Dashboard fixing seems to come up on here frequently, but no one seems to have any first-hand experience with the rebuilding options. I figured I'd give that option a try. I decided to go ahead and properly fix the badly cracked dashboard in my '78 by having it totally rebuilt. Costs look like $50 to have the dash packaged and shipped to Just Dashes in California, who says it should be $700 to $800 for a complete rebuild (all new modern foam and covering) including shipping, with about a 5 week turnaround. Not a cap or gap-fill or anything, a truly new dashboard on the old metal core. I'll post pictures when I get it back. According to FedEx tracking, it looks like Just Dashes should receive it today.

So far, it should definitely be cheaper than buying a new old stock piece, and will be more durable modern materials. And it's a little cheaper than doing a core-swap with some of the Z parts suppliers for an already rebuilt dash. But, it will take a good bit longer before the dash is back in place, which could be a downside for people who want to fix the dash in a daily driver without having the car undriveable for too long.
Dave

 

did they estimate how long it takes them to get it done once they have it? I'm interested in seeing the finished product, sounds pretty cool.

 

Well if you're lucky you can buy new Dashes from MSA, but they're very limited. For the price, for what they do and putting all new materials that doesn't sound too bad. I also want to see some pics of this when it's done.

 

I called them today just to confirm that they got it all in one piece (well, as much as it was in one piece to begin with) and that they found my letter attached to it with my name, number, address, etc. They said it showed up in good order, confirmed my info, and said they'd call me before the end of the week to confirm the final quote and turnaround time. So far so good, I'll have some more details soon.
Dave

 

Sounds like you got your repair quote from Just Dashes, they quoted me $800 + S&H both ways a couple years ago. There's a place in WA state that you should check out called DashRestore (if I recall correctly) and they are a few hundred less.

Then if you are really adventurous you can contact the original Dash Restore in Australia where it's only a few hundred for the work, the pain is the shipping. The WA company was originally a US location of the same company and later was sold off or otherwise made to no longer be a part of the Aus. company; hence the same name though now they are two different companies.

 

Yep, shipped it to Just Dashes about a week ago. I already compared the three places about a month ago. Interesting to see that they've converged over the years. This time around, the WA outfit wanted the same to slightly more than Just Dashes (accounting for S&H in each case), but they also wanted me to ship the gauges with the dash. Their work looks to be pretty nice, too, though. If I were in WA I'd have gone with them. No way would I trust 5 working original S30 gauges to UPS/FedEx/DHL. They're some of the few parts the previous owner didn't mess up. Now that I've said that, watch, they won't work when I reinstall the dash.

The Aussie outfit would have ended up costing me about the same, or more, but taken a lot longer, by the time you factored in the shipping and exchange rate. I've also had a lot of trouble shipping to/from Australia for work, too. Next time I'll just go there in person. Then I can be sure my stuff goes where it's supposed to, and I'll get a really nice vacation out of it, too.

Of course, all three of those places compete pretty tightly, so now that they're all around the same price point, the "best deal" will likely change month-to-month, depend on where you are, etc.

anyway, good info to add to the post for future searchers.
cheers,
Dave

 

Just curious, did you send the glovebox door with the dash? I spoke to Just Dashes about a week ago, and they quoted me an additional $100 to do the glovebox door.

Gary S.

 

Sorry I didn't respond for so long! I was out of town for a few weeks and then didn't check all the new posts carefully enough when I got back. Miraculously, my glove box door was in good shape (one of the few parts of the interior that wasn't trashed, somehow). So I can't vouch for price or quality on refinishing that piece through any of the vendors. I do know that it seems like Just Dashes is getting a bit of a backlog of work for fall and winter, so turnaround might be getting longer. Again, sorry for the delay.
Dave

 

Dave I was looking at having my dash restored and wanted to see how well just Dashes does could you send or post some picture?