Dash Solutions

by 76 Malibu Sun May 12, 2024 8:39 pm

The dash on my '76 is discolored, cracked and has a small hole in the speaker area. My interior is overall very good, other than some plastic fading (I plan to re-dye the plastics), but the dash is a real eyesore. I know that Just Dashes is the best solution, but it is just unattainable cost wise for me and may never be a realistic option.

So what are alternate solutions, other than finding an unobtainum non-cracked used dash? I have spent hours searching through topics on this forum, and the consensus is that the dash caps are not that good. I have used them on other cars (not G3s) with simple dashes and they can look good. Does anyone have pics of them installed? I see that Dashtop (Palco) has decent ones for reasonable prices and they seem to be of higher quality. I have a non-A/C dash, so I only have one set of vents to deal with for fitment. I would definitely dye the old dash to match the new cover to minimize any spacing around the vents.

The other option, would be to get one of those suede/cloth/carpet type covers. That said, the previous owner of my car had some sort of carpeted cover and it was what discolored the top of my dash (this would have been over 30 years ago). RockAuto lists a bunch on their site. Anyone have of these types of covers and have pics?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chevrolet,1976,malibu,5.7l+350cid+v8,1054808,interior,dash+board+cover,1284

by Limey SE Sun May 12, 2024 11:33 pm

Member here has 4 dashes for sale Look in the Classifieds I added pics for him great guy to deal with

by 76 Malibu Mon May 13, 2024 12:54 pm

I missed that post, thanks for the heads up. He only has 1973 non-AC dashes, but I could live with that. I assume other than the emblem, the 73 Dash is pretty much the same? I think they were often one piece, but mine is a two piece. I will have to contact him to see his price, because it might still be out of my range of affordability.

If anyone has pics or feedback on the caps or dash coverings, please chime in.

by 76Chevelle2Tone Mon May 13, 2024 6:43 pm

76malibu,

When you say your dash is cracked can you be more specific? Are they mostly hairline cracks or fissures? The small hole in the speaker area doesn't sound that bad. You could just trim some speaker perforations vinyl from any chevy A body dash and attach it in with vinyl / leather repair paste or liquid. Usually any dash has some intact sections.

by 76 Malibu Mon May 13, 2024 7:39 pm

There are two long cracks by the defrost vents and some smaller cracks and a hole around the center speaker. I posted some pics. You can see the cracks and how the top of the dash was essential dyed black from the old carpet cover. The rest of the dash is in great shape. Unfortunately, this car was my dad's daily driver for years, so it was parked outside a lot and had a lot of sun exposure.

by Limey SE Mon May 13, 2024 7:49 pm

76 Malibu wrote:I missed that post, thanks for the heads up. He only has 1973 non-AC dashes, but I could live with that. I assume other than the emblem, the 73 Dash is pretty much the same? I think they were often one piece, but mine is a two piece. I will have to contact him to see his price, because it might still be out of my range of affordability.

If anyone has pics or feedback on the caps or dash coverings, please chime in.

I did Both ways repaired my dash with Polyvance padded dash repair kit (at the time of doing it they didn't offer a fleece like now to make the grain) took about 45 hours of grinding old off, sanding filling more sanding more filling and you guessed it more and more sanding...

My Daughters Dash we did the Dash Overlay they do work well BUT if your picky you have to fill the 1/16" gap around the defrost vents and other trivial other areas and the speaker hole area is not the same width and no emblem provision *BUT* you could Dremel it out and use an original one and wouldn't look to awful bad

by 76Chevelle2Tone Mon May 13, 2024 7:54 pm

I've seen far worse. I would think that is repairable. I am working on my dash now. it had a number of hairline cracks and there were some small splits in a couple of places. They are all closed now and i just need to repaint. The leftmost speaker perforated rectangle on mine had a hole like yours but when I went to repair it the rest of the perforated vinyl started to crumble so I am doing something more drastic, just going to have smooth vinyl there. The other perforated rectangles just need minor touch-up. I don't use the dash speaker anyway as I have rear speakers.

by 76 Malibu Tue May 14, 2024 10:11 pm

Thank you for the information. I hadn't really looked into dash repair myself, but maybe that would be an option.

Limey, do you have a link or source for the Polyvance dash kit? I can only find the individual products. Also, do your project threads have pics of the dash repair? What about pics of the dash cap on your daughter's car?

