[FunctionalShaker]

Since I've been in contact with Al Knoch regarding the cushions and burlap, I brought up the idea of reproducing dashes. That said, they are now in the preliminary stages of doing so. I will probably be sending one of my cracked blue 70 dashes to work off of, but they'll need several for the process. They said they'll try to produce them in color -- I'll be pushing for the blue.

Differences I know about are the radio openings and I believe the grain of the vinyl. Do we know when the grain was changed? Anything else?

The problem in reproducing these is that they have to disassemble original dashes to make new molds -- which destroys them -- but we'll see what we can do. Also, even the nice originals generally have some warpage on the leading edge, so it'll be tough to reproduce one.

[weranc55]

That would be great to have another option for these.

[JC455]

I have one (maybe two) that has a lot of damage- either cracked, or cracked and broken plastic- that I'd be happy to let them get their measurements, procedures, etc. off of.
No idea of the year- guessing mid-70's.

[71formula455]

Originally Posted by JC455

I have one (maybe two) that has a lot of damage- either cracked, or cracked and broken plastic- that I'd be happy to let them get their measurements, procedures, etc. off of.
No idea of the year- guessing mid-70's.

Look for a date stamp on the back side of the dash around the glove box area. . I think.

[FunctionalShaker]

The goal here is to make a repro. of an earlier dash. They'll be using my 70 dash for the frame structure. I was told they wish to produce them in black and bright blue. It's cost prohibitive because the colored " ABS plastic" used for the skin can only be purchased in 1000 yard rolls. At $22 a yard, that's $22,000. They'll try to match the early grain texture. At this point -- still early -- cost estimate is $550 - $600 per finished dash.

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by FunctionalShaker

The goal here is to make a repro. of an earlier dash. They'll be using my 70 dash for the frame structure. I was told they wish to produce them in black and bright blue. It's cost prohibitive because the colored " ABS plastic" used for the skin can only be purchased in 1000 yard rolls. At $22 a yard, that's $22,000. They'll try to match the early grain texture. At this point -- still early -- cost estimate is $550 - $600 per finished dash.

Guess I'll hold off on painting my repop dash and installing.

Any idea on a timeline?

[keith k]

Originally Posted by FunctionalShaker

The goal here is to make a repro. of an earlier dash. They'll be using my 70 dash for the frame structure. I was told they wish to produce them in black and bright blue. It's cost prohibitive because the colored " ABS plastic" used for the skin can only be purchased in 1000 yard rolls. At $22 a yard, that's $22,000. They'll try to match the early grain texture. At this point -- still early -- cost estimate is $550 - $600 per finished dash.

Cool. But given that the bright blue is a one year only color with therefore limited demand, I would imagine the economics of producing them in that color won't be very good for the manufacturer.

And, no matter what, the rest of your dash parts (glove box, steering column shroud, ash tray) will need to be matched by dye-ing them. A good match will be difficult to achieve. Easier to just re-color them all at the same time so they match. And that means starting with a bright blue dash pad isn't of much value. JMO...

[2manyT/A'S]

Originally Posted by keith k

Cool. But given that the bright blue is a one year only color with therefore limited demand, I would imagine the economics of producing them in that color won't be very good for the manufacturer.

And, no matter what, the rest of your dash parts (glove box, steering column shroud, ash tray) will need to be matched by dye-ing them. A good match will be difficult to achieve. Easier to just re-color them all at the same time so they match. And that means starting with a bright blue dash pad isn't of much value. JMO...

And don't for get that the other dash parts (in blue) didn't really match the pad either...

[71GP76TA]

Nothing matched when the cars were new...

[2manyT/A'S]

Without being negative here.....

As soon as there is a second source for these dash pads......Classic Industries will ramp up production and FLOOD the market with them for $150....
Not a BAD thing for US....but Al Knock will end up "eating the weenie"...and loosing his investment......with NO profit margin....just sayin'

[RAIVJUDGE]

I know Just Dashes is expensive . But who here has used Just Dashes to restore their dash pad? If so how did it turn out?

