Dash restoration options
 

Quick question for those who have done a full restoration...

What did you do for the dash? I just received my 2nd eBay dash (I know, I know) and, like the others, it's less-than-perfect. Small crack in the rear, ding in the front. The vinyl is obviously brittle and the foam no longer resilient.

I got a quote from Just Dashes for $495 to do a complete recondition and recovery. Ouch.

Has anyone used a similar service that they can recommend? Haha, and before anyone suggests it...I'm not willing to go the glued dash-cap route. :laugh2:

It's age related damage. Finding one that is original and not old is gonna be tough. I drove an old 230/8 around for a year with no dash at all as a kid. I made the mistake of thinking I could fix the one that was there. -CTH

Australia
 

There's a service in Australia that advertises in the M-100 club mag that repares these for less.

If you can find a good used one, it would be your best bet.

The obvious concern is that any used dash is on the precipice of disintegrating like the existing dash, simply due to brittleness and foam decay. Even with a windshield shade and Lexol vinyl protectant - there are 110º days here during the summer.

I did find another on eBay, but from a coupe. We'll see how this one looks when it shows...lol. Guess I just don't learn.

It's a lot of work to remove/reinstall the dash. I don't want to have to keep swapping in used dashes...but the cost of recovering the dash, upper/lower consoles, and a-pillars is going to hurt.

But hey, thanks to a tip on this board, I did get a recommendation for leather seat covers that I can live with. Under $1500 for fronts and rear, headrests included.

Not to hijack the thread :pirate: or anything, but who is the recommendation for?

Possibly the best area to source a used dash is up here in canada..Not much sun in comaparison and what there is is comparativly weak. What model do you have? 114 up should not be a big problem earlier somewhat harder. Good dashes do not abound up here but at least there are quite a few around.

Yep, w114. I'll see how the next ebay one looks. If not, I've got tons of family still in Canada who can check around/ship for me.

It's for a shop in North Hollywood, the guy's name is John. Email is kush213@yahoo.com, phone is 818-766-9511.

$1450 for seat covers, $145 for the headliner, $369 for German loop carpet. MBTex on the seat covers would be $850.

Repairing a dash depends on the condition of the vinyl. If it is soft and pliable, then it most likely can be fixed by a vinyl repair place. Up in my neck of the woods, there is a chain called Dr. Vinyl. If the vinyl is hard, you are most likely out of luck.

I had a friend fix mine, who on the side repaired vinyl chairs. The vinyl was hard and he did his best, but it is by no means an invisible repair. And he said there is no guarentee that it would not crack again. The hard vinyl, he said, is pretty much impossible to fix right.

$495 for a completely new dash from Just Dashes doesn't sound bad to me. I did research on them many years ago and it sounded like they did a thorough job and try to make the dash look as OEM as possible. It is nearly impossible to find a perfect used dash for a 30+ year old car.

Ha, I'm still trying. I've got another eBay dash on the way. When will I learn?