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dash cap

Texas charger 73

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Who has installed the plastic dash cap before? i cant afford a reproduction pad right now so this is just temp.. i was pre fitting it and it fits great except around wood grain on passenger side,, being an overlay i wouldn't think that needed to be removed, but possibly just trimmed around?
 
I put one a 72 and did not trim anything on the plastic cap itself, just the cracked , pooched up parts of the old dash. Looks better the cracked busted dash , but not by much. Saw a U tube vid where a guy takes off his original, cracked dash, cuts out the high parts, fills with regular body filler, ie bondo, and repaints. Looked better than my cap. good luck.....
 
Shag carpet covers well too, cost is low, and is easily replaceable... :thumbsup:
 
I put one a 72 and did not trim anything on the plastic cap itself, just the cracked , pooched up parts of the old dash. Looks better the cracked busted dash , but not by much. Saw a U tube vid where a guy takes off his original, cracked dash, cuts out the high parts, fills with regular body filler, ie bondo, and repaints. Looked better than my cap. good luck.....

I did that on my 69 dash pad and personally it looks great.

IMG_1182.JPG
IMG_1181.JPG


I used Bondo Jelly followed by Metal glaze to make it smooth. Then to give it some texture I experimented with flat black paint and a mini-roller. Gave it a pretty cool texture. You can see a little of it in the pics.

Note: Not supposed to be a stock restoration.

RGAZ
 
I have installed two from diff manufacturers on a couple of friend's cars. Unfortunatelly can't recall what brand was better but it was a fact one of them was better.

One of them didn't reach the cluster, underneath the dash eyebrow ( map light insert area ) and the other one did. The first one fit and looked better ( better grain ).

I would say is just for a temporary use or if you don't care the best look, just being better than a cracked piece
 
Mine has a crack in the middle and a spot on the passenger side. Doing the same thing, taking down the high spots filling it and refinishing it. Easy, cheap and it will look original
 
I had the same issue with my dash cap. I used a heat gun to soften the plastic on the cap to massage it into shape so the insert would fit.
 
I hated the way the plastic cap felt and looked so I never installed it. I got $20 worth of soft vinyl from Joann's that matched pretty well, some high strength 3M spray adhesive and a heat gun to recover the dash. Its not perfect, but I think its way better than the plastic cap. If you arent willing to pull the pad out of the car, its hard to go this route.
20170430_105205.jpg
 
I hated the way the plastic cap felt and looked so I never installed it. I got $20 worth of soft vinyl from Joann's that matched pretty well, some high strength 3M spray adhesive and a heat gun to recover the dash. Its not perfect, but I think its way better than the plastic cap. If you arent willing to pull the pad out of the car, its hard to go this route.
View attachment 1142074
how hard is pad tp get out with the dash still in the car?
 
I hated the way the plastic cap felt and looked so I never installed it. I got $20 worth of soft vinyl from Joann's that matched pretty well, some high strength 3M spray adhesive and a heat gun to recover the dash. Its not perfect, but I think its way better than the plastic cap. If you arent willing to pull the pad out of the car, its hard to go this route.
View attachment 1142074
Nice! Thats my back up plan, vinyl. Im trying to find a large enough piece of leather to do it with
 
how hard is pad tp get out with the dash still in the car?
I haven't had to remove it with the dash installed, so I can't say for sure. Its bolted in with some little nuts. You will want to remove the speaker grill and probably the ac ducting if its in place. The hardest ones would be up behind the gauge cluster and glove box. If someone has a pad out and can take a picture that would help show where the studs are. Overall, I would say not impossible, but you are going to owe the swear jar a nice dinner.

Im trying to find a large enough piece of leather to do it with
That was what I wanted to do originally but it was really hard to find a piece of leather and the likelyhood it would stretch like I wanted with no leather working experiance was slim. The vinyl I ended up using was actually my second choice. It was much thinner and floppier than some Marine vinyl I got, but that stuff had zero pliability, which is what you need.
 
