Rats, 1970 Dash pad Cracked!

Well I got it nice and warm and the vinyl still cracked and the pad is still not out.

It may be to dry rotted to get out without breaking it.

I tried bowing it in the middle and frankly it has to be bowed more than I thought to get it out and it really did not want to bow much. It is tantamount to bowing a 2 x 4 on the long side. It does not want to give!

Any suggestions?

Has anyone installed a repro dash pad? Is the repro identical to the original once installed?

The crack is not visable until I bow the pad. The crack starts behind the passenger side pillar and is about 2" long.I am afraid with sun it will open up even with a repair. Any thoughts?

Boy am I disappointed!


Bill

Yes I pulled off the pillar post moulding first.


Bill

Hope you get an answer from someone who has done this with the windshield in. I had no trouble removing mine (71) with the WS out and all the trim removed. I did have to bow the dash a little and pull one end of the dash back toward the inside of the car and up a little on the pillar post. After removal, I applied and glued a dash skin on the old dash. It looks real good, but drilling the speaker holes was extremely tedious. You could easily mess up the dash if you get in hurry. Don't try it unless you have a LOT of patience.

Ross

I replaced my dash pad 2 years ago with a repro from one of the catalog houses. What a huge difference it made. It looks great & fit in perfectly. From what I remember, it was about $220 or so back then.

I just replaced mine from Wilcox ($290) it is the exact size, shape and look as the original, but the materials are lighter (which is a good thing). I was very happy with the results.
Glenn