I swapped out my HVAC panel today for a new one, since the old one was the only part of my car that had the flaking 1993 interior plastic. Now I'm wondering if I actually shouldn't have done it. There's something to be said for "all-original", and now that I know I dicked with it and saw all the differences on the inside of the new pieces, it makes me feel a little bit like I violated the car.

It has made me hyper-vigilant about any differences between the new piece and the old one. "Is the lighting uneven behind the temperature dial now, or is that my imagination?" "Why is the backlight on the fan speed selector so dim--was it always that way?" And the new plastic isn't a 100% match for the older pieces--it looks too new, too fresh and unsullied by 23 years, like I need to lick it all over or slime a bunch of ******* on it--get it a bit grimier/shinier to match the rest of the panels. It also doesn't have the warning sticker at the bottom edge that the original piece has, which was always an eyesore, but now...something's missing.

Anyone else ever get this feeling? Oh also, the friggin' gauge cluster hood could not be more of a pain in the *** to get out of the dash. I was so afraid I was going to break that thing--I stopped like three times over the course of the hour and really had to do some soul-searching before giving it a harder yank. Also had to drop the steering shaft just to be safe. (If anyone's wondering, 12-17 ft-lbs torque spec on those steering shaft bolts, but breakaway torque seemed a lot higher. Also there's a white plastic bracket holding a few harness connectors that clips onto the bottom of the steering shaft. You'll need to pop it free in order to access the bolts and drop the shaft.)

 

I don't think you can go wrong swapping out the '93 interior for the '94 texture. I broke a gauge hood trying to yank it out, so you did the right thing. As these cars become collectible there will be more pressure for stock everything. But, is your car really a museum piece? And, would you like it if it was? Most current members are here to drive.

 

Actually the replacement piece was also in 93 finish. Call me a glutton for punishment.

Still debating how how much I want to drive this car. Since it's super-low mileage it doesn't have a lot of problems so I've been trying to get it back to "perfect". The interior is now pretty much there, but yeah. This thread.

 

Meh, maybe it's just because I have a 93, but I thought the non-textured finish was a little more attractive. I had some flaking but sanded and re-finished those pieces with plasti-dip and you can't tell the difference. Cheaper, nice feel to the touch, and you can play rugby on it now.

 

I hear ya man...I absolutely LOATHE putting any replacement part on my car. But sometimes you just don't have a choice.

 

I don't know what general consensus is, but I've always thought the 93 is the better finish too. The textured, raw plastic finish, feels and looks cheaper. Of course, the 93 finish is GARBAGE, sadly. I have to be so careful in this car so I don't scratch it any further than it already was when I got it. Now that I've replaced the HVAC panel it's near-perfect...if I can juuuuust figure out how to make it match the rest a bit better!

The 93 finish reminds me of the sticky plastics in my 987. From that perspective, I guess I'd rather have peeling than sticky and melting!

 

I see two routes for my car personally, either going with all OEM for sake of "collector" car OR go all out and re-finish the interior with a clean modern touch kinda like how grand mighty did his interior without the digital display dash.