Description

The last 55 plus years have not been kind to the Dash Bezel in your Cougar.  The once bright chrome has faded away and the plastic is beginning to crumble to powder.  We now have a better than factory solution.

Complete Dash Bezel kit for 1967 1968 Standard Cougar

The new dash bezels are far more than a reproduction, they are a fix for many of problems inherent on the original parts.  The weak hollow plastic tubes that were used to attach the passenger side are replaced with threaded steel studs and mounting nuts are included.  The melted plastic studs that held the mounting bracket are replaced by screws.  Ford couldn’t settle on which bracket system to use so these new dash panels will accommodation all of the various combinations.  Early ’68 Cougars got a knee bolster above the glove box. They rounded off the bottom of the dash bezel creating a different profile for the driver and passenger sides.  After January 1st of 1968 they dropped the knee bolster and the passenger side dash was left with an unfinished look at the bottom edge.  We used the much better looking ’67 style bottom profile and you can still use your bolster if you car is so equipped.  Development of these dash bezels took over 3 years!

The dash comes complete with hardware for the threaded studs, the small screws for bracket mounting, new gaskets for sealing the area around the turn signal lights and other dash warning lights.  Additionally we supply screws for mounting the instrument cluster to the bezel and also screws to attach the upper mounting bracket to the driver side bezel.

The 1967 Standard dash fascia panel attached to the bezel with screws through the aluminum trim surrounding the fascia.  We supply j-nuts that are inserted into the square openings in the bezel to accommodate those screws.

The 1968 Standard dash fascia used dart clips, special concealed fasteners that pop into oval holes.  Since these fasteners have been out of production for decades we reproduced them and supply them for use on ’68 model Cougars.

An alternative method of fastening the dash fascia panel is using Velcro.  The shiny round recesses in the picture are provided, along with the velcro so you can use this alternative method.  There are also a variety of custom after market dash fascia panels that will also use this method to attach to the bezel.

Swapping out the dash bezel is a big job.  You will want to replace the dash lenses at the same time.  The Gauge Pod, Speedometer, and clock opening all have a chrome center that is going to look bad next to the new chrome on the bezel.  This is also a good time to verify that your gauges are reading correctly and to consider replacing the bulbs.

What comes in the box: Driver and Passenger side Dash Bezels, Five 1/4 20tpi nuts, One 10-24tpi nut,  ten 6 – 19tpi 3/16″ screws,  thirteen 6 – 19tpi 3/4″ screws, ten j-nuts, twelve velcro hook and loop fastners, thirteen dart clips.  Due to the size of the kit shipping is by UPS ground only.