Dash pad replacement
Racer
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 406
Likes: 22
From: Lyons Colorado
Ouch! Not good to hear. I already purchased my CA brand Dashpad. I will be very careful taking the old one out just in case. Hopefully the new one will fit properly. If it does fit good maybe I should save the box and try to sell the old one? It just has a crack on the top left corner which could probably be mended? I'm going to think positive for now. I'll have to make sure I let everyone know the results when the day comes. 
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,753
From: Charlotte NC
I agree these 1978-1982 dash pads can have PROBLEMS...but are better than nothing at all...but are still a far cry from an original GM part. More tooling and attention to the FINE DETAILS.
Tommy K 47,
Your dash pad can be repaired as long as you have a person in your town that know how to work on dash panels.
To find out if there is someone...call around or go to your local dealerships and ask the people in the parts or service departments if they have someone who does repair work for them when ti deals with vinyl and leather repairs.
DUB
Tommy K 47,
Your dash pad can be repaired as long as you have a person in your town that know how to work on dash panels.
To find out if there is someone...call around or go to your local dealerships and ask the people in the parts or service departments if they have someone who does repair work for them when ti deals with vinyl and leather repairs.
DUB
Former Vendor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
Likes: 1,851
From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Ouch! Not good to hear. I already purchased my CA brand Dashpad. I will be very careful taking the old one out just in case. Hopefully the new one will fit properly. If it does fit good maybe I should save the box and try to sell the old one? It just has a crack on the top left corner which could probably be mended? I'm going to think positive for now. I'll have to make sure I let everyone know the results when the day comes.
Also make sure you install the speakers before you install the pad.
And... like Dub said, the side vents can be tricky and if you looked at the facebook page (and the pad in that installation was a CA pad), you'll see there are some tips there for installing and working with the side vents.
Willcox
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
78 Dashpad replacement
When I got it and started looking at it the first thing I noticed was that the framework was plastic instead of metal. Then I began pre-fitting the instrument cluster, which means fitting it and then drilling the mounting holes. Since there's no metal to drill into it has little pieces of plastic glued to the inside for the screws to go into. The first one I drilled into popped off. I re-glued it and managed to drill the others without having to re-glue them, but the instrument cluster was a poor fit in the opening. I then fitted the glove box door, and the best possible fit still left an overhang on the right side. At this point I knew that the next step was to drill and install the metal clips that hold the dash to the car and I also knew that the only way to verify that they were properly located was a test fit. It was at that point that I threw in the towel, I wasn't going to risk damaging the dash attempting to make it fit. I'm quite pleased with my used dash, it's better than the one I sent back.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
78 Dashpad replacement
I agree these 1978-1982 dash pads can have PROBLEMS...but are better than nothing at all...but are still a far cry from an original GM part. More tooling and attention to the FINE DETAILS.
Tommy K 47,
Your dash pad can be repaired as long as you have a person in your town that know how to work on dash panels.
To find out if there is someone...call around or go to your local dealerships and ask the people in the parts or service departments if they have someone who does repair work for them when ti deals with vinyl and leather repairs.
DUB
Tommy K 47,
Your dash pad can be repaired as long as you have a person in your town that know how to work on dash panels.
To find out if there is someone...call around or go to your local dealerships and ask the people in the parts or service departments if they have someone who does repair work for them when ti deals with vinyl and leather repairs.
DUB
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
78 Dashpad replacement
Tommy- I just noticed it was a 78... on the 78 pad you push the left corner in place and then bend up the ear on the right hand side... You'll see the crease in the pad made for this.
Also make sure you install the speakers before you install the pad.
And... like Dub said, the side vents can be tricky and if you looked at the facebook page (and the pad in that installation was a CA pad), you'll see there are some tips there for installing and working with the side vents.
Willcox
Also make sure you install the speakers before you install the pad.
And... like Dub said, the side vents can be tricky and if you looked at the facebook page (and the pad in that installation was a CA pad), you'll see there are some tips there for installing and working with the side vents.
Willcox
