Reproduction Dash Pad Comparison PICS
Former Vendor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
Likes: 1,850
From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
This thread is over four years old and since this time, the pad has been re-tooled. We did a pictorial of an installation we did in our shop and added some tips to help install the pad on our Facebook page. I don’t know about the grain comparison, but the material and weight of the pad seemed to be fine. Installation of this pad is a beast of a job for anyone!
Willcox
Willcox
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; May 30, 2015 at 08:33 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,678
Likes: 329
From: Scottsdale Arizona
I'm sure a lot has changed with these parts over the last few years but I got a replacement pad through Willcox from Al Knoch not long ago and my impressions are somewhat different. I remember this post years ago because of the packaging. Al's arrived in a long, skinny box with the pad wrapped in cheesecloth. No padding at all. Still got here in one piece though. It is very noticeably lighter than the original but I thought the grain and vinyl were an excellent match. There were a couple of minor defects such as a staple sticking out and a corner that wasn't neatly finished that I'll have to fix before installing but generally, my impression is good. As the OP mentioned, the fit and finish on these cars wasn't good when new so I'm never sure if I'm fixing the shortcoming of a part or the original design.
I plan to install it tomorrow morning so I'll add final impressions then.
I plan to install it tomorrow morning so I'll add final impressions then.
Former Vendor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
Likes: 1,850
From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Some advice...
Don't drill holes... Mark them and then burn them into the pad with a heated small awe. Check the facebook installation for other tips too.
Installing the center dash bezel.. Get the sides where they need to be, test fit the center dash bezel... Mark the holes then burn (see below) in the pilot... Make sure the side screws are short if not you'll poke a hole through the pad. We have a "marking core" we use to mark the holes...
We then use the heated awe to burn pilot holes in the pad and then we install the screw. Same goes for the wiper switch. make sure you have it in the right place, make your pilot and then screw it down.
It used to take me 8 hours start to finish to do one of these years ago, I'm sure my guys can replicate that but I'm sure there is no way I'd do it that fast today and don't try too... Take your time.
Don't drill holes... Mark them and then burn them into the pad with a heated small awe. Check the facebook installation for other tips too.
Installing the center dash bezel.. Get the sides where they need to be, test fit the center dash bezel... Mark the holes then burn (see below) in the pilot... Make sure the side screws are short if not you'll poke a hole through the pad. We have a "marking core" we use to mark the holes...
We then use the heated awe to burn pilot holes in the pad and then we install the screw. Same goes for the wiper switch. make sure you have it in the right place, make your pilot and then screw it down.
It used to take me 8 hours start to finish to do one of these years ago, I'm sure my guys can replicate that but I'm sure there is no way I'd do it that fast today and don't try too... Take your time.
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; May 31, 2015 at 10:23 PM.
