[M_a_t_t]

Felt like doing some weight reduction so I took the dash apart and removed anything I don't need.




Basically all that is left is the cluster, pass airbag, and the main cross bar. I cut the rest of the brackets off. I was going to clean it up and paint it, but decided to not bother. It's a lot easier to remove it now anyway if I decide I do want to paint it. Ended up saving ~18lbs. Started out at 45lbs as removed. What I mean is I had to remove some dash parts to get the dash out, like the instrument cluster, so the total weight should be more than 45 lbs. After removing extra parts and cutting off brackets I ended at 27lbs. The passenger air bag was 8 lbs by itself. There is a little bit more I could have cut off the main crossbar, but I wasn't sure if I could cut it off because it has one of the mounting bolts on it. However, I think it is mostly just to keep the lower half of the dash (and related trim parts) from rattling around.



After mounting it (without the 3rd bolt) and driving for a few days I think next time I remove it I will cut those end pieces off. My original goal was to get it under 20 lbs and I think I can get it if I grind the tabs down and cut the end plates off. I ended up having to put it back together before I was expecting to need to so I need to do some more finishing touches. Mostly the climate control panel, airbag module, and the "extra" wiring for the deleted things. I don't think I will cut the wiring harness, but I want to get it cleaned up and probably zip tied up and not just hanging. I don't have any pictures of it re-installed, but once I get it tidied up I will get one and post it.

PS: I think my math is off, but I remember the bare cross bar weighing 13.5 lbs and the pass air bag was 8 lbs. So if I can get that last 1.5 lbs then I should be able to get it where I want it.