I haven't had to remove it with the dash installed, so I can't say for sure. Its bolted in with some little nuts. You will want to remove the speaker grill and probably the ac ducting if its in place. The hardest ones would be up behind the gauge cluster and glove box. If someone has a pad out and can take a picture that would help show where the studs are. Overall, I would say not impossible, but you are going to owe the swear jar a nice dinner.


That was what I wanted to do originally but it was really hard to find a piece of leather and the likelyhood it would stretch like I wanted with no leather working experiance was slim. The vinyl I ended up using was actually my second choice. It was much thinner and floppier than some Marine vinyl I got, but that stuff had zero pliability, which is what you need.
Who has installed the plastic dash cap before? i cant afford a reproduction pad right now so this is just temp.. i was pre fitting it and it fits great except around wood grain on passenger side,, being an overlay i wouldn't think that needed to be removed, but possibly just trimmed around?
I used a dash cap. I got mine to fit well. I had the dash out of the car. A heat gun on low heat can be used around the woodgrain insert in the dash cap to mold the insert into the opening. I might give the vinyl a try on my next one.
Terry

Charger Dash 1.jpg Charger Dash 2.jpg
 
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Maybe this helps
Perfect.

Texas, that will give you an idea what you need to remove it. Each of those studs with the little acorn looking nut are what you are aiming for. Looks like you can get to all the nuts without removing the cluster, but the speaker grill, ac and glove box probably need to come out. 1/4" ratchet with some extensions will get you there. Throw a little magnet in the socket will help keep the nuts from escaping.
Easiest way I have found to get the speaker grill out is using a 1/4 wrench and taping a little phillips screw driver bit in the closed end.
 
I haven't had to remove it with the dash installed, so I can't say for sure. Its bolted in with some little nuts. You will want to remove the speaker grill and probably the ac ducting if its in place. The hardest ones would be up behind the gauge cluster and glove box. If someone has a pad out and can take a picture that would help show where the studs are. Overall, I would say not impossible, but you are going to owe the swear jar a nice dinner.


That was what I wanted to do originally but it was really hard to find a piece of leather and the likelyhood it would stretch like I wanted with no leather working experiance was slim. The vinyl I ended up using was actually my second choice. It was much thinner and floppier than some Marine vinyl I got, but that stuff had zero pliability, which is what you need.
Yeah Im not havin much luck on the size leather itself to boot. Also thought of looking for a new unused vinyl top someone may have just sitting (I had a white one for 15yrs nib I never used) and just lay it dowm as you would.on the exterior, 3M spray adhesive and same method
 
You can get a reproduction dash for 500 bucks.itwill actually look good unlike a dash cap.
https://dantesparts.com/i-30499598-...-road-runner-gtx-satellite-dodge-charger.html
You got an extra $500 I can borrow. I woul love nothing more than to buy a brand new dash pad, just as I wish I had rallye gauges instead of the ugly standard gauges.Making due with what I can afford. Have a kid leaving for college that needs a car and of course the cost of college and room an board
 
We have all been there and understand that, wants verses needs. In wanting to lift a beater up to driver standards , we look for options we can afford. And, hey, I have gotten some good ones off this site I wish I had known about many years ago.....
 
Be cautious about those repo dash pads.
The one (s) I bought for the 67 Charger were too short. In other words the end studs and downward curved ends would not reach the holes in the frame.
On the second one they sent I was able to heat the vinyl and bend it enough to get it to work. As far as I know they all come from the same place in China.
Joann's Fabrics is a great source for materials.
Everything from poly foam for seat to Fabrics.
If I had a simple eyebrow pad with no curves and could find some acceptable material there , I would definitely attempt a recover myself.

Now ,while the folks at that one place that do concours restoration on dash pads MAY be worth what they are asking, I think it is a little unrealistic.
They have cornered the market on vacu-forming dashes and they charge accordingly.
So I bought the 200 dollar repo pad instead.
 
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