Does anybody know where to purchase a radio repair panel for the dash of a 53 1/2 ton? My problem is that the holes for the volume and station selector were cut out a bit too big for the correct radio to be mounted. My thoughts on how to remedy w/o welding in a new is to buy and cut out dash piece and place behind the dash and mount the radio. Any thoughts or links to purchase one?
Gotcha covered on that. We have a few original radio patch panels laying around. Send us a PM for more info.
Since you stated you wanted to avoid welding then once you get the replacement panel you can first trim the hole in the dash to a nice even rectangle and then carefully trim the panel to that same size plus a half inch all the way around. Get a flanging tool from Eastwood or maybe even HF for about twenty bucks and make a flange all the way around the panel---this will let it fit flush with the dash metal and require very little filler. Now rough up around the hole in the dash and around the flange on the panel and use an 1/8" bead of panel bond on the flange. Clamp or screw the panel in place overnight and it's there forever. The screw holes can be dabbed with panel bond or epoxy. It's the norm anymore to get butchered dashes (and firewalls) so this is a warp free solution to patching. GM truck doors have had the hinges "glued" on since the 90's and I don't see their doors laying along the roads so I guess it's OK. A couple of before and after shots of patched dashes and also the way we "French" in modern radios so they don't stick out like a bowling ball on a pool table.