2tone Chevelle, what are you using for a dash repair kit? Any pics on the forum? I would be worried my speaker would crumble too but I don't want to cover it as I do use the front speaker on my car (along with the back). I want some front speakers, it's just too bad they didn't put some in the doors instead of the dash.

by 76Chevelle2Tone Tue May 14, 2024 10:45 pm

76Malibu,

I haven't created a thread or described what I am doing because I want to be sure it works. The big issue with me was making sure hairline crack repair didn't reopen over the course of a year's temperature and humidity changes. But I found something that seemed promising called Sugru which is a bit like silly putty but not exactly. It's $20 for a few ounces but you don't need much to fill narrow cracks. The really important feature of Sugru is that it doesn't dry out ever. I tried it a year ago on a teak buffet that was starting to show hairline cracks. I had tried a bunch of things which inevitably dried out and re-split. Putting Sugru in it and then using teak stain has held up for a year without any change. It won't work for extensive damage though. So I am trying it out on the dash. The advantage is you don't have to take the dash out to work on cracks. So far so good but I'm not yet finished. One important point. Sugru should not be used on oily or superclean surfaces. It actually adheres better on dirty or sticky surfaces.

But my comment was based on your dash picture. I don't see that as requiring spending $1000 plus for another dash which might well start to crack after you install it. Neither of us is competing for national show prizes. Smile

You can PM me if you want to try Sugru. Otherwise use whatever other method is recommended here or in other sites.

by 73 ss wgn Wed May 15, 2024 5:49 am

I know everyone has a budget, but I'll just say that my restored dash from Just Dashes is gorgeous. My dash looked a lot like yours and I lived with having a carpet cover on it for decades. (Which is another option for you.) If the car is a long term keeper, you can divide the cost by the years you'll own it to make yourself feel better about it.

by impalamonte Wed May 15, 2024 11:29 am

There are many YOU TUBE videos on the subject.

Watch several and take a piece from each one to formulate a plan of "attack" to achieve the results you want.

by 76Chevelle2Tone Wed May 15, 2024 1:16 pm

Impalamonte,

To clarify, it was I who suggested that the thread starter might try to repair their dash. The thread starter was looking to either buy another better dash if possible or use a dash cover of some kind. I just felt looking at the picture of his dash that it could likely be repaired and then painted without massive effort.

by 76 Malibu Fri May 17, 2024 3:22 pm

73 ss wgn wrote:I know everyone has a budget, but I'll just say that my restored dash from Just Dashes is gorgeous. My dash looked a lot like yours and I lived with having a carpet cover on it for decades. (Which is another option for you.) If the car is a long term keeper, you can divide the cost by the years you'll own it to make yourself feel better about it.

Ideally, I love to do Just Dashes, but like I said, I can't afford it. Just too expensive, especially after I factor in shipping there and back.

impalamonte wrote:There are many YOU TUBE videos on the subject.

Watch several and take a piece from each one to formulate a plan of "attack" to achieve the results you want.

Thanks, I next time I have some free time, I will take a look at the videos.

76Chevelle2Tone wrote:76Malibu,

I haven't created a thread or described what I am doing because I want to be sure it works. The big issue with me was making sure hairline crack repair didn't reopen over the course of a year's temperature and humidity changes. But I found something that seemed promising called Sugru which is a bit like silly putty but not exactly. It's $20 for a few ounces but you don't need much to fill narrow cracks. The really important feature of Sugru is that it doesn't dry out ever. I tried it a year ago on a teak buffet that was starting to show hairline cracks. I had tried a bunch of things which inevitably dried out and re-split. Putting Sugru in it and then using teak stain has held up for a year without any change. It won't work for extensive damage though. So I am trying it out on the dash. The advantage is you don't have to take the dash out to work on cracks. So far so good but I'm not yet finished. One important point. Sugru should not be used on oily or superclean surfaces. It actually adheres better on dirty or sticky surfaces.

But my comment was based on your dash picture. I don't see that as requiring spending $1000 plus for another dash which might well start to crack after you install it. Neither of us is competing for national show prizes. You can PM me if you want to try Sugru. Otherwise use whatever other method is recommended here or in other sites.

I have never heard of Sugru. I will send you a PM for more details.

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