Ideas for removing 1st gen dash cracked to the metal.

Hey guys wanting some input on removing a 1st gen dash that had been cracked to the frame. I want to fiberglass and smooth it so i do not care how it looks.

With it being cracked all the way thru i cant figure a way to keep the dash in the correct orientation while fiberglassing. My first thought is putting some goo gone all over the metal in the crack, inserting some thin rods or coat hanger into the dash horizontally to bridge the gap then spraying expanding foam in the crack. After its cured shaving the foam down then oulling the pad and continue with the fiberglassing as if nothing happened. I do not want to put fiberglass on it while its in the truck just to make sure i get none on the upper dash that you see as my paint is in great condition.

If any one has another idea please chime in. If you think my idea is ridiculous let me know I've been thinking about this for a few weeks and this is all i got.
Thanks in advance
Thomas

I can only suggest trying to put a layer of fabric on the underside of the dash pad and using expanda-foam to fill it. You'll need to trim off the raised edges where it has shrunk with a really sharp knife, fill the area and plane it back with a blade, then give it a light sand to get the profile right. I found this adhesive backed PU leather patch on ebay that I think will do an amicable job of covering the dash with and I think one sheet might just be enough to do the job. I want to mess around with the stuff I bought to cover the exposed painted metal in my cab. When I get onto it, I'll post pics of the end result. I posted the link in the 'what did you do to your truck today' thread -

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Adhesive-PU...72.m2749.l2649

It appears to be decent quality and it was a good price :thumbup:

Thanks geezer. Ive done a few things fiberglass in the past so that wont be the problem i just cant figure out how to remove it without much else breaking.

Make sure you get every screw and fastener out of it first. Drop the steering column as well for extra clearance so you can pull the whole dash pad forward in one go. Even remove the steering wheel. If the dash pad is that bad you really don't have anything to lose. The demister diffuser panel that runs along the windscreen has to be lifted out to expose the philips head screws on the trailing edge of the dash pad. They are a PITA to get to - you will need a stubby screwdriver to take them out.

Polyvance Dash repair....... Doing an 76 280Z dash right now. I ordered the kit (Soldering gun and Filler rod),the filler prep. and dash pad Filler. Ordered another 30 pack of filler rod as the kit only comes with 15. The dash I'm working on had cracked almost in half and so far the repair is working great. To replace the dash pad for a 240-280z is around $2400us and to send it out would be around $1500. So figured I would try this first.

https://www.polyvance.com/280Z-Dashboard-Repair/
There is a video of a guess what......... 280z dash being repaired :shock:

I saw that on FB yesterday and wondered how it worked and if it was any good - now I know.

Fordubishi,
Before & After pics of Your repair ??
Thank You!

Ok I have some pic's. will have more as I start doing the dash filler.

Attachment 24457
Huge crack you can see light through

Attachment 24459
Starting the repair

Attachment 24460
First crack filled.

Attachment 24461
Starting on the other cracks

Attachment 24462
Most of the big cracks done.

Sorry fordubishi, late back to the party.

Finally,- 'flexible bondo' -for dash repair !!!
Thanks again for the info.

Something i saw the other day for motorcycle fairing repairs

you can make an ABS slurry/putty/glue by melting ABS in acetone

whats colourful and made of ABS?
Lego bricks
mix and match to get your right colour and slop it in the damaged ares, can also make new tabs.
Handy for steerignwheels and the like too