1966 ghia dash pad/cover

[hylomatt]

does anyone know where i can get an accurate replacement for the dash pad/cover in my 1966 ghia coupe? in case i'm using the wrong terminology, i'm talking about the black part on top of the painted dash.

right now, i have a 68 dash pad, i think, and it doesn't fit correctly. i has the handle part molded in as an impression and i want to get the grab handle back in place as well.

thanks in advance for help finding a new dash pad/cover.

[c21darrel]

Yeah a 68 cap is different from 66.
Do you have a budget?
Plenty of previous discussions on dash pads,
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/search.php?q=aussie%20trimmer

i think the general consensus is that the Aussie Trimmers are most correct. CIP1 sells a couple different levels, KGPR has them and Glas-Action has the cheapest at just under $100. I got the cheap one and tarted it up a bit.

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1967 DC build
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[hylomatt]

Hey thanks for the response. Budget is negotiable. Although I like the look of the covered dashes such as the one in your picture, I'm not sure I want to cover it for my own Ghia. I'm going for all original myself. Something with a similar to original contour/texture I think might be more preferable in my case.

I hadn't heard of the Aussie trimmers. I read a bunch of threads but could detect a consensus. Others mentioned house of Ghia as well. I saw the cip and kgpr ones but hadn't called them yet.

[hylomatt]

Okay I sent a message to the Aussie trimmer and we'll see if he responds. I didn't see a website link or anything like that on his profile.

I'll go have a look at some of those others you mentioned.

[56cpe]

hylomatt , Matthew, Kevin (Aussie Trimmer) forwarded your request to me. Thanks for the phone call this morning to discuss the dash tops. If you don't mind I will continue to post this just in case Folks have forgotten that the dash tops are not Kevins - they are made by me and Kevin trims them for me.
Is there a chance that we could get a "Sticky" set up to show the various "Factory" Dash tops - not homemade , as there seems to be some confusion.

Regards Jerry
KG Co Australia

[hylomatt]

So I ended up purchasing the 66 pad from cip1: https://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC-C10-3601

The 68 pad that I removed from the car had theaded nuts embedded in its underside but the 66 pad from cip1 does not.

Should the pad have the theaded nuts embedded or is it supposed to be glued in?

Did I get a bad one? Where exactly should I go for a better version, if one exists?

[c21darrel]

its a repop part and is not like the original. You could epoxy screws in og location and attach like it originally was...or... dont. The grab handle will do much of the work holding it down. You can add a screw on each end into the dash. Thats what I did.
_________________
GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[sputnick60]

I salvaged the screws from the old dash.
First thing was to mark the hole positions with a white marker I sat the dash in position and poked the marker through the holes from inside the trunk.

Then carefully drilled the holes through for the Grab handle

The Screws were put in the holes with gaff tape facing upwards so they would stick to fibreglass underside

Then I put a generous dollop of Sikaflex on the metal part of the screw so it would permanently bond to the underside when it got slid into position atop the dash and the screws.

I put a few heavy things on top and left it for a day to cure. The grab handle got bolted in right away because it helped keeping things pressed down.
It seems to be holding well since mid 2012
Nicholas
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'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
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[hylomatt]

And I got it all apart and cleaned up then I threw the dash pad on and it was an inch short on both ends. This is not the first time this has been mentioned on the samba. I need a quality dash top not one that I have to hack in.

[sputnick60]

[hylomatt]

I sent him a PM after I tried fitting the dash top. So hopefully I'll hear back from him soon.

[sputnick60]

[hylomatt]

@56cpe Jerry, I sent you a p.m. asking about a 66 - top. I haven't heard back from you and I know the time zones are pretty close to opposite but if you would reach out to me I would appreciate it.

I'm looking for a 1966 karmann Ghia coupe dash top, preferably completely stock in its appearance.

[56cpe]

Matthew - I did receive your email on Saturday here - you see we are a day ahead of You. It is now Monday and I am back at work. We do not make a 66 dash pad with the perforated holes for the speaker. we make a cut out for the speaker grill up to 65 and then plain to 71. The problem for me now is the Freight Company FEDEX(USA), eversince they bought TNT (AUS) prices and surcharges have gone up. For me to send a $260AUS Dashtop to USA is $196.
The Base price is $110 + $18.50 Fuel surcharge + $5 delivery to a private residence + $43 manual handling as their machines can only handle parcel 120cm long and my dash pads are 133cm boxed + $10.50 admin + $10 that I charge for the specially made box.I am sure I have lost a few orders because of Freight cost over which I have no control. A Company in UK orders in bulk and keeps the cost down. Anyway sorry for the late reply this weekend, but temperatures have been 42c for the weekend (108F) and I have been down the Beach most of the time
Regards Jerry

[hylomatt]

Jerry, if I'm understanding what you're saying, it's the cost of the dash plus $196 to ship it?

Additionally, you don't make a 66 - you make an up-to-65 with the speaker cutout and then after that you jump straight to the 71 style? So you don't make a version for the grab handle without the speaker cutout, correct?

Jumping ahead without the answers to the previous two questions, what do you suggest in my situation? I have a reproduction that is 122 in too short and I have an original 68 - that is just the wrong dash for my vehicle had a previous owner installed.

I'd like to get my grab handle back and also the 68 dash is considerably fatter and in my opinion it hangs out too far over my lovely painted dash.. it never seemed to fit properly and it's very obviously not the right dash since it has the grab impression in it.

Somewhat ignoring the money side of the equation, please let me know what you suggest for my situation.

[56cpe]

Matthew - all our dash tops will accept the Aluminium or Plastic Grab handle. We can or not make a cut out for the Plastic speaker grill to 65. After that you can use our "Early" plain dash top without a speaker perforation - just as Nicholas has done on His 66 and install the later plastic grab handle and vent covers.
And yes thanks to FEDEX the cost of the dash is + an extra $196AUD for freight

Regards Jerry

[hylomatt]

@sputnick60 do you have a photo of your completed, installed dash? I'd like to see the ends, the speaker area, the handle area, how it meets up with the windshied and how it pours over the dash toward the passengers.

imo, $460 is a decent chunk of change and even more so when i may have to add work to it. I'd like to have things just so but i'm not sure if this is crossing the sanity line, with no offense to 56cpe. the shipping cost is out of his control.

@sputnick60, did you redrill your speaker holes?

[hylomatt]

this is what i'm dealing with:

i've starting reaching out to cip1 about this. they have them in stock again and according to their sales rep on the phone, they are made by the same person as the previous one i purchased. i was entertaining the idea that maybe something happened to it while it sat in the box for over a year.

then i found this guy too: https://www.ebay.com/itm/352211476382
i sent him a message about my situation.

i'm still mulling the AU option too.

[hylomatt]

and sorry for the dirty fingernails. i just finished up reindexing the torsion bars and didn't wash up well enough.

[hylomatt]

the dash w/o the pad: