I pulled the dash pad out of my 72 Skylark, and despite being as careful as possible it came out with several large cracks. The top vinyl if very brittle and I suspect if I restored it I'd crack it putting it back in. Has anyone used the dash pad overlays offered by TPP and OPGI? It seems like it would be a good solution if they go on cleanly. Price isn't outrageous either (TPP $149).
I used a "dash topper" brand on a driver quality 63 Rivera and it was pretty nice but to be clear that dash is flat. The 72 skylark well is not. Hope someone has tried it can chime in, good luck!
A few years ago I looked at a GSX for sale with a dash pad cap installed. It looked terrible. The dash pad was easily the worst feature of that restoration. My recommendation to the seller was that he should find an original dash pad. Swapping the dash pad probably takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours to complete from start to finish, and a nice original pad can be found for somewhere between $150 and $400. In my opinion replacing your cracked dash pad with a nice original dash pad is well work both the money and time investment.
Not sure about the 2 - 2 1/2 hour time to change out the dash pad. I happened to take mine out this afternoon (need to check some gauge wiring). It took less than 10min. I expect install will be roughly double, just because I want to be careful. It's 2 screws on the driver side (up through the cluster) and 2 nuts above the glovebox. Then it pops out. The service manual calls for pulling the glovebox (door and bin) to access the 2 nuts. However, they are easily gotten to by laying on your back and reaching up over the glovebox (from the center). Once you know where the dash pad studs are located, its easy. And saves a ton of time and hassle pulling the glovebox.
[QUOTE="Swapping the dash pad probably takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours to complete from start to finish, and a nice original pad can be found for somewhere between $150 and $400.[/QUOTE] Yeah, it took me all of 15 minutes to get the pad out. I've seen a number of posts and videos from other car sites addressing dash pad covers. It's a mixed bag, some guys love them, others not so much. A common complaint is that they don't sit well near the windshield, but that's the ones installed with the pad still in the car. Another complaint is that when changing colors you can see the old pad color along some of the edges, vents, etc. All that being said I'm inclined to try a cover, given my pad is out of the car, and will be replacing with black on black. That will give me the opportunity to trim and tweak as needed before installing. If it doesn't come out 100% I can replace with a reproduction down the road if someone starts making them. Restoparts used to, but currently unavailable.
I recently called just dashes inquiring on having a dash pad core recovered for a spare. What use to cost $600-700 is now $1,500. 12 - 16 week lead time at best
The Just Dashes recover is nice but they are easy to tell from original. I personally would recommend looking for a nice original pad. For $1500 you should be able to find a very nice original pad.
