Has anyone any experience with having their dash redone by this company? They are expensive, but if they do a great job I might consider it.

www.justdashes.com


Thanks,

 

What would their prices be if you don't mind me asking?

 

I was phone quoted a price of (gulp) $1100.00 for restoring a dashpad for a 1968 Cutlass S Convertible. $120 each for the padded A-pillar covers.

 

WOW! I'm in the wrong biz. Does anyone repop the dash pad?

 

Not for a '68, and if they did it would only be in black I'm sure. JD says they will re-vinyl my dash in the correct Medium Dark Gold color and grain of vinyl and it will look as good as new. Just looking for some confirmation of the type of work they do.

 

Take a look at thier Video on Google or You Tube .The process is very impressive..

 

For the the non-show car crowd there is a plastic cover that's made to fit over the 68-69 A/C pads. I'm 90% sure there's another supplier that has these significantly less expensive than this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-1969-Ol...sories&vxp=mtr

I also think they make a non-A/C 68 type cover also

edit:

Here's the non-A/C for a lot less money:

http://www.txdashcovers.com/19olcudacowo.html

 

I used Just Dashes a couple years ago and was very impressed with their work. It looks just like new, and the quality and appearance of the material was identical to the original. Very expensive, but it's hard to imagine anything better.

Mine had a VIN tag on it, if you have one on yours which I don't think you do, I would recommend taking it off before shipping it and keeping it. I wasn't quite as happy with their restoration of the tag as I was with the overall dash, but it was passable.

 

You will have no regrets with their quality of there work. I used them for my A-pillars and dash for my 71 and my brother has had (2) 68 GTO dashes done by them. I looked at the money well spent after all the work involved in a body off resoration. I couldn't see installing a 41 year old pc of vinyl nevermind the dash being the most difficult part of the restoration that you don't want to revisit.

 

Do they do the lower dash also or just recover the dash pad itself? What if your dash pad is a little warped from the sun over the years?

 

As far as I know, they remove any soft or previously soft material, meaning the skin and the foam under the skin. All that's left is metal, and then they reapply the foam and skin.

 

id never use them..Ive seen their work up close and in hand..its too fat and puffy, its a lot of money,, for mediocre work in my opinion...

Ive bought whole cars to get dashes, thats how much i refuse to use them...that being said...

if you dont care they are not always correct but liik new, then its OK..ive seen Bucks, Olds, and GTOs...none where good enough for me..and i'm not that pickey..well...maybe i am, but i spend a grand or more..it better be right...not acceptable...

 

Ever consider that they might look fat and puffy because they're not all shrunken and dried out like the originals? I've owned two nearly identical cars, one had spent years in the sun, the other spent years in storage. The outdoor car's dash was skinny looking and the covering was as hard as a bone. It was also slightly pulled up on some of the edges because it had shrunken. The indoor car has a perfect unrestored interior and the dash looks just like my Just Dashes dash. If you can't find a perfect unrestored car with a good dash to yank, you could always get one from Just Dashes and sit it outside for a couple years...

 

I think my 71 442 dash is plastic under the pad? Do they straighten it and then do their thing over it? I should probably call them.

 

no, it isnt about shrinkage and age, its because they cant reproduce the technique GM spent millions on in production. I witnessed a cutlass pad just a few weeks ago going in an SX, and it was so fat and puffy we couldnt get the little chrome molding bead in it..and the detail was wiped out..

I think for 1200 bux, theyd be a little more concerned about that detail in a 70-72 pad..its important...

Im not beating on them and saying what they do is so bad no one should use them, Im saying, if you arent a detail freak, and you can live wth less than perfect they are a great option, but for 1200 bux...theres good, mint used pads still out there...theres many resto stores that just open a catalog and buy every single new part available, and maybe thats good for a pro-touring car or lessd than concours car...but they are nice just not "right"...if i had a W car..id never use ne unless there was no choice...

Ive seen and had NOS pads...and they are pricey now, but not too bad a few years ago...and the difference is amazing.
　
I dont want anyone to take something bad from this...im just saying if you have no option they are a great pads, if youre doing a frame off on a W car, maybe not good enough for that...the original poster asked if anyne has used them or seen the pads..well I have, 3 cutlass pads and 15 69-72 GTO pads..i can tell a GTO pad has been redone and know who did them on a casual glance....and after witnessing 3 cutlass pads, now i can pick them out too...like i said. im a detail freak, and like most aftermarket parts and services, they fall short of a factory piece...

 

Yes, I spoke to them about the sag over the instrument cluster and they removed it. I will see if I have some pics when I get into work tomorrow.

 

 

I've heard somewhere they commonly re-skin over the existing vinyl instead of tearing it all down.
Possibly why they could be "puffy".

 

The plastic core you have Scrappie may be an all new one. If you send in an old factory pad, they pull everything that was soft off and recover the metal frame with new material. At least this is what they did with mine, and what I've heard is their standard practice.

It's possible that different people get different results, maybe they don't have the technique down for some specific dashes. On mine, they did a great job and it wasn't any puffier than it was from the factory. I AM pretty picky, and I was very happy with it. Just my experience.

 

Just Dashes does good work and are the only ones I know providing the service but definitely not cheap. If I couldn't find a good replacement then I would use them. What ever you do don't use those dash caps. They are just cheap molded plastic you glue on and they fit horrible and don't stick. Tried one on my TA and the heat made it warp and I ended up just pulling it off and not worrying about the crack.

 

In my opinion, Just Dashes is the only alternative thats out there. In my 7 years during my restoration, I never came across a NOS dash and the used ones that I collected were never up to my standard either sagging or imperfections. Just Dashes stripped my dash to the core, refoamed and vinyled it. The only thing that they wouldn't do was to install the NOS dash bead since they didn't want to drill the hole. They actually sent me some 3-M chrome exterior molding that has worked out great bending around the tight corners. It's adhesive has held up through the winter and summer month for the last 3 years. As far as it's looks, I have no regrets and would use them again in a heartbeat.

 

I used them for my '66 GTO and the dash came out great.

 

Ive used them on 65 66 67 and 68 GTOs too...never a problem, very nice look..very uncomplicated pad..

 

I used Dash Restoration in Oregon on my 65 442, they did agreat job and was $200.00 cheaper. When I asked what made him different from Just Dashes he said mostly overheads, Calf vs Or
Don't know but I was happy

http://dashboardrestorations.com/

 

I'm not sure if this is the same company, although Oregon rings a bell. I have to go back and look through my paperwork. The worker was an ex employee of Just Dashes that just opened up (approx. 7-8 years ago). I sent him a 71 dash to do for me and was not happy with the texture or crispness with the way the vinyl was vacuumed down. It was presentable for a driver, but not up to my standards. It also was a bit more puffy than the original. The 71 dash is a difficult dash with all the grooves and contours. If I'm not mistaken, they were about 1/2 price of Just Dashes. I ended up selling it for a loss and sending another dash out to Just Dashes.

 

Just Dashes did my 65 dash about 6 years ago. Price was half what they charge today. It is thicker than the OE pad was. Vinyl is thicker and the padding is new, so its bigger than what it was.

Id rather have it than spend the same amount for a nice used one and have it crack while Im putting it in.