so the dash will fit right. Getting that armored cable to go through the tunnel on the bottom of some fuel tanks can be a bear and then getting the grommet in place is another thing. The cable needs to be free enough to get the distributor screwed back onto it as well. These things can be a chore sometimes.

[JayJay]

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On my late-30 panel (no light in middle, round speedo) the two side screw holes on the instrument panel cup are L-shaped slots. You insert the pop-out and rotate it slightly to get the top hole to line up. Even then, the top hole doesn't line up perfectly. Some time in the future I'll likely "stretch" the holes in the side of the cup to allow the top hole to more easily rotate into position. FWIW, I believe my panel is likely a repro, as it's stamped "Made in Germany" and doesn't have the slot at the top for the instrument panel light.

JayJay