As some of you know I have been looking for a replacement for my dash pad. I have the original one but it was badly cracked and I removed all of the plastic that covered the foam.

I decided to try and cover it with some vinyl material. So far it looks pretty good but I need to work on it a little more. The material was $15 (I bought enough in case I messed up the first one) and the adhesive was around $10. I have two hours in it so far. I should be able to finish it up tomorrow.

The hardest part so far has been the curve to the right of the instrument panel (79-81). Other than that the vinyl went down pretty quick.

I will take some pictures when I get the dash finished.

please do post pics! i am interested in doing this myself, and would like to see how it looks.

Ditto, I would like to see how it turns out.

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69 SS 350 4 Speed World Wide Camaro Association (http://65.18.159.167/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=58)
75 400 4 Speed World Wide Camaro Association (http://65.18.159.167/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=59)
93 Z28 6 Speed

would like to see the results too, am also curious how it would hold up to the sun! (arizona tends to have more of it than most places)

How have you been molding it around complex curves- i.e. the corner of dash/front where you have a curve over the top and one to the right. Have you been stretching the vinyl to the extreme or ???

I made the mistake of removing all of the plastic covering. The dash over all looks fair. The contact cement stuck to the foam fine but in some areas the foam is releasing from plastic backing.

If I would have removed the high spots/cracked areas of the plastic I think the dash would have turned out a lot better. I don't know how it would stand up to a lot of direct sun light.

Eric I use to build custom stereo systems. Most of the vinyl that I bought would stretch and foam to most anything. The problem with the dash is there isn't any place to staple or anchor the vinyl. I am having to use a heat gun to help form some of the curves.

I will take a few pictures when everything dries.

Bad news. When I got home tonight I noticed some of the foam is coming up off of the plastic molded structure. Once all of the contact cement dries I am thinking about removing all of the vinyl and foam and starting from the plastic frame up. I haven't decided what I am going to use yet but since this is going in a race car it doesn't really matter much.

I wonder what fiberglass resin will do to the plastic understructure? I have used resin on wood and metal but never plastic.

I can't see sending the dash to just dashes and paying $500 or buying an aftermarket one for $300 that doesn't fit.

I guess I am going to hunt for a good used one while I mess with this one until it is beyond repair.

I have added a few pictures of the dash pad to my web site.
http://members.cox.net/mousehouse/photo.htm

Go to the bottom of the page.

[This message has been edited by Mousehouse (edited November 04, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by Mousehouse (edited November 04, 2003).]

Did you use contact cement to glue the foam to the plastic? I dont know how that would do, but any adhesive you use the plastic should be roughed up some before puttin the glue on. If you try the resin for glue, maybe try a small dap on the foam, see if it eats it or not. Foam and plastic adhesives...tough one for me cuz i have zero experience with that one! wonder if bondo would do it....

The foam is what was put on at the factory back in 1979. I didn't want to remove it but it looks like I am going to have to. I don't like half a**ed stuff.

The plastic frame should be hard enough to accept the fiberglass resin. I need to install the plastic frame and see how much fiberglass I need to add to take the place of the foam. Then I can either paint the dash or cover it with vinyl.

I use to do a lot of this type work when I was building car stereo systems. It isn't that hard but it does take a lot of time.

Mousehouse,
I admaire your willingness to try this and I think that you will beat the dang thing if you keep messin arond. I know that that "foam" was really stiff, almost like dried triple expanding foam (great stuff) that is used for insulation. Was the whole thing covered with a universal layer of foam? If it was why not go with a high dense or closed cell foam? The resin will work but then there will be no padding, right?

The foam was original from the factory. I am planning on removing the vinyl and foam and using fiberglass to build up the dash to make everything match.

If I stick with it the dash should turn out pretty good. I am not worried about having foam on the dash pad. The car is going to be used as a race car. I thought about going with a aluminum dash put I don't like the way they look in the second gen's.