The GTM actually looks like a complete car! Had the glass guy come by and install the windshield and rear view mirror. Looks great! I just have to wire up the mirror and the interior will be complete. Afterwards I mounted the wiper blade and tested that out and got it to park where I wanted.

With the radio installed, shift box re-welded into place, wiring organized, and console trim plate prepped, I felt it was finally time to get the center console and passenger dash in.

First thing I had to do was rivet the passenger dash pod to the center console. It was previously held in place with clecko pins. With the passenger pod joined to the console, I then attached the trim plate to the console.  Before getting started on installing the console/dash I vacuumed out the passenger footbox, cleaned the aluminum panels that will be underneath the dash, and secured the wiper closeout box in place.

Everything cleaned up, I set the console into place and set to attaching the air ducts to the dash vents. Two above the radio, one on the passenger pod, and two defrost ducts. I found the trick to doing the dash vents is to pull off the foam that is glued around the outer edge of the vent that you have to push the duct hose over, and cut a line down the middle of the duct hose through 2-3 wire rings so that it can be pulled over the vent easier. With the hose in place, I pulled on some zip ties to secure it. Defrost ducts are a little easier to attach the hoses to. After attaching all the hosing I connected up the hazard and fog lights switches, plugged in the climate control wire harness, and mounted the ignition switch and window switches.  The console/dash was then pushed down into place and secured at the base with a single 1/4-20″ screw on each side. Tested all the switches and climate controls with success.

All that is left to do with the interior at this point is mount the driver’s dash pod, interior lighting, mirror (when windshield is in), gauges, and seats.

With the side louvers in I was able to finally install the last closeout panels into the rear wheel wells. Kind of tough to get these fit properly, but once in they fit pretty well and create a good seal with the body.

I got my hands on a Corvette washer fluid spray nozzle finally so I was able to connect the washer fluid hose to that and clip it to the wiper arm. The hose is tucked into the wiper arm and zip tied at the base to keep it from pulling out when the wiper arm travels.  The hose is then routed through a hole drilled in the body beneath the wiper so it is nearly invisible. I used some adhesive-backed loom clips to secure the hose under the body cowl.

Taking a break from the interior stuff for a bit, I tackled the windshield wiper install. I prepped the windshield wiper motor over the winter so I only had to bolt it to the mounting plate, install 4 rivnuts, and bolt it in. The wiper rod sheath is cut to fit between the 2 rod ends and the rod end attaches to the wiper arm mount (which goes in the holes I drilled in the body the other day).

Pretty straight forward. After connecting the wiring I gave it a go and it worked great, and the blade parked perfectly (many have issues with this, but I guess I got lucky?). However, there was major interference with the underside of the body where the wiper arm enters underneath the cowl. The solution to avoid body interference was to unbolt the wiper arm mount, remove the snap ring that holds the shaft in place, and flip it upside-down. This places the long end of the mount underneath the body. Problem solved – wiper works great.

I started running the washer fluid hose, but need a way to clip it to the wiper still. Wiring needs to be cleaned up as well.

In between doing the previous things I riveted the firewall aluminum into place, and the hood support aluminum. These 3 pieces get one long piece of bulb seal. To make the bulb seal look ‘factory’ I drilled 1/4″ holes in the body at the end of each hood support piece and pulled the bulb seal through them. Nice touch.

With that out of the way I used a 1″ hole saw to drill out the wiper arm mount. This had me a bit nervous, drilling into the painted body and all, but it ended up being painless.

Tonight I was all over just tidying up random things. I organized and zip tied the coolant hoses in the tunnel, connected the fuel pump harness ground to the chassis, extended the wiper harness wiring, ran the main battery cable from front to rear, worked on a clutch switch bracket, put protective edging on the AC duct cutouts in the footbox cover panel, and then mocked up the cover panels for frame drilling.