Dashboard vinyl fix & dash cover

[xboxrox]

Need advice from knowledgeable people like YOU... :) Wife bought us a dashboard cover for Christmas and this is what I found when I took off the old cover... Now what..?
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Any suggestions how I should try repair these cracks & missing foam, or just throw the new cover over it..? Thinking something should be done just to help ensure the whole thing don't fall off... New dash cover will hide a lot of it but I had no idea it was this bad; another surprise was the dash is uncovered metal on the front 'n top...

YouTube is my teacher so far...

[geezer101]

Yeesh. Worst case scenario. This is a big job to repair. You'd need to remove the instrument/control panel bezel out of the dash and remove the top windscreen demister diffuser as well. Cut the hard raised edges of the cracks off straight with a sharp utility knife while the dash pad is still installed (without something to support it, it will crumble even worse), then remove the whole thing and clean the dashboard frame and put a layer of something like cooking foil over the areas where the dash cracks have exposed metal. The hard part is the monster cracks. I haven't got a suggestion on how to tie the broken sections back together (like a wire frame or rods etc) but I'm thinking fiberglass cloth and resin from the inside. Next is reinstall the pad and use expanding foam like the stuff you'd use to fill cavities in walls to build up the cracks. Let it dry, cut the big hunks off with the utility knife and give it a sand with a sanding block to level it out. Fingers crossed you can pull the whole thing out without it coming apart.

At this juncture you've got 3 choices - wrap the whole thing in vinyl cloth material which is going to be really tricky and have joins (use spray glue adhesive to hold it in place permanently - if you can use an industrial overlocker you can make a seam sewn cover which I have done ONCE and never again) or flush all of the cracks with a layer of fiberglass filler and paint it with a textured paint. Third option is the track racers choice - flock the dash.

[xboxrox]

Yeesh is right geezer :))

couple questions: 1) why take off the windscreen diffuser (what is that..?) 2) When you say "remove the whole thing" does that mean the padded dash foam/vinyl part..? What holds the padded foam/vinyl assembly on, screws..?
I see bare metal from the windshield back to the vinyl, does that need to come off..? All I can think now is :shock:

Thank you for the very helpful instructions geezer, I'm inclined to just slap fiberglass putty in the cracks and call it good... Here'z a pic of the new 23945

I just read the FSM how to remove the dash padding, when it got to the part about removing the steering wheel, I decided to leave everything in place and throw glue at it then leave it be... Too much trouble for Mr. Lazy me

[85Ram50]

Look at post #26 http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/7811-bench-seat There are also pics of an experiment with bondo that don't look great. If you were closer I'd give you that dash pad.
I ended up using shoe goo to coat it. You want to use good contact cement if you choose to use the foam pipe covering. You will also need a good knife and sharpening stone as a couple cuts makes it dull. Or as Geezer suggested the expanding spray foam. If you do that in place use an acid brush and coat the steel under it and anything else to include your skin that you do not want the spray foam to stick to with petroleum jelly.
Edit. There are four nuts #8 metric I think for the metal part of the dash that you have to remove most of the dashboard stuff including glove box to get at. It also need to be loose to get the soft pad out. The manual should show you where most of the connectors are. there is also one nut behind the soft dash pad left of the ashtray behind that flat indent spot. The rest will be Phillips head screws. You will need a 2 inch Phillips for the glove box. Oh yea you will need t take the steering wheel off and lower the steering column if you have adjustable. I have adjustable. if not you might need to disconnect your steering column.

[xboxrox]

Thanks 85Ram50, the FSM pretty much says the same thing you just said, dang it's too much work for me... The only way I would consider removing the dash now would be if I had a new factory dash to put back on... You got one..?

85Ram50, your truck is awesome especially the seat you fixed & link you shared...

[geezer101]

The windscreen diffuser is that long metal trim panel that runs along the back of the dash pad against the windscreen. The damage extends under that metal panel and is going to get in the way of repairing it effectively. When I said 'remove the whole thing' I really did mean to take the entire dash pad out of the truck (you will need a stubby philips head screwdriver to access the screws along the trailing edge of the dash pad as you'll be up against the glass). There are 4 metric flare nuts holding the diffuser down as 85Ram has stated and are fiddly to get to (don't be surprised when you find the demister vents are cracked - they all do it from age) Pretty much anything that is screwed to the dash frame needs to go as stated. Body filler/bondo isn't a great idea but I think the fiberglass filler should be more resilient. There is an actual product that is called dash pad filler but I don't know if it's a specific product or just another filler that's been rebranded and had the price jacked up. Here is one video I watched this morning that shows a simple vinyl overlay with contact glue -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE0dueAXSI

...and another doing a more complex but not as extensive repair as your dash pad is going to require -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1QDLd2hn4Q

There isn't one 'correct' way to do it but a combo of methods should get you close to where the dash is cosmetically acceptable.

