Dash pad removal/ dashboard restoration/ dash pad installation with pics

[Mister-B]

My dash pad was cracked and nasty, and had remnants from some cheesy carpet cover a PO installed. I found a nice replacement from Brothers for $92 shipped. It is currently on the UPS truck, and out for delivery today, so I decided to get ready for it to arrive by removing the old one and painting the dashboard between the pad and the windshield.

Here's a before shot. My old dash pad and dashboard are dark navy. This was a one year only color that came on some trucks in 1969. Unfortunately, nobody carries replacement dash pads in navy. So, I went with black, and painted the dashboard to match. More on that later. It's just getting to where it's too hard to match the blue on some of these parts. Yes, I could find vinyl navy paint, but it probably wouldn't match the steering wheel, which then wouldn't match the flat paint needed for the dashboard.

Anyway, the before shots



I got the dash pad off. It was a bit of a pain. Had to remove the glovebox liner. The instrument panel would have needed to come out too, but the nuts were missing in that area.

Here's the paint I used for the dashboard. MAKE SURE to use flat paint. Don't use semi gloss or gloss, or you will get some nasty reflections in your windshield


Here it is after I removed the old dash, masked, and painted 3 coats


The UPS guy should be delivering my new dash pad soon, and I will install it and take additional pics
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[RANDAL]

Sweet, also I seen you yesterday leaving homedepot. your truck sounds good

[54blackhornet]

You do a lot of work on your truck ! Thanks for all the tips
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[Mister-B]

It won't let me edit my original post (lame), so here are the updates

Shots after painting and removing paper and masking. Note that the edge on the front, as well as the fuzzies will be covered by the new dash pad




And...the UPS guy showed up, and I got it installed!










What a difference!

Here's before:

After:


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[RANDAL]

It looks killer looks awesome

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by RANDAL

Sweet, also I seen you yesterday leaving homedepot. your truck sounds good

Lol. Thanks! I was buying the paint and masking supplies to paint the dash.

I've got a rebuilt 350 V8, headers, and dual Flowmasters
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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by 54blackhornet

You do a lot of work on your truck ! Thanks for all the tips
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Hey, no problem. I get ideas here, throw in some of my own, and then pass it along
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[srvivor71]

Great job! Dash look great!

[mgchevyparts]

What a difference! Looks great. Your old dash pad looks like mine.

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by mgchevyparts

What a difference! Looks great. Your old dash pad looks like mine.

Thanks. This is one of the biggest bang for your buck upgrades you can do. For less than $100, you can get a new dash pad and paint the dashboard. It's something you see all the time as you're driving.

I guess one thing that held me back, was that I knew it was going to be sort of a pain to get the old one off and the new one on. Even as I placed the online order for the dash pad, I sort of let out a big sigh as I clicked the submit button, and wasn't real excited about it. Well, I just bit the bullet and did it, and it wasn't that bad.
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[TBONE1964]

WOW, that looks great. You did a fantastic job with it. Sorry you could not get the navy blue dash pad. Don't be surprised if someone starts making them now that you bought a black one. The black one does look good with your blue dash.

I am wondering about the color in front of the pad. My 72 has a flat looking black there and I wonder what is correct. I know they were done in a flat finish to prevent glare but I have seen them in body color also.

Anyone got any word on that?

[JOJABOY]

I've been debating on painting my dast flat black. My interior is red and black and dash is currently red with black dash pad and black vents. I painted my gauge cluster flat black and am debating on painting glove box door and steering coloumn flat black when I do the dash. I'm just dragging my feet due to the fact I hear that pulling and reinstalling dash pad is worse than a full engine/tranny swap. LOL Brothers Trucks is right down the street from me. They are always running deals out of their showroom on scratch and dent models and I think they have black dash pads on sale right now. Mine is in need of replacement too. (currently covered in black duct tape)

How tough was it getting those end nuts on the new dash pad?

[jondancer]

looks great, thanks for posting . do you have any big plans for the truck coming up?

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks very good, what brand dash pad, It looks like it fits very nice

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by TBONE1964

WOW, that looks great. You did a fantastic job with it. Sorry you could not get the navy blue dash pad. Don't be surprised if someone starts making them now that you bought a black one. The black one does look good with your blue dash.

I am wondering about the color in front of the pad. My 72 has a flat looking black there and I wonder what is correct. I know they were done in a flat finish to prevent glare but I have seen them in body color also.

Anyone got any word on that?

