Anyone ever try this to fix cracked/damaged dash?

http://www.madvet.com/shop?frame=4.54.1631

Curious. Looking at ways to fix my left & right upper areas where it got torn taking in and out with window in place....

 

I tried one and ended up sending it back. I don't think there is a good way to adhere it to the dash. I couldn't figure out how to hold the thing in place while the glue dried.

I ended up getting a dash pad off of ebay for just the top of the dash.

Here is the link to it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/78-79...40053507QQrdZ1

 

any picture of result?

 

I really only need the top part myself. The product looks good, got pics?

 

Yep need pictures please

Would you do it again?

Chuck

 

Me too, looks like a good deal. A part like this should have been done a long time ago. Look like it will save a lot of money. You don't have to buy the whole thing if all thats wrong is the top (most cases)I'm just wondering if they are padded or not. If not it wouldn't be a thing that would break the deal tho'

 

Let me get some pictures taken hopefully tomorrow night. I'll either post them here or e-mail them to you guys.

I would definitely do it again.

 

I've bought two of them from Ecklers (Part # 30132)- one for my 81 back in 2000, which had an awful-looking dash, and the other for the 80 I just bought because I was doing a color changed and liked it so much on the 81 that I decided to do the same thing for the 80 instead of buying a new dash.

Fitting it is a little tricky, but if you plan in advance before you start putting it in you can make it work real nicely and you'll be very satisfied with the look.

First, take off your steering wheel and the plastic pillar posts around the windshield. In order to fit it right you need to have the posts out, and I found it was a lot easier to work without the steering wheel in place either because you can get underneath it easier. You also need to take the **** off your headlight switch, and the plastic housing around the windshield wiper switch.

Second, take the glove compartment door off and using sandpaper shim a little bit off of the edges to make the door just a hair smaller. The dash cover goes a little bit inside the glove box and the door will close around it, so shaving a little off of the door will give you a better fit without rubbing.

Third, draw a line on the dash where your instrument cluster plastic meets the dash at the top - this will be a guide line for you, and you'll be covering it up anyway. Loosen the center instrument cluster - you don't have to take it all the way out, but you need to be able to slip the sides of the dash cover behind it. Once it's loose, measure from the line you drew at the top to the screws back there where the air vents go, because you may have to cut the dash cover in that area to go around them - I didn't have to cut it in my 81, but I did in my 80. The line you drew before removing the instrument cluster will tell you exactly how far you can go when you're measuring how much space you need so you don't cut too far into your new dash cover.

Fourth, when you first get the dash cover throw away the adhesive that comes with it and buy yourself a tube of GOOP or Gorilla Glue or other adhesive that's useful. The crap they come with is just silicone, doesn't stick all that well, and will make your car smell like vinegar for a week.

Fifth, put the dash cover out in the sun for a while before you start trying to fit it. This will soften it up so it will bend around the instrument cluster easier and just be generally more flexible to fit in.

Sixth, take out the vent for the defroster and remove the speaker covers. If you ever thought about replacing your front speakers, DO IT NOW. Once this goes on, it's not coming off for a while, so if you even think you might one day want to replace those speakers put in some new ones. Leave the plastic speaker covers off, you don't need them with this dash top.

Seventh, CLEAN THE DASH. I've found those vinyl prep wipes you can get at auto stores for when you're going to paint vinyl do a great job and evaporate quickly. This will get all of the dirt and grime out of your dash so the cover will stick. It's not necessary to do the big areas, only around the edges where you're going to glue it. They need to be clean.

Eighth, fit the dash cover inside but don't glue it down yet. You need to figure out where all of the screws are that will be going through it - there are a few around the instrument cluster and two on each side of the dash by the door. Make sure you're doing this in an area where you can open both doors all the way because it's hard to reach those screws without. Once you've got it fit and know where all of the holes are, punch them out (they're not pre-punched - they are depressed on the dash cover but it's not always lined up perfectly). I just used a dremel to get a clean hole.

That's pretty much it for prep. Use the GOOP and put a little at the top and sides of the dash cover, around the hole for the defroster vent, and around the glove compartment hole, but leave the bottom alone since those pieces flop around until it's in place and will just smear goo everywhere. Take the four screws out that hold the dash up (the two on each side by the doors), fit the dash pad again with the glove compartment open, making sure you have it tucked in around where the center instrument cluster will go so everything fits right, and then put those four screws by the doors back in. Then put the defroster vent cover back in the top and put the screw in, this will pull the top down so the glue around that cover will stick to the dash. Put your instrument cluster back in its place. Try to close your glove compartment door - if you shaved enough off of it, it should fit nicely like it always did. If not, take a little more off.

Now your dash is in place, you just need to glue the bottom around the side vents and around the steering column. Since it's soft from being in the sun, just pull it back, put the glue directly on the old dash, and then push it down. These areas are prone to popping off until everything has hardened, so if you have some C clamps that are deep enough use them here so you can clamp it to the dash from the back. If not, take a piece of wood and wedge it between the floor and the loose pieces while you're waiting for them to dry, kind of like how you would block a door shut with a chair. If you're using GOOP you only need to hold it in place for about 30 minutes.

After that you're done ... I think you'll be pretty happy with it. I'll try to remember to get a pic of mine and post it up.

 

Also interested in the look of just the new top.
I removed my perfect dash and dyed it black, looked great. Installed it and finished the entire interior. I created a small crack in my windshield putting the t-top trim back in place after I polished it. Took it to a shop for a new windshield and they took a huge chunk out of the upper right corner of the dash.

 

[QUOTE=baja216;1561184369]Let me get some pictures taken hopefully tomorrow night. I'll either post them here or e-mail them to you guys.QUOTE]

Here is what the dash cap looks like. Please ignore the fact that the dash cap is black and my dash is still red. That's on the list of things yet to be done. The good thing I guess is that you can see where the cap covers!










Hopefully this works!

 

I did the dash pad coverlay off ebay

 

Looks great for the money.

Thanks for the pictures and info guys

Chuck

 

[QUOTE=baja216;1561196066]Thanks for the pics! Looks alot better then I had imagined. Does the top vent and the speaker covers mount over the new dash top or is the dash top cut around the vent and speaker covers?

 

It's been a few years but I think they mounted on top of the dash cover.

 

If thats the case then I will try the dash top and see how it turns out before I purchase a $500 complete dash.
Thanks for the info!

 

This is like the one I bought, ebay item #160140053507

 

I got mine on e-bay also and it looks great! It has cutouts for the vents and speakers. Look at http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/78-79...40053507QQrdZ1 and you can see the cutouts. I got mine for $29.

 

another shipping cost killing for me