I am searching for the entire dashboard for my 97 Ram. Grey (Agate?) I need the actual frame not just the top piece that breaks all the time. My entire structure is busted up and the radio and everything else just flops around. I will be driving from MN to AZ along the I-90 corridor with planned stops at Mt. Rushmore, Old Faithful and hopefully Bonneville. If you are in that neck of the woods, i would be interested in what you have. Must be in good/great condition.
Let me know what you have and where you are. Shoot me an e-mail @ dohcrt at cox dot net or post back here.
You're in for a liong search, I'm sad to say. When you find one, it's going to be expensive in money or time, or both. Complete dashboard assemblies show up on eBay from time to time. You can't be picky about the color. If it fits your truck, you can paint the dashboard frame to match, or get it painted. A dashboard frame from any Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 or 3500 from 1994 through 1997 will be a direct fit. Later years (1998 to 2001) might fit physically, but will require some reducting, rewiring and may require a new instrument cluster. They are really different. The dash top and bezel are easily available new. New replacement bezels cost maybe 30% more than used ones and I wouldn't waste my money on a used bezel unless it was maybe $20 and pristine.
As I said, complete assemblies turn up on eBay from time to time. That's where I began the search for one for my truck. I found two on eBay that looked 90% good; one in Oregon, one in Texas. (They're gone now.) when buy-it-now price and shipping were added up, I was looking at around $1800. So that isn't what I did.
Instead, I bought some 1/16, 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick sheets of black ABS plastic from Tap Plastics online. I cut those to necessary sizes for repair and reinforcement, and stuck the shattered frame back together using ABS pipe cement. The dash top is glued back together in pieces and sitting on top with a dashmat over it. That's all waiting on a more permanent repair.
What shape is your dash frame in? Can it be similarly repaired from behind where the black pieces won't show?
My next step was to start checking Dodge truck inventory at the local you-pull-it wrecking yards. I hit pay dirt on my first visit. Someone had installed a tan 1996 dash frame into a blue 1994 2500. (The 1994 was a V8 Michigan truck, the dash was a 1996 Mexico City assembly.) From appearances, the dash frame had spent its original life in a truck that wasn't from the Southwest. It took about 2 hours for me to remove the dashboard frame, and that included the steel backing frame and glove box door. The knee bolster and fuse box cover were missing. The truck was suffering from Arizona Paint Disease, hence my surprise at finding a good dash frame in it. I'm just now getting started
Most states have you-pull-it wrecking yards. If you plan your trip so you are near a few, you might get lucky. You will need a few particular tools, and you can figure out most of them by taking a good look at your truck ahead of time. In general, you'll need #2 Phillips screwdrivers in short, medium and long. You'll need a 5/16 or 8 mm nut driver. Having a set of plastic panel tools would be helpful, and less likely to bugger things up than a flat screwdriver--which you'll also need. You'll need a 12 mm or 13 mm socket and 3/8 drive ratchet for the side bolts. You'll also need wire cutters.
Good luck.
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