Rust holes in dash lip

[Kimodc]

Media blasting revealed some rust thru holes in the windshield lip of my dash...1969 Sport Satellite....does anyone make replacement metal for these dashes? I don’t remember seeing any thing offered. I looks like a difficult piece to pound out of flat metal. Any other suggestions on how to fix this? I want to powder coat, so plastic fillers are out. Looking forward to hear what you would do

 

[69Bee]

Use filler to fix, do not remove the vin plate.

 

[hunt2elk]

Use filler to fix, do not remove the vin plate.

Curious why you would say that as he is already at this point. ECS sells the rivets and dry transfers. If it was mine, I would want underneath the tag cleaned and powder coated.....

 

[69Bee]

Because it is illegal to remove the vin tag for ANY reason, oh, and those rivets are also illegal to sell... caveat emptor

 

[R413]

How are you powder coating over or around the vin plate?

There are holes at the bottom of those Pitts.
I’d get a different dash frame.

 

[RGAZ]

What would I do?

If its a pure restoration I would probably attempt to form a metal patch and weld in. It will take fab skills and a steady TIG hand but would be flawless. This is the most costly and probably the "right" way to do it. Personally, I would do this if not in a hurry. (maybe someone here has a dash you can hack a piece off of)

If its a driver: three options: 1. (easiest and fastest) Use rust converter and body filler than paint (no Powdercoat) or 2. (a bit more skill and tools) fill with lead (or fake lead) then form and shape and paint (probably still cannot Powdercoat). 3. (the most time consuming and frustrating of all), back the metal with a copper plate and MIG tack each pit and hole extremely slowly then grind back. Maybe even making small patches along the way. If the hole is bigger put a finish nail in it, weld it, and grind it smooth (readers: don't be a hater). It could become a total failure if the material is super thin, but when you are done you could powder coat it.

Which way do you think you will go? We like seeing the results.

RGAZ

 

[R413]

WHY do all that work? Wow what a waste of time. That’s all covered by the windshield gasket anyway.

Its a 1969 standard dash. Easy to find a replacement.

 

[4mulas]

Because it is illegal to remove the vin tag for ANY reason, oh, and those rivets are also illegal to sell... caveat emptor

For purposes of malice, misrepresentation, general crooked-ness you are correct. However a quick search on the internet shows that it can be removed and reattached afterward if deemed necessary for repairs to the vehicle where they couldn’t have been conducted otherwise. This was for a few states on a quick initial search. I’m sure most states are the same and have provisions for this type of thing.

If the OP has it all well documented with pictures etc incase something should arise I’m sure he’d be A O K to do so. I’d buy the car afterward without hesitation, and furthermore, who would know if he didn’t mention it to begin with.

OP- I’d just look for another frame, refinish, get the rivets and change the vin.... as another mentioned, there are probably plenty of those around. Good luck!

 

[hunt2elk]

Because it is illegal to remove the vin tag for ANY reason, oh, and those rivets are also illegal to sell... caveat emptor

Lol. I knew exactly what your reply was going to be when I hit send.
Just throwing it out there in case the OP didn't know those things were available. Not legal, but you know as well as I do that the tags get removed, repainted, and reinstalled on a lot of these cars.
Not only that, but how would that thin tag stand up to powder coating? Maybe ok, idk.
Dashes are easy to find and if that one was mine, I would be replacing it with another rust free model. Take pics and document everything. I hate rust.....

 

[5wndwcpe]

Get a different dash - you'll be miles ahead.

 

[69Bee]

I didn't say it couldn't be done, or even that it never has been done, only that it is illegal to do so. While DMV's might work with you on the issue, it still doesn't take away from the fact that removing the VIN tag is illegal. The DMV will, but you get a new tag that they add letters/numbers to identify that the original tag was removed. When I moved back to AZ after getting out of the Army, my van had a VIN label on the door jamb that always said "VOID" because someone tried to remove it and stopped. I had hell convincing the DMV that I didn't do that, and that the van wasn't stolen, not to mention that the VIN tag in the window matched the door jamb...

 

[eldubb440]

smear it with a little epoxy, a skim of filler, and paint it...... why the fixation on powder coat? its been painted for 50 years..... its a 1 hour repair

are we even sure the powder coat oven won't warp it?

 

[towtruckAl]

Up here in On a proper lic collision shop can do the change over I have done it before you document the repair , the tech is responsible to make sure the new parts are not stolen , myself I would just lead it , done right it will last forever .

 

[Kimodc]

Thank you for the responses,....I see a lot of you would just replace the dash because "they are easy to find".... I will spend some time on the computer tonight looking for one, but a quick 5 minute search on the my go to places for car parts does not turn one up, and I can't remember seeing one for sale in the past. If any one knows of a non-ralleye dash for sale, I would be appreciate hearing about it. As far as transferring the VIN, I do not disagree that it may be technically illegal, but so is going to bed in Massachusetts without first taking a full bath, a law that is technically still on the books. I can see both laws being enforced and pursued as vigorously. I am leaning towards filling with lead which does allow me to still powder coat, they just use a lower temperature. I do seem to be fixated on powdercoating as I feel the dash/column/ashtray etc, are parts that are touched and handled more that most and the powdercoat will hold up better over time. But perhaps fiberglass reinforced body filler with a urethane paint over top is probably easiest and fastest. Is a flat sheen, slightly textured 2K paint finish easily achieved?

 

[dadsbee]

OH NO... Is it okay if I used the same rivets to put it back!!???

 

[5wndwcpe]

You're not likely to find too many bare dashes advertised for sale, but if you list a WTB ad, I'll sure you'll get some responses.

What eldubb440 said is the easiest route to go, but I had assumed (incorrectly I see) that you had wanted to go with powder coating for the texture. Painting the dash will hold up for an eternity.

 

[CudaChick1968]

I could fix that with my high temp metal filler and even do a leatherette powder coat finish. (No @eldubb440, heat will not warp it or the tag.)

If it's already that thin as evidenced by all the pitting, trying to weld it is just going to create more problems.

Just a tease of what's possible on a Rocky Mountain Dash insert ...

 

[Kimodc]

Thanks CudaChick for confirming...that’s actually what I ended up doing. I wanted to use the high temp Lab metal but couldn’t find any readily available....ended up using high temp JB Weld.... hopefully will be done this week.

 

[CudaChick1968]

I was too late to the party as usual.

I hope you get the results you want.

I'm not a fan of JB under powder, especially under lighter colors since it shows through, and too many air bubbles if the compounds are mixed too quickly or vigorously.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I was too late to the party as usual.

I hope you get the results you want.

I'm not a fan of JB under powder, especially under lighter colors since it shows through, and too many air bubbles if the compounds are mixed too quickly or vigorously.

Your like Greg You need to come away from the oven sometimes