Time to gut the CTS. I cut out the windshield in one piece and saved it. Eventually, it will be used to make the rear window for the lift off top. It looks like it has a suitable curve to it.
Next I pulled the seats and console so I would have everything out of the way.
The best and quickest way to pull a dash from a late model vehicle is to take it out the same way it went in; as a fully wired, plumbed and ducted unit. Unplug wiring connectors, remove about a dozen nuts and bolts and it slides out. The downside to doing it this way is that the assembly is pretty heavy. I managed to get it out of the car but needed my neighbor's help to get it up on the stand.
If you're ever working on a late model vehicle and it takes more than a few minutes to remove a part, you're doing something wrong. Where ever possible,
sub assemblies are used and it's usually quicker to remove them the same way. The only unexpected thing I found was that the front harness that goes into the engine bay and all the way to the underhood fuse box did not have a service connector at the firewall or the dash. It is one piece from the front, runs through the firewall, then laces into the various connections on the dash. Usually there would be a connector at the firewall. Anyway, I just pulled the harness through and removed it with the dash.
The whole process of removing the windshield, seats, console and dash took about 4 hours.
I think I can use most of the insulation and sound deadener from the CTS cabin. That would be a bonus.