Brian,
Lucky you! I see you live in Ohio. That is where we Baby Bird owners have one of our best suppliers and two of the most capable restoration shops specializing in '55-'57 T-Birds. Would like to answer your quetions first.
(1) "L" brackets are left on the cowl to allow sliding the dash off and on. They will help accurately locate the dash at reassembly time. They were assembled on the car when it was originally painted.
(2) Wiper knob has a set screw located around 3 or 4 o'clock to secure it to a "D" shaped shaft. Same story on the heater blower switch.
(3) You can re-cover the dash yourself. I need to know your objectives before offering advise. It's a big ticket part that deserves respect.
If you would provide me with all your data plate info and clue me in on your goals, (stock, modified, concours quality or cruise nite driver) that will help me to help you. Hopefully, we can get what you want in a more cost effective manner. By the way,do you belong to Classic Thunderbird Club Intl.(CTCI)? If not, go to:
www.ctci.org
Tom
P.S. After posting this reply, I realized why you were concerned with wrinkles in the dash pad. You must be working on a '55 or '56. In that case, thorough surface cleaning will be the toughest part of the job. The good news is: it's cheap! I was thinking of a '57 when stating the dash cover was an expensive item.
[ 11-26-2001: Message edited by: nomadbird ]