Managed to get the dash off the van this morning, but that only uncovered where the mice had their latrine. Most of it firmly stuck to the floor and insides of the dash sheet metal. Got out the respirator, scrapers, and wire brush, and spent the next hour and a half cleaning up the mess. Still need to go back in with a bleach solution, but the worst is done.
View attachment 473190 View attachment 473191
Then I found the rust around the accelerator pedal. It seems that there was a dime sized hole underneath the soundproofing junk. Also, someone had apparently stripped out the three original holes in the floor used to secure the pedal to the floor, so they drilled three new ones and didn't bother to close the old ones up. Tried welding the holes shut, but the metal is rusted paper thin so I'll need to cut out the rotten stuff and weld in a patch. That's gonna have to wait 'till tomorrow, though, it's just too hot out there to be wearing a bucket.
View attachment 473192
Also lots of clipped wires under the dash with no clue what they're for. Oh well, if I didn't want to deal with somebody else's problems, I should'a bought something new. Oh, but wait! Lots of new cars come with dragon eggs, too. :shocked: