Dash Repair Process/Pictures

[lonetreesteve]

Guy,

Yes, your '70 is truly an incredible car and I'm not surprised that she takes 1st place in every show you've entered her! From a neglected old car baking in the Arizona desert (see pics below) to multiple award winner, she certainly has come a long ways! I'm sure Bruce is also proud of her as well. I saw your thread with the pictures of the L28 -you did an incredible job -the engine looks absolutely beautiful and I'm sure that it runs great too. I look forward to seeing the pics of you '71 product once it's finished.

[Diseazd]

Steve.....Thanks for all of your kind words.......Bruce gets credit for this resto.....wait till you see the 71......it'll blow you away....I'll take credit for that one.

[DHunt592]

Does anyone know how he restored the wood steering wheel??? In the pictures of Bruce's car (I think the green one) the steering wheel looks brand new along with the dash... I'm curious to know the steps of making the wheel look as good as new with the very bright red/brown glossy finish.... -Thanks --Dan

71 240z, 72 240z, 72 240z. 2000 tacoma and one very understanding girlfriend...

[Bonzi Lon]

DHunt592: The steering wheel IS NOT wood, but a resin that is painted to look like wood, so good it fools everybody. Search 'steering wheel restoration', several good threads.

Bonzi Lon

[esmit208]

I must agree BD

It looks SWEEEEEET! Patience and a little craftmanship can go a long way. I have several dashes in various stages of wear so I can have a few practice tosses. Thank you for sharing the pics. I live in Florida so I will be tested by both heat and humidity. I am thinking of using a few dowels to connect and strengthen the area to be repaired.

[Inf]

DHunt592: The steering wheel IS NOT wood, but a resin that is painted to look like wood, so good it fools everybody. Search 'steering wheel restoration', several good threads.

Bonzi Lon

Not this again!

It's not painted to look like wood:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15600&highlight=kats+wood+steering+wheel

[grungedude42]

I'm in the process of attempting this procedure myself. However, now that I have my dash out, I've noticed a particularly weak spot above the center of the three small gauge slots. If I were to use flexible bumper repair below the dash foam and reinforce with a fiberglass square or two, taking up about a 3" by 3" area, would that be an effective means of protection?

[stony]

Very cool i was just looking for repair methods for my drag Z. gonna try this soon.

[WildmaN]

Been a long time since I posted or been on this site. But this looks quite interesting. And I may give it a go, sometime in the near future. I own 4 280zx's. And I plan to fix them all up. Thanks for the detailed pics, and information.

I am currently getting my '82 slicktop running, and roadworthy. Just still have some minor things to do to it. I have a fuel dumping problem, and still need to troubleshoot. I am sure I can get it figured out.

[ZCurves]

I am in the process of putting in a new dash in my '78 and I would really like to replace the old AC Duct-Work with fresh new stuff. Does anyone have a lead where I could get a complete set? Please let me know!

I have been looking at old school breather hoses from the parts store, and they would work if I wrapped them with insulation. The problem is finding the smaller 1 inch hose to the floor area...

I plan to post pictures of the process.

[kenz240z]

I recently repaired the dash in my '71 using the process initially described in this thread. I started by repairing the deepest cracks with fiberglass. I then filled the cracks and low spots with the spray foam and cut it down with a hacksaw. I began covering the cracks with the SEM bumper repair epoxy, but soon ran out. Too many cracks! I switched to the NAPA bumper repair kit.

In my experience, I'd say the NAPA epoxy is easier to work with. The NAPA epoxy has a slower cure time, which allowed me to mix up bigger batches and cover more of the cracks at a time. Both products seem to provide a similar flexible coat when cured.

I ended up spraying the dash with Duplicolor truck bed liner. It provided a grainy finish with a nice semi-gloss finish. There was no need to spray it with the SEM trim black afterwards. I think it turned out pretty good!

[Gary in NJ]

Outstanding. After all is said and done I'm sure you saved over $750 from what the "pros" charge. You'll have a lot more pride in your result then from writing a check.