Steel plate inside dash top

[Wallington]

Today's edition of weird trivia...there's a curved steel plate under all the dash foam. This came from a '73.

If you are trying to get your bearings this the section above the glovebox, grab handle holes, vent to right.

Firebird dash grab handle cut steel plate under foam (1) by Ben, on Flickr

Firebird dash grab handle cut steel plate under foam (2) by Ben, on Flickr

Firebird dash grab handle cut steel plate under foam (3) by Ben, on Flickr

Firebird dash grab handle cut steel plate under foam (5) by Ben, on Flickr

[roadking77]

Interesting, what is that part exactly? Looks like some kind of a foam insert? All of the dashes I have ever seen were hard plastic on the backside. Is this part attached to that?

[Wallington]

Not foam, just the regular black plastic dash but cut up. The surface texture you are looking at is probably the spray contact glue and residue from the foam I peeled off and then gerni'd bare. After peeling the dash vinyl off, it was all foam, only found the plate after tearing it away.

This is a 1973 casting dash #488668 but photos I have of other NOS dashes show the rivets on the inside.

Firebird dash grab handle cut steel plate under foam (18) by Ben, on Flickr

I'll add pic anyway. Here's a #10018005 78-81 NOS dash clearly showing the rivets.

NOS GM 10018005 78-81 Firebird dash pad ( by Ben, on Flickr

[Gene-73]

Can confirm. I just took a magnet to my dash and sure enough, there's metal under there in that corner.

[Wallington]

Aahhh it's for adding fridge magnets to your dash to hold your shopping list. That's one more mystery solved!

[roadking77]

Thanks, those last couple of pics clear things right up. Good place to stick car show magnets, LOL.