8N steering shaft grommet

Floating out a question hoping for an easy solution from the experienced crowd here ... What started out as replacing the worn quadrant throttle plate and throttle control level ball on the 52 8N has expanded bit by bit ... I think I am down to the final "well, while that is off I should fix this" part ... and that is the rubber grommet that goes between the dash and the steering column ... the old one was brittle and mostly gone - which now I know why ... the steering column isn't currently centered in the hole in the dash ... I am guessing the dash itself just isn't quite in the right spot or over time has been pushed around and bent ... but as I started looking through post on how to remove the dash, it suddenly became take out the gas tank, take off the hood, etc. ...

So - my question ... can you get access to the few bolts holding the dash in place to just "jiggle" it around a little in hopes of getting that grommet in place? Or do I really have to take all of the parts off just to get access to those few bolts ... the steering wheel is off - that was no problem ... so once this grommet is on, we can start rebuilding ...

Suggestions greatly appreciated!

Lazy me. I cut mine and installed it so that the cut was on the bottom.

ds8n.........Cookie is rite, just cuttchur gromment and wiggle it into place. Simple, eh?........Dell

Thanks for the replies ... that's actually how the old version was installed ... I didn't know if that grommet had any major value, but since this 8N will be living in a barn now vs' outside, moisture or other crud making it's way past the open spots should be minimal ...

Cut and fit it is ...