Is it worth the trouble changing out my dash pad? I have a big crack above the center vents :(

And can I do it in 4 hours? I am dreading this. Ha

It is not hard to do. Just remove the screws along the front (they go into the dash pad) easy to get to. The end nearest to the windshield is held in by clips and simply slides straight to you(this might take a sharp pull)

I just took the dashpad on my 72 off yesterday in about 3 minutes. 6 screws, 4 on the dash side and 2 in the glovebox.

What year is your Chevelle? A 69 takes a little more work to remove than a 70 to 72.The 69 has speed nuts instead of clips holding down the front portion. I have done it years ago and I think I had to drop the speddometer portion of the dash to get at the speed nuts, but definitely worth the effort.

Yea I have a 69. I have heard I have to drop the steering column too. Anyone have to do that?

I did it while I had my dash bezel out for other reasons. I don't think you can get to the nuts without taking the bezel out but maybe I'm wrong. I wish I would have taken the old one and had it reupholstered instead of the aftermarket ones. The original ones are better IMO. By the way your 69 is the spittin image of my cousins 69 that he bought new and still has.
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1808/9925604/18754615/361977861.jpg

Rob, are those 3 nuts the only thing holding it in from the back?

SO, I drop the steering column, drop the instrument cluster and then take out the glove box, then get to those 3 nuts in the back?

I was going to buy a replacement from NPD. I wonder if I should take it to a local shop to repair the cracks. I'm afraid my bad luck with idiot shops would screw it up. Thought?

You might just want to find a vinyl doctor to repair the cracks. I saw a dash that had work done and you had to get the light just right to see where it was repaired. Might just save you from learning some new swear words.

I have a big 3/8" crack about 2" long. I think it's beyond me trying.

Sergio,

With your reference to "center vents", I'm guessing your car has factory air. With all the a/c ductwork under there, that could add a whole 'nother level of difficulty to the job of removal. I would follow Keith's suggestion of looking up someone who does vinyl repair. I would think there would be plenty of them on the west coast. Surely in San Francisco there has to be a number of high quality auto upholstery shops; they may be able to offer some suggestions.

Rob, are those 3 nuts the only thing holding it in from the back?

SO, I drop the steering column, drop the instrument cluster and then take out the glove box, then get to those 3 nuts in the back?

I was going to buy a replacement from NPD. I wonder if I should take it to a local shop to repair the cracks. I'm afraid my bad luck with idiot shops would screw it up. Thought?


Those are the only thing holding it down. I don't think you can get to them without taking out the instruments. I guess you will know pretty fast when you stick your head under there. I had my entire interior out when I did it. I guess if you never done it before it will be a good thing to know for other things in the future. I'm not sure what you 'have' to remove to get to the nuts but you may have to take out the defroster duct to get to the center one. It's kind of a pain but I think it is worth it. Dropping the steering is the easiest part of it. I have always had better luck with refurbished original parts the the aftermarket stuff.

There are caps that you can buy that fit overtop.

If it were mine I would look for a cap. Fill in the crack with some rtv and put the cap overtop...

Thanks guys. I'm off to find some upholstery shops and get their takes. Then I may wait for my dad's visit in July to help me remove it, haha. Thanks again as usual!

I used a cap on a 69 I used to own and I thought it came out very nice although it was a harder plastic than the original dash pad. It looked fine and was hard to tell it was a cap. But I still removed the dash to install the cap. I don't think you could get it to bond to the original dash with out gluing it all around and clamping the heck out of it. If you decide to drop the steering column to drop the dash don't forget to take off the wire and clip that go to the shift indicator if you have a column shift, other wise it will break when you drop the steering column. RichF

Thanks Rich. I have heard of those caps, just never thought of using it. If I have all the crap out, I will have a shop work on it or replace it. Hopefully be in the $150 range.

And I have a 4 speed so no shift indicator thank god. One less thing to think about with this. Ha.