| Author |
Message |
sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3916
Location: In Molinya Orbit
|
 Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:10 am Post subject: Re: 1966 ghia dash pad/cover |
 |
|
Hi, Hylomatt
I have very few detailed photos of my dash in my Samba Gallery. I'd have to take a bunch more. There are a couple that show something of interest..
My dash fitted nice and tight in the corners. I didn't use the hole free dash panel. I added a speaker grille . (I was never going to get that many holes looking right). It fitted right in like a '65. I have a billet speaker grille too try but the plastic reissue pieces worked just fine.
Compared to modern cars.. the radio & speaker ain't much good and the car is noisy.... meaning its all for looks and not to enjoy the music whilst driving.
Nicholas
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
hylomatt
Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2016
Posts: 378
Location: Florida
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:43 am Post subject: Re: 1966 ghia dash pad/cover |
|
|
| Well it looks like I might have some relatives visiting Australia in April this year. That may be the way to mitigate some of the cost. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KGCoupe
Samba Member
Joined: July 01, 2005
Posts: 3580
Location: Putting the "ill" and "annoy" in Illinois
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 2:24 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 ghia dash pad/cover |
|
|
Having relatives or friends visiting Australia who would be willing to carry a dash pad back with them may save you quite a bit over the regular cost of International shipping.
... however with the rising cost of extra baggage fees that all the airlines seem to be charging these days, it may not save you as much as you hope.
Another option you may want to consider is having a local upholstery shop recover your current "defective" dash pad in leather with fancy French stitching on the edge as several other regulars around here have done.
Having that done would allow you to first perform whatever modifications would be necessary to correct the size deficiency so that the finished product will fit as good as it looks.
Just a thought. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rcooled
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2008
Posts: 2508
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 2:11 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 ghia dash pad/cover |
|
|
| hylomatt wrote: |
| ...maybe something happened to it while it sat in the box for over a year. |
I've found this same problem with replacement dash pads too. It's not from lying around in the box, it's from laziness on the part of the manufacturer. I spoke to one vendor about the gaps at the windshield posts and was told that the mold for these dash pads was taken directly from an original piece...and therein lies the problem. There was no compensation made for material shrinkage once the part left the mold. It's not that difficult to determine that the part should've experienced X% shrinkage over its length once cooled and that amount needed to be added to the mold cavity's length in order to produce a dimensionally accurate reproduction. Shrinkage over the relatively narrow width wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem.
Some pads have less of a gap than what's shown in your photos, but all (except Jerry's) will have at least some. This is why I opted to strip the vinyl from my '67's original pad, cut out the disintegrated speaker perforations and reinforced it with fiberglass before having it recovered and then installing it with a speaker grill.
_________________
'63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
hylomatt
Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2016
Posts: 378
Location: Florida
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 5:26 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 ghia dash pad/cover |
|
|
| I wish that the original dash pad had come with the vehicle. I probably would have gone through the same set of steps of restoring it. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
56cpe
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2005
Posts: 198
Location: Western Australia
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 5:38 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 ghia dash pad/cover |
|
|
Just FYI, every dash top we make is Hand laid and finished, then presented to a LH or RH Dash to determine fit, before it goes to Kevin ( Aussie Trimmer) for His magic
Regards Jerry
KGCOA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
