The next part of the revival of Dylan McCool’s 1973 Dodge Challenger involves the interior. This car sat longer than I’ve been alive, so a full check-out is certainly part of the program, and inspecting and restoring the dashboard is without a doubt high on the list, if for one reason: you have to look at the interior when you drive it, and no matter how neat things look on the outside, a crappy-looking dash will bother you. It’ll be worse if the dash doesn’t even work, and in some Mopar products, you run the risk of electrical fire if things aren’t perfect back there. It’s a wise decision to take it apart and to check everything over, even if it seems like overkill for a car that’s just going out on Power Tour.

First up is the windshield and back window. Chrysler products used a ton of butyl, that tar-like stuff that’ll stick to sunlight if you let it, nevermind your skin. In the case of an E-body, it’s just recessed in and careful pressure application will free the glass up. Once that’s out, it’s time for the entire dash setup to come out in one unit, wiring and all. And we mean “all”, from the harness that may or may not return to the Rally gauge cluster, to the pad. This sucker will go down to the metal before the healing can begin. Again, seems like a lot of work, but psychologically this will be so much better in the long run!