previous restorations and has seen the damage sand can wreak on still-
assembled instrument panels and their gauges and other components.
Working with the instrument panel out of the car also makes installing
the radio, switches and gauges much easier.
Even old wiring that will not be reused should be laid out, labeled
and kept until the new harness is installed.To make working on the instrument panel easier, Kopecky has slightly
modified a wheeled cart originally built to hold fenders and other body
parts. Such a cart is available for about $125 from suppliers that service
body shops, or stores with inventory to assist such work.
For this MoPar restoration, Kopecky sent out all of the switches,
motors and the special dome-shaped speedometer to J.C. Auto
Restoration, which bench tests all of the parts it restores. This company
replaces all of the inner parts to the components it restores, and even
restores the exterior of electric parts for a new finish and new
functionality. However, other parts of this restoration not handled by
such a one-stop supplier such as J.C. Auto Restoration require some care
and forethought. For example, the turn signal housings were rechromed
in this restoration, and since material is added during the plating
process, the openings for the bulb sockets was made smaller. Kopecky