Before going to all the hassle of replacing the dash, did you look at the molded plastic dash caps? I put one in my 300CD about 10-years ago and it still looks great and at a glance you don't notice that it's a cap.

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Houston, Texas
1984 300CD 235K miles, Elvira, one owner
1987 300TD 180K miles
1974 TR6 78K miles Sarah Jane, one owner
OBK #27