Finding and Repairing a 1969 Dash Pad Firebird
If you've spent any time staring at an enormous crack while cruising, you know getting a solid 1969 dash pad firebird alternative is basically a rite of passage for classic Pontiac owners. There is usually something incredibly soul-crushing about having a beautiful car with a cockpit that will looks like the dried-out lake bed. The 1969 model year was the special one intended for the Firebird, but the materials they utilized back then definitely weren't designed in order to survive fifty-plus yrs of sun direct exposure and temperature shifts.
When you sit behind the particular wheel, the dashboard is the one particular thing you're constantly looking at. You could have a perfect color job and a screaming V8 under the hood, but if the dash is curled up at the edges or divide throughout the middle, the particular whole car simply feels a little bit tired. Fixing or replacing a 1969 dash pad firebird isn't exactly a stroll in the park, but it's one of those projects that totally transforms the interior from "project car" to "show stopper. "
Why the Original Units Always Fail
It's easy to blame the particular previous owners with regard to not using a sunshade, but the truth is that will the tech at the rear of these original dash pads was fairly flawed from the start. They used a metallic or plastic framework, covered it in a thick layer of foam, then wrapped it in a vinyl skin. With time, the chemicals in that vinyl—the plasticizers that retain it soft—basically evaporate. Once all those are gone, the particular vinyl gets frail.
Combine that brittleness with the particular foam underneath diminishing and expanding since the car sits in a hot parking lot, and you've got a recipe for the disaster. Usually, this starts with the tiny hairline fracture near the speaker grille or the defrost vents. Prior to you know this, that crack has migrated all the way across the passenger side. By the time many people start looking for a 1969 dash pad firebird, the original is usually curled up away from the windshield, making the car appearance like it's literally peeling apart.
The Big Debate: Repair, Recover, or even Replace?
When you realize your dash is bread toasted, you generally have got three methods to move about it. Each one has its personal set of headaches plus price points, so you need to determine how much "originality" matters to a person versus how very much you're prepared to invest.
Professional Repair
If you're doing an expensive, numbers-matching restoration, you may consider sending your own original core to some professional shop. Them basically strip it down to the particular bare metal framework and rebuild it using modern materials that look specifically like the factory grain. It's the most expensive option by far, often priced at double or three-way what a reproduction pad costs, but the particular fitment is generally perfect because it's your own original frame.
The Reproduction Route
Most people end up buying the brand-new reproduction 1969 dash pad firebird. Companies like OER have been making these for years. The quality has actually gotten a lot better recently. Ten or even fifteen years ago, the fitment upon reproduction pads has been hit-or-miss, and you'd spend hours cutting off foam for it to sit clean. Nowadays, they're significantly closer to the particular factory specs. It's a "buy this, box it, and bolt it in" solution that works for 90% associated with hobbyists.
Dash Caps: The Budget Band-Aid
After that there's the dash cap. This can be a thin plastic shell that you glue best over your existing cracked dash. Look, I'll be honest—it's a budget shift. If you're upon a tight spending budget and just want the particular car to appear good for a local cruise-in, a cap is fine. Yet if you look closely, you can always tell. The edges by no means quite look right, and if you don't prep the dash perfectly, the glue can fail. If you're going through the trouble associated with taking the interior apart, I suggest simply springing for the full pad.
The Reality from the Installation
Getting the old 1969 dash pad firebird and putting in a new you are the kind of job that needs a lot of endurance and maybe a few cold drinks. It's not technically "hard" in the feeling that you might want a master's degree in executive, however it is incredibly fiddly.
You possess to pull the particular instrument cluster, the particular glove box liner, and all those little trim parts that have possibly been stuck in place because the Nixon administration. The most difficult part is usually reaching the nuts that hold the pad to the firewall. You'll find your self upside down beneath the steering column, asking yourself why Pontiac technical engineers decided to put a bolt within a place that will only an individual with three elbows could reach.
One tip I usually give people would be to check your heating unit core while the particular dash is away. There is nothing worse than setting up a beautiful new 1969 dash pad firebird and after that having your own heater core strike two weeks later, requiring you to rip the entire thing back out. If it looks even slightly crusty, just replace this while you're in there.
Getting the Color plus Grain Right
One thing that will trips people up will be the color. Many of these cars had black interiors, which is simple enough to match up. But if you have one of the more exotic 1969 colors—like the parchment, blue, or green—you're going to have got a harder time finding a "ready to install" pad in that precise shade.
Many of the time, you'll end up buying a dark 1969 dash pad firebird and after that using a high-quality inside paint (like SEM) to complement it to your interior. The particular trick here is usually the prep work. You have to get every little bit of manufacturing essential oil off that brand-new vinyl, or maybe the paint will just peel off off in bed linens. If you do it right, even though, you can get a finish that will looks like it came straight from the factory floor in 1969.
Coping with the Windshield Gap
1 of the almost all common complaints along with a new 1969 dash pad firebird is the space in the base of the windshield. Sometimes the new pad sits a little high, or the particular mounting tabs don't line up flawlessly with the openings in the cowl.
Before a person tighten everything straight down, "dry fit" the particular pad. Set it in place with no clips or screws and see exactly how it sits. In case there's a large gap, you might need to trim a small amount of the particular foam around the underside where it satisfies the metal sub-dash. It's a "measure twice, cut once" situation. You don't want to move hacking away at a $400 part, although a little bit of strategic cutting off can make the difference between the dash that appears like it belongs and one that will appears to be it has been shoved in there because an afterthought.
Finishing Touches and Maintenance
Once you finally get that will 1969 dash pad firebird installed and the gauges are in, the difference is usually day and night. The entire car feels stronger and more costly. To keep it that way, you have to change how a person treat the inside.
Modern "protectants" are a bit of a questionable topic in the particular classic car entire world. Some people recommend them, while other people think they in fact contribute to the vinyl fabric cracking later upon. My advice? Avoid the super-shiny things. It creates a glare on the windshield that's in fact dangerous when you're driving toward the particular sun, and this looks a bit "cheap. " Make use of a matte-finish ULTRAVIOLET protectant that's designed for modern vinyl. And, for the love of most things Pontiac, work with a sunshade if you're parking outdoors for over twenty a few minutes.
Changing the dash is definitely a big job, but it's possibly the single smartest thing you can do for your Firebird's interior. It's the centerpiece of the particular cabin, and as soon as it's right, everything else just appears to fall into place. It's about more than just aesthetics; it's about making the car the place where you actually want to spend time.