I'm in the tear down phase of a frame up restoration. My dashboard is full of rust near the window. Holes included. I need to either rebuild or replace. Does anybody know of a good source for used parts for a 65 Skylark convertible? I think I'll be needing one. A good dash is what I'm currently looking for.
It depends upon how big your holes are. The only reproduction metal piece that may fix your problem is the lower windshield channel which sells for around $50. It includes the entire piece that goes over the top of the firewall about 1" wide (think of the piece between the cowl cover and the back edge of the hood), it runs from body seam to body seam widthwise and protrudes about an inch from the windshield channel up into the dash area. There are several vendors on eBay that carry this piece as well as the usual suspects, Year One, OPGI, etc. If it doesn't go far enough into the dash area for you, your only solution is used sheet metal from a donor car. Good luck! Greg
Thanks for you help. It looks like the research I've done is accurate. Although, that piece has gone up a little... Additionally, it sounds like it is a one piece fits all part for GM A-Bodies. In Fresno CA we have an asian man who is know for his expert ability to recreate sheet metal parts to cars. His name is Yun Song. He's not cheap but he does good work. I'm seriously considering taking up sheet. metal work.
It really depends upon how much time you have and how willing you are to practice to do your own sheet metal work. In the past I have paid others to do my sheet metal work and it turned out fantastically. I had over $12,000 in body and paint for my '69 Riviera and over $8,000 for my '65 Skylark 2 door 9 years ago. On my '65 Skylark 4 door, I decided to try my hand at sheet metal repair. After all it is only a 4 door and sheet metal costs add up very quickly. I have a small wirefeed welder with an Argon bottle. Total cost was around $400 for the setup. So far I have replaced the piece we talked about (very easy) and replaced all of the lower rear window channel and part of the rear trunk valance (between the rear window and the trunk lid) (not so easy). All in all I am pleased with the outcome. Fortunately this car had good lower rear quarters. I also replaced the lower rear section of a front fender and used a borrowed stud welder to pull out a few dents and realign a front door post which was messing up my door alignment. I do have a significant time investment in the body work but little to nothing in actual cost. After all that, what you do should consider what you are expecting as an outcome. If you are building a showcar, you need to have a professional do your paint and bodywork. If you are building a driver, you can do it yourself. If you want to learn how to do professional type work, you need to either take some classes or volunteer to help at a shop in exchange for lessons (be prepared to do a lot of clean-up and sanding). I did the latter approach and so far I am happy with the outcome.
We have a full article on how to repair this area (Thanks Walt!) on our site. http://65gs.com/board/index.php/topic,147.0.html Enjoy! :laugh:
Ol' Yeller, getnbye, Chriss, I can't thank you enough for all of you and your information. That was exactly what I was looking for. First of all, a welder is definitely in my list of things to purchase over the next few weeks. Second, it's nice to know someone has done it and was successful. Third, The pictures on how to do it will be a tremendous help when I start. Finally, I didn't know their was a web site for 65's. I think my family thought I was a little mental as I was looking at the lower windshield frame in my car with a confused look on my face. All that rust, I cant even tell the two pieces apart. Now their seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. There is no hurry in building this car so I will be trying to do it myself. I have attempted stuff like this before and have had good success. The worry I now have is the dashboard metal. I've looked from Bakersfield to Fresno and there isn't one available. There is one more wrecking yard to check then I will have to try some other states. (The last dismantler I mentioned thinks he has a gold mine not a Junkyard.) However, after looking at the pictures I might just be able to save it with a little time and effort. The rest of the car is not that bad but there will be work to do. Composition blast? The goal with this car is to update the suspension put new brakes on and new engine and transmission. The frame is powder coated and the rear end is rebuilt. The body is really were I want it to shine. I want to drive this car to local and maybe not so local car shows, put out the lawn chairs and socialize. Additionally, I wouldn't mind an honorable mention at the end of the day if people like my car. I also want to drive it to the coast with the family in it. So, I guess you can call it a driver with really good body and paint when it is done. My goal is to do as much work as I can then hand it over to a real good body and paint man and let him do the final work. I was already quoted $15,000 and that just isn't in the cards I've got the money saved but if I do as much as I can. I can probably get a lot off that quote. Even though I'm not planning on selling the car the high blue book is $24,000 so I'm trying to keep it reasonable. So thanks for your help and if you have anymore suggestions I'm listening!
Are you located in Fresno? It would help us to help you if you would put your location with your signature. If you can't find the dash metal, I may have a buddy who might have one or two. I'll check with him. If you are in Fresno, shipping wouldn't be too bad. Greg
I talked to my buddy and he only has 1 cowl section that he was planning to use on a project of his. Sorry. Greg
