mmason

Looked at a 74 H/O with intent of buying, and the padding on the dash is curling up most everywhere. Top edges, bottom passenger side, center kind of in line with the consol, etc. I see there is a hard plastic cover one could buy to glue over the orginal padding. How does that look once installed? Kind of cheap and tacky, or really not bad? Any other options?

Update------I just read some posts saying the plastic covers are not so good. Having the dash repaired is quite pricey. Maybe better I pass on the car.

oldspackrat

I have a very nice green dash pad out of a 75 cutlass if that is any help. Of course you would have to dye or paint it but done properly I think it would look great.

mmason

I take it 74 and 75 interchange? (I am not up on Oldsmobles, I just am attracted to this one). How big a deal is it to swap out the dash?

Please P.M. me a price if you would rather not post.

Hurstolds1973

It will take a few hours to get it out and in safely. Gotta drop the steering column and unhook all the gauges and heater etc. Then the 2 dash controls and vents. Paint / Dye it the right color and then a few hours to reassemble. Id say a decent weekend project to restore and touch up all the pieces and clean. Im not a mechanic so it takes me a bit longer then others.

zodiacblue442

The dash in the 74 Cutlass (all models including H/O) is the same as in all 73-76 Cutlass. Normally the dashes do not crack (although there are exceptions)! The problem with them is they do curl or warp badly when exposed to heat and sunlight over the years. They also tend to get sticky, like "pouring syrup all over them sticky". This is from the solvents and oils coming out of the rubberized vinyl.

If the dash is warped badly enough, your best bet would be to find another dash out of a 73-76 Cutlass. You can also send it off to just dashes, but last I knew, a full blown dash restoration from them is about $2K! It will come back looking like new though! A friend of mine has a beautiful black dash out of a 75 Cutlass for sale. Not sure what he wants for it. I think he had it on eBay awhile back for $399 plus shipping and it didn't sell. You can also get one another color and dye it. Seems like black is the most desired color so another color dash may be a little cheaper. You can go that route if you don't mind not having a from-the-factory-black dash in the car.

Pulling the dash and putting it back in, including doing some restoration / clean up work probably would be a weekend job. The dashes come out pretty straightforward, it's all the connections and routing for wiring harnesses, a/c ducting, etc. that's time consuming.

Hope this helps.

mmason

Thank you. This might be apparent when I get into it, but can you tell me what is best leave actually attached to the dash, (and remove from the dash once the dash is out), and what to remove from the dash while still in the car, and leave hanging?


Thanks
Mack

zodiacblue442

I can answer your question early next week when I have more time. Got 1,000 things going right now. I did want to tell you though that my friend that had the excellent condition black dash did sell it.

aretubj

Like Joe B said, a few hours to remove and maybe a bit longer to reinstall, given that you want to make sure all wiring goes back where it came from.
Remove both side inserts first, then the pods and glove box and steering column. Beyond that, not too bad at all, some wiring and screws.
I do have a black dash for sale if you decide to proceed.
Joe