Dash restoration

Hey everyone, this is my first post! 77 Mav here. I’m a mailman in socal, always wanted to restore a classic car, and i couldn’t be happier with the Maverick as my project.

Well, i got it running, and it’s good enough for me at the moment to start work on the interior. Specifically, my dash is cracked (like most) and I was wondering if i could pt h this myself. Saw a guy on youtube restore his with what looked like some kind of bondo. he just smeared it over the top and repainted it. good as new. is this common? or is the dash cap the better route.

I’m also wondering where i can get new instrument gauges and lenses. thanks

 

whoops, typo in my first post…i was wondering if i could “fix” it myself…

 

To have the dash pad restored professionally costs about $600. http://www.justdashes.com/
You can get a new dash cap that fits over the existing dash pad for around $100 and they look pretty good. I think 1A Auto has the best price.
Check Melvins Classic Ford and AutoKrafters for instrument cluster parts...

 

Tim Blum sells restored dash clusters on FaceBook. Check this site if you want to get gauge face overlays and DIY it. You can get custom colors if desired. If you remove cluster, I suggest painting interior light color for better viewing.
Ford - Maverick - Whitegauges.net

 

I restored the dash pad in my 72 Mustang back in the 90’s using top quality product and it has started cracking again even though it spends most of its time in the garage. I would go with the cover (don’t glue it down) cheep and easy and if it eventually warps you can just put another one on.

 

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So far, pretty much everyone that has used the dash caps have been pretty satisfied with them. I used one on a past resto and it worked out very well. Finding replacement used undamaged ones have become the Holy Grail and when the rare one comes up, the prices have spiked.

 

well, i guess the answer is the pad cover! thanks so much guys. is it some kind of hard plastic? i hope it doesn’t look too cheap. then again, anything would look better than my rotting dash pad lol.

 

It don't look cheap, had one on my car about 10 years. I glued mine on, at the time I didn't know others had installed w/o adhesive. I agree w/ most others -- Go with pad and roll-on.

 

There’s two kinds of factory dash pads….
Those that have cracks
Those that will crack

 

I've seen videos of a guy that removes the vinyl cover the uses fiberglass to reshape the pad. Once he has it where he wants it he'll apply beliner and paint it. They look great on the screen, never seen his work in person though.

I have a nice, crack free pad that I know the moment I try to clean it, it's going to explode in my face!

 

When I used one, I used vinyl dye to color it and simply glued it on. It looked right and had no complaints.

 

On my first mav years ago, I filled in the cracks with Bondo and sanded them just to regain the original shape. Then I wrapped and glued new black apholstry vinyl over it. It looked like a brand new dashpad.

 

Welcome to the show!

 

Its savable......