I have a 81-83 dash that is in rough shape after removing a dash cap (it pulled up a lot of the old cracked vinyl/foam with it).

I have been thinking of just removing all the foam (stripping the dash to bare metal) and flocking the metal directly. Has anyone stripped one of these dashes? What does the metal look like underneath? Is it full of holes and gaps?

Alternatively, I guess I could try to strip the remaining vinyl and fill in the missing foam with some expanding foam, apply some sealant and then flock over the sealant. But this sounds like a whole lot of effort with lots of room for error.

Any input on dash rebuilding or aesthetic opinion is appreciated.

 

i should go home and strip the dash i have in the junk pile

 

Get a good one from a junkyard or someone on here.

 

With all the hot rod and restoration industry, surely there is someone in the US who specialises in reskinning vinyl dashboards?

Over here we have several businesses that can strip, rebuild the foam and skin new vinyl (I think that they vacuum seal it). They can even colour match and grain match the existing vinyl. Usually works out cheaper than buying on old one and due to the hot summers here here pretty much every 1st gen dash is cracked to pieces.

 

justdashes.com does, vacuum forming video here:
I don't know the price, but I saw a site where a Datsun guy said his was done for around $1200.

 

http://www.justdashes.com/

 

Wow. The best guys here charge flat rate AU$495 for a 1st gen dash complete with speaker hole cutouts and matching grain colour (if requested). early RXs was basic dash pads are even cheaper. This works out to be around US$350, US$315 after you take into account you don't pay local sales tax. Probably cheaper to send your dashes to Melbourne and have them shipped back!

 

If I understand your situation correctly, then its just the bolt-on dash pad that needs replacement?
If so then any good 79-83 dash pad will swap right in, and I have to think there are plenty of these still around in various parts cars, nation-wide. (in fact, I have a spare if you want to PM me. Shameless plug) The swap, while a bit of a job (I mean, you essentially have to completely gut the dash), is not impossible and requires some patience and basic metric tools, nothing special. You would be doing this regardless, if you chose to have one re-skinned anyway. I think you will only be in a bit of a pickle if you need a color other than Black...

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

To answer the original question, the stripped dash is not very attractive. That is what I have in my racecar and it is great for that. Otherwise not so good. The attached pics are not great, but you can get an idea of what it looks like without the pad.

Carl

 

Carl- Thank you very much. Those pictures were exactly what I was looking for. It looks like I will be in the market for a new dash pad, as per Stu's suggestion.

Also, is there a trim piece that goes around the gauge cluster? (missing in Carl's pictures) If so, I cannot find the part in the parts catalog.

 

Here's how you re-foam a dashboard:

1. Take that filthy thing out



2. Pull off the vinyl (it comes right off)



3. Fill in cracks with Great Stuff foam



4. Go crazy and try to sculpt the foam that was totally gone around the gauge cluster



5. Wait 8 hrs for it to cure, then cut and sand for many hours



6. Realize it's less smooth that when you started, and that this will take 50+ hours to complete, and even then it might not look good



7. Give up and pull off all of the foam



8. Polish until shiny and chrome, worthy of taking me to the gates of Valhalla

 

I like it bare!

 

haha that is absolutely awesome albeit potentially incredibly blinding when driving down the road. What is the point of the foam to begin with? Why not just cover the bare metal with some kind of other vinyl, suede, etc.?

 

I would try some closed cell landau roof foam , its about 3/16" thick, and re-vinyl or tweed that ****.