Got a new Dash Board Today...thoughts?

[Ryan King]

Today I acquired a very nice dash from a fellow DeLorean member who was installing a Houston Dash on his car.

He didn't like the very minor cracks that were starting to sprout up around the glove box lid area, so he swapped them. I jumped all over getting his old dash. He removed it without any damage. I currently am running a Houston Repro Dash, but I haven't been too happy with it, so I am planning on going back to the stock set up.

Questions though, there are some cracks, as shown in the photos below. I am wondering if I should just get these cracks repaired, or should I get the dashboard recovered all together? My concern is that with repair, it might just end up cracking once again after installing it.

Anywho. General thoughts on dash cracks, repairs, recovers, anything would be helpful. Anyone have any experiences with recovers or repairs.

-Ryan

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[WelmoedJ]

My dash at the time of purchase had been severly damages by cracks in the vinyl.
I therefore stripped all the vinyl, repaired the cracks in the softer material that covers the metal dash plate.

After that I had a car upholsterer cover the dash (and binnacle) with leather.
With proper care leather won't crack that easily, especially over here in "normal" summers.

Picture attached for your information.
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[NightFlyer]

For such small/minor imperfections, you may want to consider trying something like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS9r8BC-Irk

[louielouie2000]

I'm just curious- what makes the repro dashes so bad that you're considering going back to a cracked OEM one?

[Ryan King]

I'm just curious- what makes the repro dashes so bad that you're considering going back to a cracked OEM one?

The new Houston dashes are hollow plastic. In the case of mine, which is a black dash, I've noticed some of the black paint is wearing off the edges exposing a grey plastic underneath. This is where the door closes near the edges by the dash endcaps. When I was installing mine one of the studs underneath sheared off as I was tightening down a nut. It doesnt match up to my A-Pillars, which leaves a gap. There is also major gaping between the dash and the defrost vents.

[Spittybug]

So in other words the fit and finish is on a par with the rest of the car as it came out of the factory!

[SoCalDMC12]

Why not just cover the DMCH dash with leather?

[Ryan King]

Why not just cover the DMCH dash with leather?

If you had a choice, would you spend the money to recover a thin plastic dash or a rigid metal one?

[SoCalDMC12]

If you had a choice, would you spend the money to recover a thin plastic dash or a rigid metal one?

Oh... I didn't know the oem part was made of metal. Cool.
(I've never bothered to examine its construction.)

[sdg3205]

Ryan,

I decided that some day (maybe after the wife and I pop out a kid, raise it, send it to college and retire) I'm going to have Just Dashes do the work. They quoted $950 for the dash, but they strip it and re-do the foam and match the vinyl.

That's not cheap, and hence why I'm not going to rush into it. I'd rather throw the money at exhaust.

I'd rather pay $950 and be happy with it than $500 and not be thrilled. Some people love the new dashes, but a lot of people don't seem to like them. Given my aversion to non OEM parts I'm afraid I'd fall in the later.

For the record, they quoted me:

$950 - dash
$500 - binnacles
$200 - glove box door
+ Shipping

Again, not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

[DMC5180]

Dave,

If you wait that long the they will either be out of business or the price will triple with inflation.

Ryan,

DMCH repro dashes are not painted that I am aware of. The plastic resin was color matched.

However it's not uncommon for auto manufacturers to make (plastic) spares in one color then you have to paint match it with factory interior color stain. I had to do that on an 85 Mustang GT.

[sdg3205]

Dave,

If you wait that long the they will either be out of business or the price will triple with inflation.


I doubt it. There's no history of inflated prices or bankruptcy with the DeLorean.

[jawn101]

I doubt it. There's no history of inflated prices or bankruptcy with the DeLorean.

:lol:

[Ryan King]

Dave,

If you wait that long the they will either be out of business or the price will triple with inflation.

Ryan,

DMCH repro dashes are not painted that I am aware of. The plastic resin was color matched.

However it's not uncommon for auto manufacturers to make (plastic) spares in one color then you have to paint match it with factory interior color stain. I had to do that on an 85 Mustang GT.

I will take photos to show you. The paint is rubbing off.

[Ryan King]

Here is a photo of the binnacle taken out. See where all the black paint has rubbed odd showing grey plastic underneath. 24060

[vwdmc16]

Snapped a pic of the underside of a new dmch dash when I was there last week. Not as sturdy as i was hoping. you can see how this the ribs are and how they can snap off if tightened too much or at an angle.

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[Ryan King]

Snapped a pic of the underside of a new dmch dash when I was there last week. Not as sturdy as i was hoping. you can see how this the ribs are and how they can snap off if tightened too much or at an angle.

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You can clearly see why one of my studs sheared off when I was tightening a nut down. One of the other things that happened to me was where the glove box lid attaches to the dash. On the stock set up the screws drive into a metal bar, on the Houston dash it is plastic. On mine, the screws pop out under the pressure of the glove box lid spring, so u just leave it off.

[Some guy]

I was thinking of getting a new dash board for mine. Was there anything special you had to do to get the dash out of the car? Like remove any wires or remove the center console?

[jawn101]

I was thinking of getting a new dash board for mine. Was there anything special you had to do to get the dash out of the car? Like remove any wires or remove the center console?

It's pretty involved... If I remember correctly you will need to remove the binnacle, center console, glove box and lid and probably the seats to get underneath the dash. I also *think* that the HVAC stack needs to come out, and then you've got the fun of removing all the nuts holding the pad down.

[David T]

It's pretty involved... If I remember correctly you will need to remove the binnacle, center console, glove box and lid and probably the seats to get underneath the dash. I also *think* that the HVAC stack needs to come out, and then you've got the fun of removing all the nuts holding the pad down.

Just Dashes does very nice work but they aren't cheap. If you decide to recover over the old vinyl you have to be aware that you are making it slightly bigger and there are problems getting it to fit. The best solution is to use the OEM parts, remove the vinyl and recover with either vinyl or leather. Leather is the way to go but once you start you are going to want to do all of the interior parts. That can get expensive, especially if you want to preserve the stitching. One temporary solution could be a dash cover. Inexpensive and good looking.

[sdg3205]

It's pretty involved... If I remember correctly you will need to remove the binnacle, center console, glove box and lid and probably the seats to get underneath the dash. I also *think* that the HVAC stack needs to come out, and then you've got the fun of removing all the nuts holding the pad down.

It's pretty terrible. I think you can slip a wrench in between the underside of the dash and HVAC box with minimal issue. Dont forget to remove the front speakers.

lifting and sliding it out takes some finesse.

[GS450-Junkie]

Put in my new reproduction dash...doesn't fit too bad other than the upper dash vents near the bottom of the windshield are arching in the center of each vent, plus there is a big gap along the side of the vent as well. The vents all fit well in the old dash, is this common in the new dash?