Installing Glove Box Liners
By Stephen Kassis
A glove box is one of those handy places in your vintage vehicle to store items like pens, pencils, registration papers, flash light, cell phone and maybe even gloves! Often this box has been damaged by frequent use, water leaks or maybe a little too much stuffed into it. When it is time to replace the glove box, it is a fairly simple project. Air conditioned vehicles are a little more difficult due to the A/C ducting that resides behind the dash. Often an air conditioned vehicle glove box will be much smaller than non-air conditioned models because of space issues.
Most glove boxes are installed from the back of the dash. This will require that you have access directly behind or to the side of the glove box. On air conditioned models, some of the A/C ducting may have to be removed for access to install the glove box.
A few glove boxes require special brackets or hinges. Be certain to take photos of these brackets and how they are installed as you remove them. Though they are simple, they can cause hours of wasted time if they are not installed correctly.
In Chevrolet cars, the first glove box was installed in 1934 Master passenger cars. Standard passenger models and trucks first had a glove box in 1936. These early versions were a simple installation. There are slots or holes in the cardboard for mounting into the dash. Where required, there are metal clips fastened to the new cardboard liner for sheet metal screws.
The top or bottom is determined by the seam in the cardboard where it is assembled, which is usually the top of the glove box. A second way to tell will be the pattern of the fasteners which hold the box in place. Remove the old glove box by unscrewing the fasteners around the door opening. Most often these fasteners will also hold the glove box door in place.
Once the new box is oriented properly, position it from the back of the dash to align the mounting slots with the holes in the dash. Start mounting screws into the holes in the dash and into the metal clips in the glove box cardboard. If your glove box has bracketing, bead blast and paint the brackets in preparation to install them. Mount the brackets as they were removed. Check for good operation of the glove box door, latch and striker.
Inspect the glove box door bumpers to see if they should be replaced. New bumpers are inexpensive and will cushion the door when closed. A nice option that became available in the late 1940’s is a glove box light. If your glove box opening has a small hole at one of the upper corners, you can install this accessory in your vehicle. Simply slide the light wire through the hole and snap the unit in place. Run the wire to a hot lead and it is ready to use. Each time the glove box door is opened, the light will come on to illuminate the glove box area.
