Looking for thoughts on an outfit called Dashboardrestorations out of southwest Washington state. Has anybody used them and what was the experience like? Good job, bad job ??? Easy to work with? Supplies correct product? any and all comments would be appreciated. Thanks - Fred

 

Also, could someone tell me if the dashboard is to be painted 1) Flat, 2)semi-gloss or 3) gloss black? I would like to get that done while I figure out who to use to restore the dash pad. Thanks much - Fred

 

Fred Have you checked the Parts Place.They offer a great re production.I have installed a few of my restorations in thier RePop.
Around $300.00.
Ron

 

Ron,
To tell you the truth I've been afraid to do that. After reading the thread that's out here about The Parts Place and all the negativity surrounding them I am hesitant to do so. It's been many years since I've played in this arena and so I'm taking all of this stuff in. I'm not doing a "Show Quality" car, just a nice driver, local cruise nite stuff, but I do want it to look descent... Also I don't want a smuck dash pad wrapped around the masterpiece that you are creating for me in the I.P. I just gotta weigh cost versus aggrivation. I hate aggrivation at my age. This hobby is suppose to be fun... Oh boy am I havin fun now... LOL

 

should it be flat, semi or gloss??? all comments/opinions count

 

My vote goes for semi gloss.
I think flat would look dull and maybe dirty/dusty, and I think gloss might reflect into your eyes on sunny days.

Maybe 12 years ago I found a local ad from this guy who did vintage dash repairs out of his garage. I got him to repair a dash with a big gash in the middle. His price was good and I was happy with the results. Might be worth a shot to see if you can find someone, or a small business. You could always ask anybody for examples of their previous work if you are in doubt.

Good luck.

 

Rocket - thanks for the reply and input. I checked with justdashes $900 checked with dashboardrestorations.com $700 including glove box door both of these redo my stuff. and then Ron Roth suggested I check with "The Parts Place" approx. $300 for a repop OPGI approx $400 w/glove box as repops. I'm thinking semi-gloss for the metal dash as well. No glare

 

I just bought a 66 Cutlass that has a few dash pad cracks.

Is the dash pad removed separately from the metal dashboard? Is it a DIY job or does it call for a pro?

 

The pad is glued to a steel backing which in turn is attached to the instrument panel. The assembly bolts to the steel dash of the car. I have a couple pads but you have to expect any pad that is 45 years old to have lost some of its flexibility on the top where the sun bakes it. The paint should be flat.

 

Thanks for the responses to my questions. Dash and IP are both done and joined together in a happy union. New firewall pad is in, defroster duck bolted up and heater core goes in the box and I'll install that tomorrow along with the dash wiring harness and then pop in the dash pad and instrument panel and it's time for the windshield. This thing will be ready for a water test to make sure all fixed and movable glass seal and then it's time to install the interior... maybe then it will feel like I'm making progress...

 

So what did you wind up doing for the dash pad? Did you have it restored, or go repop, or a better original one?

 

Will we be seeing pictures

 

There is so much Good information on this posting..Thanks Fred for bringing us closer...

 

I went with a repop for now. I have three original cores and maybe next year I'll send one in and have it refinished. Alot of money but I guess as
long as fools like me continue to have them redone then they will continue to charge OUTRAGEOUSLY for it. Hopefully either tomorrow or the next day the dash pad and IP will go in.. I'll take some shots and post them then.

 

These are pretty simple compared to the 68-69 dash pads. Ben, if you can figure out how to recover these you'll have people beating a path to your door to buy them

John

 

Does anyone have the maint manual details (pics?) and step-by-step on how to remove the dash pad and re-install? Does the entire dash / instruments / wiring need to come out? Does the reproduction unit bolt right onto the dash? Thanks.

 

the dash pad and instrument panel come out as a unit and then you take the pad off of the instrument panel from the backside. ALL connections to the backside of the instrument panel naturally need to be disconnected. There are (3) nuts across the top of the unit and I believe (4) across the bottom of the unit that need to be removed and then the pad and instrument panel just pull out to the front. My steering wheel is out, but you might want to just lower that a little to give you more room. This is for my '66 442. Hope this helps. There is a section in the Chassie Manual that would guide you precisly thru this. You can look at it or download it from wildaboutcars.com for free...

Good Luck and take your time,
Nufo

 

Got it.....thanks much Nufo. That's a great site!

May be awhile before I get to this project but I'll be sure to post pics..