Counterparts dash pad review.

[Greasey Harley]

I purchased a counterparts, dark blue dash, for my '68 C10.
I read a lot of reviews ....and bought one anyway.
Why?
Because they offered it in dark blue, and my original pad was dark blue.
This was the only one I could find in dark blue.
I had no desire to dye my dash, and wanted one that was the right color.


---> also, my dash looked like this:

Had to modify the dash to get the thing to fit.
With the help of a carbide tipped Dremel, I slotted the holes in the dash 'til the silly thing would bolt down flat.

After much screwing around, I got it to lay flat.

It was disappointing that the truck had to be modified to accommodate a poorly fitted part. Fortunately, the pad covers the modified holes, and looks WAY better than the old pad. To my eye, the color is a perfect match.

Would I do it again?
Heck Yeah!!!

Paired with the new steering wheel, it gives me a whole new outlook


Seriously though, they should fix the way these things fit

-Russ

[sick472]

I had the exact same problem with my CounterParts black pad from GMCPauls. To add to it, by the time I had the speed nuts tight enough to keep it from being jigglely...it was causing depressions on the top side form the stud sucking the urethane down. These depressions were not horrible, but they would not satisfy the pickiest of builds. The center-most slotted holes had to be almost long enough to show, thank God they did not show!

The part mold, or whatever is used to create this part needs to be redone. Molds can be expensive to create to begin with. They just botched it from the get-go.

So many of our reproduction parts rely on the lack of patience of the end user to just except the flaws to avoid the headache of returns, longer waits, and the strong possibility of "wash and repeat". Luckily our trucks have some of the more affordable repop parts available. How'd you like to spend 2-$300 dollars for a GTO or Challenger pad and have it be goofy?

[firedemon]

i must have been lucky didnt have to modify any holes but it does have a few dimples . im also not building a show truck so the dimples are way better than the torn up piece that was in it

[randy500]

Is the pad urethane or vinyl covered?

[Greasey Harley]

Originally Posted by randy500

Is the pad urethane or vinyl covered?

It doesn't actually say, anywhere in the listing or on the box, but it appears to be urethane.
listing just says:
"These dash pads feature the fit and finish of an original dash pad but are made of long lasting premium materials. Our dash pads come with a lifetime warranty against cracking or fading. Available in 7 different colors."

[Ironangel]

I've got Counterparts dash pads (black) in both my 72's, been there for years now and no fading or cracks...They both lay flat and look great...

[HO455]

I have a Counterpart dash pad in my Burban. I didn't have any problems with getting the screws to line up and the pad sat nice. I did later use the dash pad bolts to hold a pair dash speakers I installed. That is where things when awry. I tightened the nuts too much and ended up pulling the dash pad down in 3 places. And now its wavy.
My bad!
From reading lots of posts before I got my replacement dash pad I came away with the conclusion that the Counterparts pad is an noticeable improvement over previous aftermarket versions.
I remember putting the new pad in the for an hour or so before I installed it. I didn't try it beforehand so I don't know it it made a difference or not.

I would recommend anyone looking for a perfect dash send a factory one out to a quality rebuilder like Just Dashes. The Counterpart dash pads are about $80 which is considerably cheaper than having one rebuilt.

[damnyankee36]

I'd like to add my experience:

The "Counterpart" pad would not fit as described above.

The "Just Dashes" fell into place. Perfect fit.

[54blackhornet]

I bought a Dashes Direct pad in 2020 for $60.00 , same one today $139.00 ? Freight extra. It fell into place with no dicking around.

[1970cstblazer]

Originally Posted by 54blackhornet

I bought a Dashes Direct pad in 2020 for $60.00 , same one today $139.00 ? Freight extra. It fell into place with no dicking around.

Dashes direct sells two different pads. One urethane and the other foam filled vinyl. Which one did you select? The urethane pads are now $90 and the other is $140.

[Jason Banks]

Does anyone know what the difference is?

Is the one GMCPaul sells now for $90 that they say has metal in it like the original, still the Counterpart brand?

I don't care about color, I need fawn, and will dye it.

Who's got the best?

[Hatzman]

I had my old pad padded and reupholstered and Walla, perfect fit.

Glad you got it to work.

[PanhandleShantyman]

I bought a Counterparts dash pad for my 1969 GMC 1500. It fit just fine. It looked like a dark blue on the website but it's actually a pretty bright blue, but it looks better than the dilapidated old one to me so I am just going to live with it , at least until I have another reason to pull the glovebox, heater hoses, and instrument panel again...

That said, where did you find your dark blue pad? I spent a while online trying to find one and obviously failed...

[Rust_never_sleeps]

I bought a black pad from Car and Truck shop on the recommendation of Grumpy, which is apparently made by Counterparts.
I just installed this and it was a little funky getting it rotated down and flexing to get the front screws in, but it looks good. No steel core, but the side that touches the dash is hard plastic. I had a bulge in the middle at first, but once I got all the screws bottomed it fit fine.
I'd definitely resist the temptation to suck it in with the screws and just work it on by hand.

[DaHos]

3 years later and we still are slotting the holes for the Counterpart pad...........

[1970cstblazer]

I'm going with a Dashes Direct pad for my 1970. I have heard nothing but complimentary feedback about them.

[Jason Banks]

Thanks, it sounds like the counterpart doesn't have the metal like the black one GMCPAULS lists....