My cracked dash repair
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
My cracked dash repair
Hello Everyone,
Like a lot of people my Spider had a badly cracked dash. I look into replacing it found they were pretty $$$. I also read in some places they didn't fit so well or required some shaping to make them fit. The dash caps seems to be OK for the price, but some people said they had a hard time getting the cap to lay down while the adhesive set up. So I went a different direction.
I peeled off all of the loose vinyl back to stable areas and cleaned everything real well. I then used a can of the regular Great Stuff spray foam and filled all the voids by smearing it into the old foam with a putty knife with just a slight build up. I then sanded and shaped flush. When I sanded the Great Stuff back it cut all the little bubbles open in the foam. This is where I then filled those areas with Evercoat Everglass short strand body filler (it has a little flex to it when total cured) and sanded it as before. The adhesive I like to use is 3M's Super Trim Adhesive #08090. I got the vinyl for the dash from a local deal that only deals in vinyls. The most important part to this project is to get good quality vinyl that will stretch 4-ways. I made the mistake of getting some cheap vinyl that would only stretch 2-ways and I had to rip it all off and start over. Also, you will need a heat gun to make the recessed areas. What do you think?
Like a lot of people my Spider had a badly cracked dash. I look into replacing it found they were pretty $$$. I also read in some places they didn't fit so well or required some shaping to make them fit. The dash caps seems to be OK for the price, but some people said they had a hard time getting the cap to lay down while the adhesive set up. So I went a different direction.
I peeled off all of the loose vinyl back to stable areas and cleaned everything real well. I then used a can of the regular Great Stuff spray foam and filled all the voids by smearing it into the old foam with a putty knife with just a slight build up. I then sanded and shaped flush. When I sanded the Great Stuff back it cut all the little bubbles open in the foam. This is where I then filled those areas with Evercoat Everglass short strand body filler (it has a little flex to it when total cured) and sanded it as before. The adhesive I like to use is 3M's Super Trim Adhesive #08090. I got the vinyl for the dash from a local deal that only deals in vinyls. The most important part to this project is to get good quality vinyl that will stretch 4-ways. I made the mistake of getting some cheap vinyl that would only stretch 2-ways and I had to rip it all off and start over. Also, you will need a heat gun to make the recessed areas. What do you think?
Last edited by younkin1 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- focodave
- Patron 2018
- Posts: 704
- Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:35 am
- Your car is a: 1980 Spider 2000 F.I.
- Location: Fort Collins, CO
Re: My cracked dash repair
That's mighty damned impressive.
You could probably do that as a side-business.
Nice job!
You could probably do that as a side-business.
Nice job!
1980 Spider 2000 F.I. (my hobby)
1970 MGB GT (my other hobby)
2008 Ford Expedition (daily driver)
2019 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard
2019 Harley-Davidson Iron 883 Sportster
1970 MGB GT (my other hobby)
2008 Ford Expedition (daily driver)
2019 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard
2019 Harley-Davidson Iron 883 Sportster
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
Hi Focodave,
Thanks for the compliment. I'll do a better job of documenting the steps on the next one which will probably be an X1/9 dash.
Thanks for the compliment. I'll do a better job of documenting the steps on the next one which will probably be an X1/9 dash.
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- Posts: 2130
- Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2014 10:21 pm
- Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider with Isuzu Turbo Diesel
Re: My cracked dash repair
Let see if we can get the images to display:
That's better - Good job!
That's better - Good job!
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
DieselSpider!
What was I doing wrong? Thanks a lot buddy!!!
Clearly I'm a newb.....
What was I doing wrong? Thanks a lot buddy!!!
Clearly I'm a newb.....
Re: My cracked dash repair
you did a very nice job on that. Have you fitted the cluster and glove box door yet? Many of the recovered dashes cause interference issues with the wood inserts
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
Hi Mark,
I did do a rough fit of them already and even though the material is thin, it did make things a little tighter. I suspect I may need to do a little reworking on them too. Right now I'm just trying to simplify some of the dash wiring and replace a leaking heater core and water valve. (Side question if anyone knows- Were all spider pre-wire for power windows, also were they a dealer installed option? Just curious... I removed all the wiring for them to make things a little cleaner under the dash and center console). I'm also reworking all the the heater/ventilation controls and cable. Basically the entire interior
I did do a rough fit of them already and even though the material is thin, it did make things a little tighter. I suspect I may need to do a little reworking on them too. Right now I'm just trying to simplify some of the dash wiring and replace a leaking heater core and water valve. (Side question if anyone knows- Were all spider pre-wire for power windows, also were they a dealer installed option? Just curious... I removed all the wiring for them to make things a little cleaner under the dash and center console). I'm also reworking all the the heater/ventilation controls and cable. Basically the entire interior
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- Patron 2024
- Posts: 3015
- Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:45 pm
- Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
- Location: Wallingford,CT
Re: My cracked dash repair
Great dash repair. You must be a person of great patience.
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
Hi Spider2081,spider2081 wrote:Great dash repair. You must be a person of great patience.
I think I have about 8 hours into it. But that includes the first two attempts using the cheap (wrong) vinyl. Third times a charm.
When I finally had the correct good vinyl it took me about 3 hours to apply it. Thanks for the compliment.
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
Hi Mark,So Cal Mark wrote:you did a very nice job on that. Have you fitted the cluster and glove box door yet? Many of the recovered dashes cause interference issues with the wood inserts
I did do a rough fit of them already and even though the material is thin, it did make things a little tighter. I suspect I may need to do a little reworking on them too. Right now I'm just trying to simplify some of the dash wiring and replace a leaking heater core and water valve. (Side question if anyone knows- Were all spider pre-wire for power windows, also were they a dealer installed option? Just curious... I removed all the wiring for them to make things a little cleaner under the dash and center console). I'm also reworking all the the heater/ventilation controls and cable. Basically the entire interior
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
DieselSpider!DieselSpider wrote:Let see if we can get the images to display:
That's better - Good job!
What was I doing wrong? Thanks a lot buddy!!!
Clearly I'm a newb.....
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
Hi Focodave,focodave wrote:That's mighty damned impressive.
You could probably do that as a side-business.
Nice job!
Thanks for the compliment. I'll do a better job of documenting the steps on the next one which will probably be an X1/9 dash.
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- Posts: 508
- Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:20 pm
- Your car is a: 1979 Fiat 124 Spider
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
Re: My cracked dash repair
For the record, it looks like you had double [img] tags...
--John
1978 Fiat 124 Spider (for sale soon)
1979 Fiat 124 Spider
2007 Audi A4
Blog: http://www.technobabelfish.com
1978 Fiat 124 Spider (for sale soon)
1979 Fiat 124 Spider
2007 Audi A4
Blog: http://www.technobabelfish.com
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- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 3:26 am
- Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Re: My cracked dash repair
Hi Garion,garion wrote:For the record, it looks like you had double [img] tags...
Double images? What do you mean? Sorry I'm real new to this forum stuff. I'm still trying to figure it out.
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- Posts: 1359
- Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:11 am
- Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider 1608
Re: My cracked dash repair
What is the proper vinyl and what filler did you use?
Thanks, great job!
Thanks, great job!