My dash in my 72 GS finally cracked. New Mexico is tough on dashes. Hot in summer...but can get cold in winter. My GS AND my Trans Am dash cracked in the last few weeks with the weather change. Bummer. I pulled out the good one I have saved for 15ish years and went to install tonight....it cracked. How are these plastic dash pad caps sold by the parts place or OPG? They are just the plastic covers that go over the dash pad. Anyone use these? Review of fit and finish? I know I can get a used pad for around the same price....but it is still just another 40 year old dash pad....that may crack again. Looking for other options.
I`m in the same boat, my 70 Skylarks DashPad is brittle and has a small unnoticeable crack, that I think I can hide with some repair and a redye with SEM Landau Black. My fear is that which you spoke of ; it is still a 43 year old dashpad and I may possibly damage it during reinstall or even later on down the road , in use. My car is a driver, so "correct" has little or no bearing, but appearance is important. Will be following this thread to see what others have done, other than replacing a 40 year old pad with another overpriced 40 year old pad. Lookin` forward to seeing some pictures of Covers in use etc. Jim/Rott:TU:
My experience and review: I was in the same boat when I bought my skylark about 3 yrs ago. What really made me mad was the guy I bought the car from had a really good dash but wanted too much $$ for it. I found a dash cover from E-bay which had good reviews made in USA, I will need to dig out the invoice don't remember where I bought it from, paid about $120.00 shipped. My dash was really badly cracked, so I used a plastic repair epoxy to repair the damage I wanted something sturdy to work with. I then took off all the A/C ducts and detailed them. will need to takes them off in order to put the dash cover. I had a bit of trouble and needed to trim just a little to make it fit. The cover is molded very well goes on tight and glues on with a special silicone. notes: the drivers side corner of the dash doesn't go all the way down stops at the seam, you can barely tell and the dash Buick emblem area is recess so you may need to use double side tape to build up the area to level out the emblem, tried clear silicone but took it off was too messy,still looking for a good solution. Overall it looks great, like most said buying another original dash for $250 or so, then have it crack again it's a big gamble it's a 40 yr old part. Also you may want to redo your dash area and install new ducts, etc............ See pics below:
Lazaro, in the last picture what steering wheel is that? I am especially interested in the horn cap with the Buick logo.
ok, digged up my invoice: Bought it from Jeggs two years ago, they may still have it but these are Grant parts so i'm sure they are around. Also try summit. 1. Grant 969-0 Classic Series 15" 4-1/8" dish Jeggs # 470-969-0 $70.00 2. Grant 3196 install base kit Jeggs # 470-3196 $17.00 3. Grant 5631 horn button Jeggs # 470-5631 $12.00 For the money it was a great deal, Steering wheel is very well made though it's a tad smaller than original 16" wheel. Did a lot of research and choose this deal, very happy with it. ---------- Post added at 01:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:41 PM ---------- Ok, found where I bought the Dash Cap. 1.http://www.dashcaps.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16799&cat=265&page=1 another choice: 2. http://www.americandashcaps.com/1971-74-buick-skylark-dash-cap.html I know by now all the major restoration warehouse's offer them now, you decide. :Comp:
After trying to buy 2 used pads then ended up cracked I decided to pull the trigger and try the dash cap cover. Ordered from eBay - $134.00 including shipping. I installed the dashcap today. The good: The finished product when installed really looks pretty good - much better than I thought it would. Significantly better than the cracked factory dash. I am very happy with the look when sitting inside the car. The plastic cover seems pretty durable and I think it will stand up to the heat of New Mexico pretty well. Installation was pretty simple - I was installing over a dash in relatively good condition with little warpage or significant cracks. The entire old dash is covered (including the drivers lower corner - not sure if they redesigned or this is from another vendor). The bad: This is not a concourse restoration quality piece. These should be used on "driver" cars. The color, grain, and edge finish do not match the factory. (see pics). It required minor trimming around vents to make it fit. The cap literally installs over the dash, vents, and emblem. I tried to remove them and install the cap to mimic the factory installation and then put them back on but they don't fit with the plastic dash cap installed first. It is designed to go over the vents and emblem - so everything is recessed more than they would have been from the factory on the finished product. Sorry about some of the picture quality - I only had my phone camera - I will try to get some better ones later and once summer comes I will provide an update on the heat/warpage resistance.
I put one on a 72 GTO and agree with real82it, it fit fairly well and looks good but it did have some minor clearance issues with the glove box door and ac vents. test fit it before you paint it. overall I felt it was acceptable on a driver but not that numbers matching resto. Wacko
http://www.jegs.com/i/Grant/470/969-0/10002/-1 Free shipping and can be here for Christmas! David http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-1993-B...uick&hash=item2ecc9ea162&vxp=mtr#ht_461wt_636 ebay wheel includes mounting and Buick Horn button