Thank you. I'm not sure exactly what would be stock on your truck. Maybe what the factory did, was to put a dark color, regardless of the body color. So, if you had a red truck, they may have done black on the dash to cut down on glare. If you had a light blue truck like mine, with a dark navy interior, they did dark navy on the dashboard. Dark green truck, maybe they did dark green dashboard paint. White truck? Likely a black painted dashboard. I'm just thinking out loud. SSTim can tell us for sure.
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[shawno72]

That looks super!! What brand of dash pad did you go with and whom did you buy it from?

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by JOJABOY

I've been debating on painting my dast flat black. My interior is red and black and dash is currently red with black dash pad and black vents. I painted my gauge cluster flat black and am debating on painting glove box door and steering coloumn flat black when I do the dash. I'm just dragging my feet due to the fact I hear that pulling and reinstalling dash pad is worse than a full engine/tranny swap. LOL Brothers Trucks is right down the street from me. They are always running deals out of their showroom on scratch and dent models and I think they have black dash pads on sale right now. Mine is in need of replacement too. (currently covered in black duct tape)

How tough was it getting those end nuts on the new dash pad?

Brothers is where I buy most of my stuff. You're lucky to have them close so you don't have to pay shipping.

The two end nuts weren't that bad. The one by the glovebox is cake. I got the one on the drivers side installed without removing the instrument cluster. It took a long socket extension, an angle joint, a palm ratchet, and some tape to hold the washer and nut in the socket, as well as some foam inside the socket to pop it up so I could thread it. I cursed a couple times, but I got it. In fact, I installed all of the nuts without removing the cluster, except for the one directly under the cluster. I just left the nut off for now, and next time I take it apart to change a bulb or something, I'll POP it on. One other tip... Remove your vent caps and disconnect the hoses from the top, and there is a nut next to each one, and you can get access from the holes in the top of the dash. Much easier.

Just do it. I know how you're feeling, but what you haven't experienced yet is the satisfaction that you will when you're done
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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by shawno72

That looks super!! What brand of dash pad did you go with and whom did you buy it from?

Thanks, man! I got it from Brothers. I don't know that it has a brand. Maybe it's their own part. Hard to say.

Here's the link http://www.brotherstrucks.com/prodin...number=PAD7200
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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by jondancer

looks great, thanks for posting . do you have any big plans for the truck coming up?

Next up, I'm going to buy some stealies from the junk yard and paint them white. Then, I'll paint the new factory hubcaps I found (Ill paint the yellow parts blue), get them all mounted to my current good tires, and be off and running


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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks very good, what brand dash pad, It looks like it fits very nice

Fits perfectly. Got it from Brothers. I posted a link a post or two above
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[72restorationvirgin]

Very nice!!!!
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[69GWC]

Looks good MisterB, Its not that big of deal to paint that metal panel with some sort of shinny paint though.
I had a 64 ford with a metal dash and I kept that thing polished so a fly could not land on it and it never blinded me or gave bad reflections .
But I can see with the dash pad being more of a satin finish a glossy finish would not look good but a satin finish might look nice with it.
Either way yours looks real nice, I would have thought that part of the dash would have been body color though.? I guess not.
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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by 69GWC

Looks good MisterB, Its not that big of deal to paint that metal panel with some sort of shinny paint though.
I had a 64 ford with a metal dash and I kept that thing polished so a fly could not land on it and it never blinded me or gave bad reflections .
But I can see with the dash pad being more of a satin finish a glossy finish would not look good but a satin finish might look nice with it.
Either way yours looks real nice, I would have thought that part of the dash would have been body color though.? I guess not.
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Thanks. Good to know using glossy paint isn't that bad

Yeah, in '69, dark navy blue interiors were an option, and so the steering wheel and column, as well as the dashboard were painted navy blue. The door panels were dark navy vinyl
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[slikside]

Dude, you've been kick'n butt lately!

The dash looks great! Nice job.

Another project I need to do as well.

Can't wait to see those steelies and caps all come together. I did something similar a while back...the transformation is really something....you're gonna love it!!

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by slikside

Dude, you've been kick'n butt lately!

The dash looks great! Nice job.

Another project I need to do as well.

Can't wait to see those steelies and caps all come together. I did something similar a while back...the transformation is really something....you're gonna love it!!

Lol. Yeah, I definitely have been spending some time on it. It's a good, fun stress reliever

I'm excited about the wheels too. Hard to believe I found steelies for $5.99 each, and factory hubcaps for $15 each
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