Dash cap

[BrianO]

So as I mentioned elsewhere.. after I did the heater core and reinstalled everything a few days later the dash cracked on the drivers side. Then recently while trying to track down a rattle my fingers went straight through the speaker grille on the drivers side. So, now I have a black hole and a grand canyon on that side.. nice.

anyways, there was talk of the respun dash pads which are a bit out of my price range so I opted for the dash cap which is plastic and just sits on top of the old dash. A buddy has one in his 82GT and I never even noticed it.

They come in black and dark gray. I went ahead and paid the extra few bucks for the dark gray one hoping it would match the SVO charcoal, if not I'll spray it to match. I wanted to save time and paint.

it should be here Monday so when it comes in I'll get some pics before and after and see how it goes.

Update - 1/17/09 - installed
So I got off work early and while still having some light I got this done. I decided to install it without any glue and see how it fits and it really fits snug and looks good. I'm happy with the overall look and fit of it. Worst case if it starts to rattle or something I'll add just a little bit of glue in a few places for peace of mind. The speaker grills on the dash cap aren't centered to the speaker, but that does not affect the sound because the tweeter is still visible and has line of site straight up and out. And as you can see in the pictures the color is almost spot on.

Picture 1..whats left over from the speaker grille on the dashpad..
Picture 2..pad on bottom, cap on top. you can see the canyon and where I hollowed out the speaker grills
Picture 3..how the new speaker fits through the dashpad
Picture 4..OEM speakers, blown..OEM amp.. take it.
Picture 5..finished product.

[BINKY]

Austinite,

When it arrives, I want details...cost, vendor, happiness factor, ease of placement, fit.

Thanks! Hope it is what you are expecting.

Richard,
1 mile from Galveston Bay.

[BrianO]

you got it bro

[martin0660]

I have the grey one in my Capri, nobody ever notices it unless I point it out The speaker holes are a bit lame, but I had tham same black hole as you. In my car I didnt even glue it down, just popped it on and it stays (and doesent move / buckle) in the sun. I'm happy with it unti lthere is a good repop.

Bob Myers

[BrianO]

I'm thinking since the dash pad is pretty much trash that I'll open up the speaker holes so there isn't two layers of material blocking the high frequencies. I'll swap out those dash speakers while I'm at it.

[tateg]

I had one on my Pace Car for a year or so until I found a NOS dash pad. When I removed the fractured OEM dash with cap attached I noticed that the cap had buckled and warped under the hot sun. It was pretty bad.

I have posted this before and others with a cap have posted that they hadn't experienced the same thing. This was about ten years ago so maybe it's because it was an early cap? Or maybe I got a bad one.

[SVORob]

Ive had a cap on my 84 for over 9 years and I don't remember anyone noticing it. My car is a garage queen so keep that in mind. The thing I don't like about it is the holes drilled in it for the speakers they look kinda cheesey. I did glue it on and clamped it to the original dash pad. lol when I bought it it was a temp fix until a quality replacement came on the market. it is hard to belive I restored this car 9 years ago.

[SVOPaul]

These caps are made by Coverlay products and everyone sells the same one....including JC Whitney

[BrianO]

Ive had a cap on my 84 for over 9 years and I don't remember anyone noticing it. My car is a garage queen so keep that in mind. The thing I don't like about it is the holes drilled in it for the speakers they look kinda cheesey. I did glue it on and clamped it to the original dash pad. lol when I bought it it was a temp fix until a quality replacement came on the market. it is hard to belive I restored this car 9 years ago.

are you still able to get to the screws for the dash pad itself if you have to remove it? or will the cap just lift off or unstick?

[tateg]

IIRC The screws go through the cap just like the pad. It's pretty form fitting.

[NavySVO]

I have heard the cap can just be layed in place and will stay there. No glue, 2 sided tape, etc. required.

[tateg]

Probably but I followed the instructions. They said to remove the dashpad and insert the pad into the cap (with the special glue in strategic locations), then let the glue set up good before use. When done it was supposed to be essentially a new cover on the dash. The issue I had was that the pad was so cracked and broken that the cap had a hard time coming in good contact with the pad. There was a lot of space in between. Maybe that's why mine bubbles up and warped.

[BrianO]

well this finally came in today. The dark gray actually looks very good and very similar to the SVO charcoal so I won't need to paint it. The finish is very nice. It will be a few days before I install it as it's about to get into the 20's the next few days here and I'd like it to be a bit warmer when I play with the OEM dash pad. Once I hollow out the speaker grills and prep it I'll get some pictures of the final install.

here are some pics..and it's not made by coverlay Paul, guess there's another maker out there. I got this one from 50resto and you can see who it's made by in teh pictures.

[BINKY]

Brian,

Yep, we are about to get into the 30's on the coast, freezing to us folks. I am anxious to hear how you like the product, I will order one if you are pleased.
Richard

[SVOPaul]

Yeah, that one is made by Palco industries. Basically the same product as Coverlay for the most part except I have seen 2 of the Palco versions warp significantly from sun/heat. You had better wait for warmer weather because I have also seen one of those crack in sub 50 degree temps when someone tried to install it during winter time. While both products are "cheap" compared to what they could be the Coverlay in my experience has been the nicer of the two. Be careful during install and keep a sunshade in the car to try to keep the temps down and you should be OK.