how do you take of the front dash panel were the gages are?

Dear eric-- I know there is a little doohickey right next to the watchamacallit. Actually, I remember doing this myself back when my brother bought one of these and we both decided to be mechanics. The Chevelle survived, but we left it with scars. For you, the Internet offers an easier way with both diagrams and text. Go to-- http://autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/11/d6/8d/0900823d8011d68d.jsp. I hope this helps. Let me know. Good luck from Bovan.