rallye dash facia

[dwbiggs]

What do I do...gota facia that is  little scratched and old looking.  Do the repro facias fit/look good?  Does anyone restore originals?  I heard that the appliques will lift after a while.  Any opinions?  Any pics of repros?  Who sells them?

Thanks,
Dan

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Dan,
  I've done both. The cheap appliques(I wish I had spell-check) are OK if you aren't real picky, but in the end, I wasn't happy with them. Yes, the peeling and air bubbles must be dealt with. I bought a set of repros from P.G Classic. They look great. In my picture, the switch panel looks to be a different color than the gauges, but it isn't. I don't know why it shows that way.  Maybe I'm a sub-standard photographer??? 

 http://www.pgclassic.com/

  Mike

[dwbiggs]

Mike,

How did you apply the repros?  What kind of glue did you use?  I may go ahead and order a set...was worried about the fit but you seem not to have had any trouble.

Dan

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Sorry Dan,
   I should have been more specific.  This is the whole she-bang. This is the whole aluminum facia that they sell. It fit perfectly too. It already had the woodgrain applied.


   Mike

[dwbiggs]

MEK,

I thought you had to glue the facia to the gauge panel?

Dan

[MEK-Dangerfield]

MEK,

I thought you had to glue the facia to the gauge panel?

Dan

UGH!!! 

  If we keep at this long enough, I might remember to answer all your questions.      I just used a general purpose glue on them. They fit pretty good to begin with, but I layed a couple of heavy books on them overnight, just to be sure. 

  Mike

[dwbiggs]

Sounds good...I'll be ordering a set.  Is PG the only game in town?

Dan

[miketyler]

I have a 3-switch facia with decal and labels already installed w/ matching instr. panel decal if you want to try the cheaper approach. I did it and it looks pretty good but I am not sure how they will hold up over time.

 

 

[ShelbyDogg]

So Mike, 2 questions about your picture:
1. How much was that set?
2. Do you use that massager on your feet?

Rob

[miketyler]

I think the decal was about $25 from a guy on Ebay. I knew I should have cropped that massager. I have chronic pain in my upper back and it comes in handy some days

[ShelbyDogg]

Thanks.
$25 seems like a good deal for that to make my dash look new again. Good pic showing all of the little grain lines. 
Sorry, but I couldn't resist the massager comment. It was too cold last night to do more rust repair so I was bored.

Rob

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Rob,
  Those $25 decals are worth a shot for sure. I just had trouble in the corners where it bends at the ends. Air bubbles would develop.  That's why I finally paid the piper and sprung for the whole aluminum woodgrain repro. Good luck with it. 

  Mike

[ShelbyDogg]

Thanks Mike
I saw a cheaper vinyl on e-body dashes before and it looked like hardware type woodgrain. It was also shrinking in the corners and pulling away from the alum. I was hoping that these were thicker and had better glue so that it wouldn't happen.
Rob

[hemi71]

I've had problems with the vinyl overlays, they look good when first installed, but ina year or so begin to bubble. Here is the PG piece on my 70 Cuda, worked out nicely.

[miketyler]

I think shrinking is a result of direct sunlight exposure and/or heat. If you keep your car covered up or garaged I bet you can reduce a lot of that. I'm willing to chance it for awhile. Who knows, by the time it starts to shrink or bubble, maybe the PG metal repros will be <$100