C3 dash cover installation questions
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 268
From: Central Wisconsin
C3 dash cover installation questions
I bought a dash cover for my 73 from Zip.
it seems kind of rigid like it will fight adhesive when I try to bond it. Anyone here do this task? Any tips?
pix to follow.
it seems kind of rigid like it will fight adhesive when I try to bond it. Anyone here do this task? Any tips?
pix to follow.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,301
Likes: 4,389
From: Westminster Maryland
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 268
From: Central Wisconsin
Alan thanks for your reply. I read thru the thread and it sounds like mine is a “cap” because it is rigid. I have it on my workbench and when I press it on the old dash on one end the opposite end pops off then I go to the other end and the opposite pops out which makes me wonder if that silicone adhesive they sent will hold. I do know from experience on other applications that silicone is very strong.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 2,329
Likes: 725
From: Marietta GA
My OEM Dash Cover (or whatever it’s called) has a plastic insert for the defroster vent. You are missing that part, look in a vendor catalog and you will see what it looks like. They shouldn’t be very expensive. A hair dryer may help to adjust the new cap/cover for a better fit. I used a hair dryer to warm up my OEM cover, so it could be removed when I replace the radio speakers.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,183
Likes: 1,178
From: out of nowhere
I have that vent if you want it for the cost of shipping. Rather than try to vinyl that tan showing, I would get some black interior dye (spray can). You can mask your new pad and go to town on it. Or simply spray it before applying the new pad/cover.
Adhesive wise,… I’d get a tube of construction adhesive, apply liberally (but stay away from the edges. I’d then pop one end on, secure it with clamps (not too tight and with rags or foam project paper under the pads/feet to prevent scratching your new cap and to spread the load of the clamps) then work my way to the other end, clamping everything as I went.
Adhesive wise,… I’d get a tube of construction adhesive, apply liberally (but stay away from the edges. I’d then pop one end on, secure it with clamps (not too tight and with rags or foam project paper under the pads/feet to prevent scratching your new cap and to spread the load of the clamps) then work my way to the other end, clamping everything as I went.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 268
From: Central Wisconsin
My OEM Dash Cover (or whatever it’s called) has a plastic insert for the defroster vent. You are missing that part, look in a vendor catalog and you will see what it looks like. They shouldn’t be very expensive. A hair dryer may help to adjust the new cap/cover for a better fit. I used a hair dryer to warm up my OEM cover, so it could be removed when I replace the radio speakers.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 268
From: Central Wisconsin
I have that vent if you want it for the cost of shipping. Rather than try to vinyl that tan showing, I would get some black interior dye (spray can). You can mask your new pad and go to town on it. Or simply spray it before applying the new pad/cover.
Adhesive wise,… I’d get a tube of construction adhesive, apply liberally (but stay away from the edges. I’d then pop one end on, secure it with clamps (not too tight and with rags or foam project paper under the pads/feet to prevent scratching your new cap and to spread the load of the clamps) then work my way to the other end, clamping everything as I went.
Adhesive wise,… I’d get a tube of construction adhesive, apply liberally (but stay away from the edges. I’d then pop one end on, secure it with clamps (not too tight and with rags or foam project paper under the pads/feet to prevent scratching your new cap and to spread the load of the clamps) then work my way to the other end, clamping everything as I went.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 268
From: Central Wisconsin
So I have the old Saddle colored one to demonstrate and some of that old dash would still show. I did glue some black vinyl there. The new black one was ordered last week. This new dash cap is not without its faults but was more affordable than a new dash.
At least from the driver’s viewpoint it covers nicely.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 268
From: Central Wisconsin
So trimming away vinyl and foam until it sat nicely helped it lay on there much better than when I first set it on there. I had to buy more RTV than what was supplied by the vendor. The one small tube that came with it from supplier that Zip uses wasn’t gonna cut it.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 268
From: Central Wisconsin
One thing I would have arranged ahead of time is some spacers or wood blocking to place under the old dash to support it for after the RTV is on and the cover is placed on it because when I put the small sandbags on it got kind of funky. So I scrambled to get some in there. I used Walmart bags for sandbags. Also a few spring clamps in there.