[Half-Inch Stud]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

Well, this all went to crap pretty quickly.........
The trouble started when I went to fit the dash to the car. It just doesn't fit well at all. The top doesn't lay down on the metal portion of the dash.......

Too good to be true as usual.......

Big deal for the Pad top to lay flat on the top Metal.

[bkmont]

Why not a correctly textured vinyl wrap for a dash?
Imagine if this was your dash using the correct color and texture-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVz3c8AGcIw

[Greg Reid]

I would expect that whatever damage caused you to want to cover it would show through the vinyl wrap, cracks, chunks missing, etc....Plus, I'm not sure you could find a duplicate of the grain pattern with vinyl wrap?

[bkmont]

Might have to do some surface prep and fill to smooth out imperfections. There are some simulations of leather out there. I have not seen the old school vinyl look. It sure looks easy to heat and form around all the different curves on a dash and there's no glue involved.

[Verdoro 68]

I heard back from Dashes Direct. They said made revisions to the pad that might resolve some of my issues and wanted to see if I got one of the revised pads or an old one. I gave them a run down of all the issues I had and sent them a bunch of pics.

Regarding the way it sits on the top of the dash - I'm thinking the foam and plastic just aren't rigid enough compared to the metal substructure on the originals.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

I heard back from Dashes Direct. They said made revisions to the pad that might resolve some of my issues and wanted to see if I got one of the revised pads or an old one. .

If they suspect that the revised version might solve some issues it makes you wonder why they would even continue to sell the old one.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by bkmont

Might have to do some surface prep and fill to smooth out imperfections. There are some simulations of leather out there. I have not seen the old school vinyl look. It sure looks easy to heat and form around all the different curves on a dash and there's no glue involved.

It's a possibility if they can duplicate the finish and texture and retain the shrinkability around compound curves. It appears to work just like the 'Monokote' material used for covering R/C model airplanes.

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

If they suspect that the revised version might solve some issues it makes you wonder why they would even continue to sell the old one.

They implied there might have been some in the market prior to the revision. Seems reasonable since I didn't buy directly from Dashes Direct. Waiting to hear back after I sent them pics.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Verdoro 68 you might jave hit Dashpad Return GOLD!

[Sidponcho]

Definitely appreciate the heads up

[Verdoro 68]

In a surprise move Dashes Direct is sending me a replacement revised dashpad!

[Greg Reid]

[Half-Inch Stud]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Ditto! Oh Happy Day!

[Verdoro 68]

The saga continues. My wife is getting irritated with the number of dashpads cluttering the garage.

Got the replacement dashpad last week - I'm pretty sure it's the same as the first one. Been futzing around trying to figure out why this thing won't fit. The main problem is the clips along the top of the dash - they aren't engaging with the metal dash. Reaching around the back side, I can feel that the clips were are far embedded in the pad to reach the metal dash and clip in. Looking at the original pad and the repro side by side, I noticed that the repro dash pad is 1/4" shallower along the top which makes the clips in the wrong position.





I'm investing way too much into making this work, but now I'm committed. I ordered some new clips out of the Ames catalog (A259WR) that screw into the pad which should allow me to adjust the depth appropriately. Odd that Ames sells these because they look nothing like the originals.

[Greg Reid]

[Verdoro 68]

A work trip out of the country sidelined this project for a bit.

The good news is the A/C vent bezels fit the new pad so that's promising.

I got the new clips from Ames, but they aren't the ones pictured in the catalog. They've been replaced by the OEM style that clip into the bottom of the pad.

The other issue I'm having is the dashpad retainers, my originals broke, so I ordered replacements. The replacements Ames has are rectangular, but the holes in my dash are square. Hmm.

[north]

They look like the retainers used on the 69 firebirds

[Sidponcho]

68 non AC dash
After reading all of this, I'm sending mine to Just Dashes

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by Sidponcho

68 non AC dash
After reading all of this, I'm sending mine to Just Dashes

Ah, looks like a/c vs. non-a/c retainers.

You got the right idea. I'm really close to doing the same. The tinkerer in me wants to figure this out though.

[will slow gto]

Ken, if any car is worthy of a Just Dashes restoration, it’s yours. I’m sure they’re expensive but “buy once, cry once”, no? That said, I hope this works out for you!