Dash swaps

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

What do we have for dash swaps in here, I am gonna try and mess around with a 1g DSM dashboard this weekend and see what i can come up with, would make doing the turbo swap easier because I can use everything DSM.

[DroppedMitsu]

I had fitted a 1g dsm dash in my truck when I first 4g63t swapped my last truck. It could be made to work a stock unmodified cab, but it wasn't going to work for me with my body dropped and cut up truck.

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

Yeah I wont be bagging the truck, just modifying the suspension some where down the road to be a little better at handling. Its already dropped in the front and I hate it, rides like garbage. Good to know it will work.

Did it require any modification width wise? That's my only concern.

[DroppedMitsu]

No mods width wise I don't think, think it was pretty good fit that way. But I believe you might need to chop a little off of the front where it meets the firewall/windshield.

[Chargerx3]

Someone put a 1st gen Montero dash in theirs. Almost was a direct swap.

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

Yeah i saw that raider swap, not quite the look i want in my max, going for sportier, not offroadish lol. Although i did like the three gauges that I could change to boost, oil, wideband!

[pennyman1]

conquest dash could also be a good candidate for a dash swap.

[Tsiturbomightymax]

I saw that as well, was tempted with it but it seems to old (not into the setup). I will post pictures of the Dsm dash this weekend.

[geezer101]

Conquest dash is in the same era and Mitsubishi were in the habit of using the same base dimensions for corresponding vehicles. Might need custom mounts to mate the dash frame to the MM cab...

[speednsnake]

Yeah that Montero dash is mine. I'll put a pic up for those who've never seen it. I'll agree that it's quite "80's offroad truck", but since I have a 4x4 that's what I was going for. I wouldn't want to put one in a 2wd, and that center gauge pack unfortunately looks a bit out of place on our dashes.
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It was more or less the same size, but calling it a close to direct fit is a bit of an overstatement. The dash itself had to be modified in height, width, shape, and depth, and the steering column was moved over about an inch to fit in the correct spot. Ended up looking pretty much how I wanted, but it wasn't exactly a weekend job. The dash took as long as the entire drivetrain swap, mostly in trial and error. I still haven't hooked up the air ducts due to very tight clearances and a lack of time.

Since I happen to own two of these rigs, I've been looking into what to do with the 2wd one. I'm either going to strip the interior entirely for a racing style ("all of what you need, none of what you don't"), spruce up the factory interior with all of the optional features, or go for a Starquest swap. I love the look of both of the gauge styles that the Starquests got, but I'd probably look for the digi-dash first. If I ever get a chance to measure one I'll let you guys know how it goes. At a glance it looks way too deep for our trucks, but sometimes that can be worked with.

Word of warning, the wiring for these dashes is a nightmare. I used a complete montero harness for mine rather than fighting with adapting the original.

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

Yeah im gonna be swapping in a DSM dash so when I do my 4g63 swap everything will connect right up like factory.

I will be also have to figure out the dash vent routing because I will be driving this year round in New England summers and winters and will be adding A/C.

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

Unfortunately the dash got put on hold this weekend as I was doing a major side job for my friends brother and will be finishing up next weekend, maybe next weekend I will have some time to attempt some measurements. On a side note I did get some small things done to my truck, like a new pitman arm and got the reverse lights working again (wire came loose near transmission).

[DroppedMitsu]

Just FYI not much on the stock 4g63t engine harness even goes to the dash or gauges, all truck gauges and everything else work perfectly fine with a 4g63t swap. Only benefit I'd see is getting a working tachometer

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

I have done 4g63 swaps before, just trying to make everything in this truck a plug and play situation, I'm talking straight down to stock ignition to everything engine bay related, will be doing cruise control, A/C, Intermittent wipers, everything from a factory DSM into a mighty max chassis.

May even do a VR-4 3000gt steering wheel with factory radio button controls on it for a factory 93 3000gt radio!

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

So I had about an hour and a half today to rip my old dash out and test fit the DSM dash, it is pretty far off in the corners, I will be trying a 2g dash next as a 2g dash is about an inch or maybe slightly bigger than a inch wider. I would love to get a hold of a 91 galant dash as that seems to be almost an identical match but I fell like ill never find one around here.





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[speednsnake]

Doing a plug-n-play dash swap is... not easy. I had to take the ENTIRE harness from the donor Montero, bumper to bumper. Things like int. wipers are not a simple swap, nor is cruise control, AC, the vent blower, or any of the gauge sensors. Your vent ducts will need some special engineering to make work, and the heater core itself is mechanical, meaning that you are going to have to come up with something real clever to adapt the DSM's vent/heater controls. As for the fitment, my dash was initially too large, making the swap a bit easier. We toyed with the idea of using pieces of the stock dash to ease fitment, but it didn't pan out. Maybe it could work well for you. Either way I wish you luck with your swap :). I look forward to seeing the finished result.

[twinturbo3000gtvr4]

It's not my first time per say doing dash swaps, I can easily get everything to work but I'm looking to keep my defrost for the windshield, a 2g Dsm dash would be better because it is physically bigger, a galant vr4 dash is almost a direct swap. Heater core is t a problem, can always fill forewall holes and re drill for heater core lines. It's all fairly simple once you get the dash situated. Here's a pic of another project we are doing.


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[Chargerx3]

Looks nasty.

[alex_s817]

Evo dash in mine, wasnt too bad and put the double din in a much better location than with the factory MM dash. Width wise it's an inch narrower, then you have to cut the top back quite a bit. Running a vintage air aftermarket ac/heat setup so fitment to stock stuff is unknown.
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[Pilot Abilleen]

Evo dash in mine, wasnt too bad and put the double din in a much better location than with the factory MM dash. Width wise it's an inch narrower, then you have to cut the top back quite a bit. Running a vintage air aftermarket ac/heat setup so fitment to stock stuff is unknown.
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I would really like to see more photos of this Evo dash Swap.... There are a ton of Lancers at my local pick-n-pull, dashes go DIRT CHEAP!!!

[twoll86]

What about a Toyota pick up, colorado or s10 dash?

[twoll86]

http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/interior-electrical/0308mt-nissan-hardbody-dashboard-swap-install/

[twoll86]

Or a Lexus dash

[DroppedMitsu]

All depends on the width and depth of them, as well as how much fab work you want to do.

[maxdsm]

:clap1:Alex I have to admit .....that evo dash is :shock:

[alex_s817]

:clap1:Alex I have to admit .....that evo dash is :shock: thank you! finally got to re-install it after building my cage. Here are some pics of it all mounted up. Center mount wont be complete until I finish the new trans tunnel/floor so it's sagging a little bit. I snagged a lancer dash bar from a local yard and cut the dash mounting brackets off of it. Potentially not as clean as making completely new tabs, but saved me the aggravation of trying to get it dead straight on my own and cutting a bunch of little brackets. The sides of the dash were not trimmed at all, the top (its removable) was cut back like 7", just enough to tuck the sides of the dash behind the edge of the a-pillars. I've got it leaning a few degrees downward in comparison to the evo I measured the other day, but this was to achieve a clean window to dash lid line without the sides of the dash fitting unevenly. Any questions just let me know! thanks!

[alex_s817]

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Here's a pic of my old setup. It wasn't bad, and I was able to fit the evo center console and armrest without much modification18234

[alex_s817]

im running an AEM in this truck as well as a vintage air ac/heat assembly, so opted to go with this cluster and climate control to keep things cleaner and simplify the wiring. panels will be black, didnt know the carbon was fake when I ordered the panel lol
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[Pilot Abilleen]

interesting pedal setup

[alex_s817]

thanks! its an OBP floor mounted setup