I was on Ebay about two weeks ago and I saw this dash, see attached pics.

It's out of a junk yard '78 280Z that had been garage keep with 63K miles. Mint condition dash, no cracks, no rust, all gages, switches, heater controls, vents, wiring. The seller had the seats and full console, with radio up for sale as well and I must say it all looked brand new. I consulted with my chief financial officer, the wife, and received approval for maximum spending limits on these three items. On the last day of bidding, I stayed up to 11:30 PM for the end of the auction. The bucket seats went for over $450 and the console/radio went for over $575. More than I was allowed to bid. The dash, however, stayed in reach. I nailed it for $850 with shipping. Here's where that moral support thing comes in guys; did I do good or blow it? It should be here next week and damn if I don't feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.

Looks like a good score to me! I'd like to find an original, crack free dash for my '73. My Z has a full face dash cover and looks great, but not as good as an original!

$850 for a mint dash is a big chunk o' change. But, if your Z doesn't need much else, you're getting off cheep. Consider this, my latest order from MSA came to just over $500 for such things as:

3 new fuel tank vent hoses

2 carb rebuilt kits

2 jet needles

2 carb nozzles

1 radiator cap

1 set of spark plug wires

1 6 slot plug wire clip

2 wiper blades

2 wiper blade refills

1 set of intake manifold coolant hoses

1 female hood latch

2 rear deck dove tails

2 rear deck side strikers

2 rear deck bumpers

1 hand brake boot

1 throttle pedal

1 coolant sending unit retaining nut

1 pack of interior rivets

The order before that was $350 for a header and turbo exhaust system.

Hmm, that's $850 so far...as I dig through the receipts I see another one from MSA for $324, one from Victoria British (now Black Dragon) for $498, another one from MSA for $356...

You get the idea.

My name is Ken. I own a Z car.

I think that is a great deal. You will be able to check the wiring harness, connectors and terminals for any corrosion easily before installation. Coming from a garaged low milage car it probably won't be bad. It's getting hard to find a crack free dash and would cost a lot more to have your old one recovered. After you install it you still have the old one to sell whole or in pieces also, so that will bring the price of the new one down.

...Looks like it has a dash cap on it...

JUST KIDDING, haha. Looks like a great find, goodluck installing it.

It looks great. Doesn't get much nicer than that. And if it's a dash cap, someone did a real nice job installing it. I hope it's not.

Looks like a good score to me! I'd like to find an original, crack free dash for my '73. My Z has a full face dash cover and looks great, but not as good as an original!

$850 for a mint dash is a big chunk o' change. But, if your Z doesn't need much else, you're getting off cheep. Consider this, my latest order from MSA came to just over $500 for such things as:

3 new fuel tank vent hoses

2 carb rebuilt kits

2 jet needles

2 carb nozzles

1 radiator cap

1 set of spark plug wires

1 6 slot plug wire clip

2 wiper blades

2 wiper blade refills

1 set of intake manifold coolant hoses

1 female hood latch

2 rear deck dove tails

2 rear deck side strikers

2 rear deck bumpers

1 hand brake boot

1 throttle pedal

1 coolant sending unit retaining nut

1 pack of interior rivets

The order before that was $350 for a header and turbo exhaust system.

Hmm, that's $850 so far...as I dig through the receipts I see another one from MSA for $324, one from Victoria British (now Black Dragon) for $498, another one from MSA for $356...

You get the idea.

My name is Ken. I own a Z car.

One day I made the mistake (looking back it was) of making a Excel Spread Sheet of ALL the receipts I had for my Z (everything from parts, to labor, to pizza and beer to pay for friends help) ... let's just say it was in the 5k+ range ... I couldn't believe it ... you start to add up the little things and it makes it go way up! Of course I never skimped on my Z and put all nice parts and effort into it and have a car I love, so all worth it in the end.

Every single time you drive or sit in your car you are going to look at that pristine dash and think that looks bloody good. Are not two of the things we all value in a Zed an uncracked dash and a working clock?

This seems to have been a carefully considered decision prior to the purchase so enjoy it.

I think you owe the financial manager a special evening or at least some flowers.

Dave is right,

When you drive your car, what do you see close at hand?

The steering wheel and the Dash, as long as the performance of the car is up to par, having great examples of these two items and the rear view mirror can make a world of difference in how you feel driving the car.

Your need for maral support will fade wth your first drive with the dash installed!

Get a buddy and do it right-don't risk hurting that dash on installation!

Will

Just think how you'd feel if you DID'NT buy that dash! If you let it go...you'd probably kick yourself down the road. As long as you needed it and had the CFO 's blessing to spend the $, then i'd say its a great find.

Zak

Take the time and coat it well in baby oil. Keep that beautiful dash clean and moisturized at all costs. I'd love to see a crack free original dash in my Z. Alas I'll be patching and covering mine though.

ah yes all thats missing now is this!

Nice, nothing like cleaning up the car getting in for a drive and seeing no cracks. Well not on the dash anyhow!