[2manyT/A'S]

Just Dashes appears to be the "default setting" for anybody doing a high dollar car...with NO budget restrictions...

They ARE nice.....but like a cap...you can usually tell.......they can look slightly "overstuffed"......and fitting the bezel can be tight

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by RAIVJUDGE

I know Just Dashes is expensive . But who here has used Just Dashes to restore their dash pad? If so how did it turn out?

I had them do my lower door panels and was very happy.... now my interior is 5 shades of blue.

I was leary about having them do my dash as I didn't want bezel fitiment issues. My original dash is pretty rough and butchered. I'll probably just throw in the repop POS in and call it a day.

Anybody have any comments on the repop 4 speed console kit that Ames sells? They note that the dash bracket is plastic and the mounting holes might not line up. I pulled my console to install the dash and noticed my console is in worse shape than I thought.

[weranc55]

Originally Posted by 71GP76TA

I had them do my lower door panels and was very happy.... now my interior is 5 shades of blue.

I was leary about having them do my dash as I didn't want bezel fitiment issues. My original dash is pretty rough and butchered. I'll probably just throw in the repop POS in and call it a day.

Anybody have any comments on the repop 4 speed console kit that Ames sells? They note that the dash bracket is plastic and the mounting holes might not line up. I pulled my console to install the dash and noticed my console is in worse shape than I thought.

If you think the dash is a POS you will think the console it the biggest POS you have ever seen. I have used the repo dash pad and have not had any problems with them. The repo console is not great but with some work you can make it decent. You will have to take your old bracket off and use it. We actually panel bonded it and then put the two fake rivets on the side. It has a ton of grain in it but we used a primer and then blocked it and got most of the grain out and then dyed it.

[2manyT/A'S]

I've heard that mounting an 8 track in the repop console is a chore....

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by weranc55

If you think the dash is a POS you will think the console it the biggest POS you have ever seen. I have used the repo dash pad and have not had any problems with them. The repo console is not great but with some work you can make it decent. You will have to take your old bracket off and use it. We actually panel bonded it and then put the two fake rivets on the side. It has a ton of grain in it but we used a primer and then blocked it and got most of the grain out and then dyed it.

Probably better off repairing my original console.

[FunctionalShaker]

I think the reason they want to do the blue is that they have bright blue plastic sheet in stock from a corvette project. They're going to send me a sample to look at. I'll ask about production time. I do know they won't be starting until Jan.

I just spoke with them again and was told they have the bright blue material they use for the arm rests etc. to use. Apparently they've made a number of tough dashes (Cuda, Challenger working with Year One) and have gotten pretty good at it.

Initial Production/development time could be from 2 to 6 months.

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by FunctionalShaker

I think the reason they want to do the blue is that they have bright blue plastic sheet in stock from a corvette project. They're going to send me a sample to look at. I'll ask about production time. I do know they won't be starting until Jan.

I just spoke with them again and was told they have the bright blue material they use for the arm rests etc. to use. Apparently they've made a number of tough dashes (Cuda, Challenger working with Year One) and have gotten pretty good at it.

Initial Production/development time could be from 2 to 6 months.

I'm a buyer!. I'll hold off on installing the repop dash that I have now.

[bankbook]

Did the Whole interior on my Anniversary TA except for the door panels.
The work was really nice and the fitment was spot on.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by FunctionalShaker

I think the reason they want to do the blue is that they have bright blue plastic sheet in stock from a corvette project. They're going to send me a sample to look at. I'll ask about production time. I do know they won't be starting until Jan.

I just spoke with them again and was told they have the bright blue material they use for the arm rests etc. to use. Apparently they've made a number of tough dashes (Cuda, Challenger working with Year One) and have gotten pretty good at it.

Initial Production/development time could be from 2 to 6 months.

I'm a buyer for a black Al Knoch early dash, just cant stomach the current wait forever "one fits all" mess. Back over a decade ago when Classic first started the project, was like which one are they doing?

Thank you Harold for getting this going with Al Knoch, ready to order when they get them going.