[xboxrox]

geezer Thanks-A-Lot

I saw my local mechanic "Vernon" tonight, he seemed ok with doing the job of dash pad removal... To me it looks as though it will just fall apart or into pieces when getting it out... Then, how to get it into the correct shape during any glue operation so that it fits back into the truck framework correctly & not askew..?

Yeesh is right..!

[85Ram50]

See my message. It occurred to me while I was answering you that the coverlay dash pad cover would work as a form to get the thing into the correct shape.

[xboxrox]

Hello 85Ram50 YES, I just read your private message; major props to you for that Mr. :thumbup: I am one lazy, old and retired cuss; and a US NAVY trained (welder/pipefitter) who became expert at shutting down nuclear jobs using verbatim compliance [nuke talk for any job that does not match the paperwork word for word can be shut down] he he... That is even worse than what my brother-in-law taught me before I joined the Navy (DO NOT finish anything you start, especially if it involves work) AND then, throw all tools on the ground or in the weeds so the weather can ruin em..!

I need the truck for taking the wife to work if it's raining hard, hmmm... But, our apartment manager might [?] allow working the dash while parked in it's parking stall... Use the truck bed as a tiny workshop... Painting spray/fumes could be an issue, the manager, nearby cars & the public's vaping lungs... But, there is also a local paint & body guy I know, his name is Conrad...

My next step, copy the FSM pages for dash padding removal & have local mechanic Vernon, give an estimate... He works super fast but not sure how many extra unused parts he would have left over at the end of the job (know what I mean...) I am just the opposite, super slow but more exact (perfectionist that only bats 250)... Translation: I break more stuff trying to fix it than fixing it, sad... Or I do it my brother-in-law's way, Yeesh..!

Props to geezer too :thumbup:

Lots to learn & figure out; will keep ya'll posted of any real progress...
YEESH..!

[85Ram50]

The minimum work would be to install a coverlay piece without removing anything. IDK if it goes all the way across. I think Pennyman told me about them. maybe he knows. My idea for using that coverlay piece as a mould is for if you remove the pad and one of the tears goes all the way through so you can't tell how big of a gap to fill.

[xboxrox]

or a cheaper piece of wood slat, a batten ? I like your idea :thumbup:

[xboxrox]

UPDATE___ We finished working on the padded dash in two steps 1) stuffed a brownish colored plastic bag into the biggest hole 2) Attached the Covercraft brand Dash Mat... If we ever find a dashboard worth removing then the truck will get a new dash cover... Here are some pics
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[pennyman1]

they make a dash cap that goes over the padded part of the dash without removing the padded part of the dash. It glues on with silicone, and they are available in several colors. I will post a pic of one tomorrow.

[t97]

Does the dash cap cover the entire dash all the way down to the bottom or only the top half of the dash?

[85Ram50]

xboxrox, If you are ok with that you should consider using spray foam to fill that gap then when it is dry Shoe Goo in light coats to seal the vinyl. The Shoe Goo takes 12-24 hours to cure and will slowly flow to gravity.

[geezer101]

xboxrox, If you are ok with that you should consider using spray foam to fill that gap then when it is dry Shoe Goo in light coats to seal the vinyl. The Shoe Goo takes 12-24 hours to cure and will slowly flow to gravity.

Good advice, but there needs to be a barrier underneath the gap or the spray foam will bond to the dash frame. This will make it hell to take out later. Put a layer of paper to prevent the foam from going anywhere you don't want it. It can be messy stuff to work with.

[Salteen]

I have a intact 82 dash if you want it, I can take it out and clean it up and ship it to you. It doesn't have the heater interface or the cig lighter or the coin slot. It's the same color as yours. I can throw the cluster in too if you like.

[85Ram50]

I have a intact 82 dash if you want it, I can take it out and clean it up and ship it to you. It doesn't have the heater interface or the cig lighter or the coin slot. It's the same color as yours. I can throw the cluster in too if you like.
I think you may be referring to the plastic instrument panel cover not the soft pad that surrounds the whole dash which is what the thread is about.

As far as foam goes that is a good idea Geez, but if you ever get it on something acetone melts it off.