What is the best dash cap out there? - Page 2

Jays72T · 07-14-2005, 09:31 PM

Looks very nice.

ty901 · ty901's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by zymurgist
Are there new factory dashes? I thought they were NLA.

i realize this post is late & you may have already heard; the '69-'73 units are available new from the dealer. are you sitting down ? $1,100 list includes the speaker grille. PCA members get 10% discount.
aren't you glad you asked ?

my '73 has something like Crachian's although it appears to be leather. i may go that way for the '69 if i can find a good kit. anybody know who makes these ?
cheers
jerry

zymurgist · zymurgist's Garage

$1100... whoa. That rules me out. My car is nowhere near concours-worthy, and I can't see spending that kind of coin. And I thought $400 for a Corvette dash pad was expensive!

A lot of American musclecar enthusiasts use a company called Just Dashes. You send your dash to them and they patch the cracks, etc. and then they re-cover it. I would assume that they do leather as well as vinyl. That said, I don't know how much they charge for this service. Just a tidbit I learned from reading Car Craft magazine.

ty901 · ty901's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by zymurgist
$1100... whoa. That rules me out. My car is nowhere near concours-worthy, and I can't see spending that kind of coin. And I thought $400 for a Corvette dash pad was expensive!

A lot of American musclecar enthusiasts use a company called Just Dashes. You send your dash to them and they patch the cracks, etc. and then they re-cover it. I would assume that they do leather as well as vinyl. That said, I don't know how much they charge for this service. Just a tidbit I learned from reading Car Craft magazine.

rules out most of us, i'm afraid.

i've heard good and bad stories about Just Dashes. $600-$700 is common for their work and the "grain" of the vinyl is not as original. i'm looking for leads on vinyl. if anyone has any info i'm all ears. i'm confident that anyone who's moderately handy can do a "driver" quality repair. i don't relish the "opportunity" of removing the windshield, tho!
cheers
jerry

74goldtarga · 07-16-2005, 05:35 PM

I was wondering about that removing the windshield requirement - how much does the swap cost if you have the new dash in hand? My dash has one crack over the speedo, the problem is that the lip over the guages kind of sags on that side. I was contemplating getting a used dash in good condition if I could find one from a dismantler, but I'm not about to take out my windshield to make the swap.

ty901 · ty901's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by 74goldtarga
I was wondering about that removing the windshield requirement - how much does the swap cost if you have the new dash in hand? My dash has one crack over the speedo, the problem is that the lip over the guages kind of sags on that side. I was contemplating getting a used dash in good condition if I could find one from a dismantler, but I'm not about to take out my windshield to make the swap.

great question. all i've ever heard is that to do it "right" (we all know what that means, right?) you have to pull the dash. i'd love to hear opposing opinions. anyone ??
p.s. don't hold your breath waiting for a nice one to show up @ a dismantler

cheers
jerry

Crachian · 07-17-2005, 04:58 PM

There are a handful of small sheet metal screws that hold the front (relative to the car) lip of the dash down, and these are inaccessible if the glass is in. The screws go through the thin vinyl covering, not the foam part of the dash, so I suppose you could try to hold the dash down by the studs only.

Taking the windshield out is not that hard (I admit that I broke it the first time I did it--go slowly), and it isn't costly to have it reinstalled. Or replace it and you'll realize how pitted the old one was.

ty901 · ty901's Garage

CConnor;
forgive the obvious question, but i can't tell if the material on your cover is vinyl or leather or ?? also, did i miss who produced the kit ? (sorry, i'm still a little low on coffee)
thanks for a great post!
best
jerry

Crachian · 07-20-2005, 10:40 AM

Hi Jerry:

The material is ultrasuede with a thin foam backing. A local trim shop made it for me, and since it is small marginal effort to produce several once the pattern is cut (and I had the fabric), I had a couple extras made.

I also figure that this would be a good way to cover a hard plastic or fiberglass dash such as those available for about $200 from Damon at Series900 and others. For less than $300 and a little effort, you would have a nice, permanent replacement dash that will probably outlast a justdashes recover or a stock unit.

Rockafella · Rockafella's Garage

Has anyone tried this place? -> http://www.1aauto.com/1A/Dash_Pad_Cover/Porsche/911

Deschodt · 08-01-2005, 05:15 AM

Quick report on the dashtop cap... I got one for my 73 a couple of months ago and was really happy with the fit, except around the defrost air vents. I never glued it in place as it fit in place very well well without any glue and I hated the thought of ruining the dash below for sure with the glue.

Well, after 2 months of florida sun, the dash top is unrecognizeable, it's a sculpture of modern art of sorts, totally warped 6 ways from sundays.
Maybe it would have fared better had it been glued... Maybe not if the glue had not been unifform, I'll never know.

So that's just an FYI, not a judgement on the product - glue it thoroughly or lose it ;-) Back the to the cracked dash for me, which somehow does not bother me as much as before, it's got patina ;-)

ianc · 08-01-2005, 07:56 AM

Greg, what was the brand you used? Cost? Would the same thing happen in Marin, or are you guys that much tougher there?

Pics!

ianc

Deschodt · 08-01-2005, 09:08 AM

I used : http://www.dashtop.com/ See the porsche selection. The fit was pretty damn nice IMO... I think if you commited to glueing it correctly and let it sure with stacks of books on it etc, you may be OK !

The sun in FL is pretty damn harsh ! Harsher than MArin for sure !
Cost? $80 or thereabouts...