Have replacement/urethane dash pads improved at all?
 

I recall that a while ago these things were flimsy around the gauge clusters, would sag, didn't fit the best, were mislabeled in the factory packaging so an order of a 73-78 style pad had a vin cutout, and overall needed lots of tweaking...

Then I remember hearing that they solved the batch/problem with the wrong vin hole being present, and that maybe there was some extra reinforcement that kept the ripple/sag from over the instrument cluster being an issue anymore.

Has anyone bought any lately? If so, what was the verdict? Going to be looking for a dash for 2 of my trucks soon, (one sooner than the other of course) and the one thing I don't want to waste money on is a USED dash that could crack tomorrow, and probably will since many sellers armorall these things to the moon before taking pictures...

I suppose NOS could be an option, but, probably nothing local to me or within a reasonable price range is out there either.

I'd be most interested in finding one for a 1976 at this point in time... Thanks for any input guys!

Re: Have replacement/urethane dash pads improved at all?
 

I''d check with Chris Lucas at his website store. www.73-87chevytrucks.com
Here's what he has-
http://store.73-87chevytrucks.com/me...tegory_Code=DC

Re: Have replacement/urethane dash pads improved at all?
 

ill tell you I have two trucks that have the dash caps on them and they fit nice and use the OEM pad under it im real happy

Re: Have replacement/urethane dash pads improved at all?
 

Since you live in a cold climate, you might get away with a dash cap. Here in the hot desert, those plastic caps crack quickly - worse than the original dash. I have an Accuform on my 83 and they sent a replacement cap which I have not installed. In my opinion, any kind of plastic cap is junk - your money is better spent on a good upholstered recover of high quality original type dash as shown above. My ideal would be some kind of custom fabed metal dash like the real old cars and trucks. I toyed with the idea of a wood custom cover but all of the cutouts for the vents and instrument panel would be too much of a challenge for me.

Re: Have replacement/urethane dash pads improved at all?
 

I actually agree with you on the plastic dash... this would be for one of the Georgia trucks. I had a plastic cap on my 79 up in new england, and even there I wasn't the most impressed with it. Came with the truck so I can't complain too badly, but, looked cheap and crappy in the interior to me.

Problem is, I can't get over feeling that the stitching seams are ugly IMO on the pads people recover with a vinyl product. I am contemplating trying to mess with resin and filler on a stock cracked dash, but, that also seems like more work than its worth and I don't think it will have the right appearance or "quality" feel when its installed.

I was hoping that they improved the fit and function of aftermarket parts somehow so I could get factory appearance and pliability... the $350 a pop gamble on Chris Lucas' pads seems somewhat risky without knowing or seeing anyone who actually used one of those pads, I'm at a loss of whether to risk it and be out a ton of money or not.

Re: Have replacement/urethane dash pads improved at all?
 

79 Silverado, I understand your hesitancy with buying a dash. They are expensive. I bought one of those older rubbery Dashes-Direct ones and was real unhappy with the fit.
I was lucky and scored a used oem one on ebay for the truck I have now.
You can trust Chris Lucas. His dashes are the result of a lot of experience with Dashes Direct and other mfrs. Here's a thread from his website when he started selling the ones he has now with pictures provided.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/sm...?topic=26521.0