Dash replacement

[Gabe]

Can anyone tell me if the dash from one year GT will work in another year? I have a line on a dash and want to be sure it will go into the car. My plan is to by the dash, send it to just dashes for restoration then put it in my car as time permits. The turn around is 5-6 weeks so I don't want the car unusable for that long.

[tomking]

The answer is YES.

[pecje]

Originally Posted by Gabe Can anyone tell me if the dash from one year GT will work in another year?

Be sure that the dash isn't from a GT/J (as far as I know they were not sold in the US, but I'm not 100% sure). I am told that they miss the Opel GT decal beneath the glove-box (and maybe for that reason the notch in the dash???). For the rest the dashes are identical.

[hrcollinsjr]

Be sure that the dash is in good shape. The recovering isn't cheap and if you're going to that much trouble and expense do it right. A friend of mine sent a bent dash that I gave him. When we found out that it was bent, I offered him another but it would have set him back another week. Go figure.

He sent his to Dash Restoration and saved a little and the turn around was quicker. The dash looked good, even if it didn't fit very well, but was fairly hard. I believe comments from those having their's done by Just Dashes was that they had some "give" to them. Maybe some will weight in with their experiences.

Harold

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by tomking The answer is YES.

Umm, almost but not quite. I presume you are talking about the dash pad, versus the gauge plate. Of course the gauge plate (and wiring) is different for the pre-'71 GT's.

As for the dash pad, the early ones (pre-'70 IIRC) used some kind of clip to hold the gauge plate in place, while the later ones used screws and a sheet metal "nut" (one of those little clips that the screw goes through the middle). I THINK they can be interchanged, but at least one clip is missing in the early version. But it should still work.

[namba209]

Harold, here's some feedback on Willit?'s dash. I sent them (JustDashes) the original one from the car and it came back in excellant shape, better than brand new. I was told by SaxyBiker that I may need to use longer screws to reinstall te dash because it may be just a bit larger than original, but I was able to use the same screws I took out of it originally. The one thing that made it easier to put back in, was the windshield was out. It only took about an hour to take it out of the box, hook up the defrosterducts and glove box and put it in. Definatly the best $600+ I've spent on the car.

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by namba209 Harold, here's some feedback on Willit?'s dash. I sent them (JustDashes) the original one from the car and it came back in excellant shape, better than brand new... Definatly the best $600+ I've spent on the car.

Ron, I've heard others say the same thing. Is the "padded" dash hard almost like it is a molded solid piece of plastic or supple? I had already decided that when you're spending that much money a few dollars either way doesn't make any difference it's the quality of the work that's the most important.

Thanks,
Harold

[jlthunder]

Should he remove the "VIN" before sending it so it doesn't get lost and then reattach when it is returned?

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by jlthunder Should he remove the "VIN" before sending it so it doesn't get lost and then reattach when it is returned?

Good point! I would see if they wanted it included with the dash for them to "reattach".

Harold

[namba209]

Harold, you got my curiosity up, so I went out and pushed down on the dash with my thumb, I got a depression of about 1/16th-1/8th of an inch. Not solid at all but not spongy either. Like the arm rests on the doors. Feels like there's a layer of real stiff closed cell foam underneath the vinyl. As for the VIN tag, and you didn't hear it here, I removed mine and when it came back there was a pair of dimples where it used to be, so I used steel pop rives and put it back on, after I repainted it. When Keith and I had a discussion about the placement of the tag, I asked them and they sent me pics of three GT dahses they had waiting to get redone and they all had the VIN tags on them. I left the GT emblem on mine, just below the glovebox and it came back with it reattached, So I'm gonna guess what it goes out with, will come with it all put back on. HTH.