1969 ghia dash pad and wood grain Veneer

[panard2013]

Any brand recommendations for replacement dash pad and dash veneer? Any good instructions for installation of pad and veneer?
Jay

[ghiamanjc]

Hi Jay - I'm halfway through restoring the entire dash of my 74 KG Convertible. I did a TONNE of research before purchasing my new goodies. I looked at both price and quality reviews. My experience:

Dashface - Airhead. THey seem to be the only ones that make them. Everyone else seems to resell theirs (CIP1, M&T, WestCoast Metric). I put it on last weekend and it fits great. I used 3M 90 Spray which also worked great.

Dashpad - Al Knoch. (Direct or via WestCoast Metric or M&T). Buying direct from them got me a great price and my research said they were the same quality as the other options (Airhead, CIP1 (EMPI).

KneeBoard - Airhead. The only other option was the EMPI from WestCoastMetric. I took off the original Kneeboard (busted just under the glovebox) and the new one is notably more flimsy than the original. The original had a metal skeleton that seems to be lacking or at least a lot thiner with this repop.

Those 3 pieces + Glue cost me about $ 700 USD

As for tips and tricks... I picked up quite a few but too many to post here. Send me a DM - [email protected] - and I'll send my notes over. In summary, its an easier project than I thought but very tedious. I've not done the hard part yet - re-connecting all the gauges properly.
Good luck.
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[panard2013]

Thanks for responding so quickly. I went with the Airhead veneer and the other items I ordered from Westcoast Metric. My knee pad is perfectly fine and doesn’t need replacement.
I’m going to try to document the whole thing via still photos but it will probably be too maddening. Keep us informed of your progress. Good luck.
Jay

[Braukuche]

Airheads show quality dash pad is as close as you can get to the original. Mine fit like a glove.
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!

Retirement is here!
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now
1989 Westfalia

[rcooled]

[ghiamanjc]

Update - I'm now 75% through the Dash Re+Re. My thoughts:

Dashface - the 3M 90 worked really well. I did a bad job of cutting out the glovebox. I did not leave enough material around the edges to fold back 'behind' the opening. And I made too many lateral cuts which show. Thankfully the door will cover most of my sins. The vinyl was great.

Dashpad - Al Knoch - was tough to get in but managed to get it done. Had to cut one opening about .25" bigger to get one of the shanks in. Had one of the shanks spin on me but overall good quality.

KneeBoard - Airhead. - worked great. One bolt did spin but otherwise a quality part.

Now to reconnect the gauges this weekend.
_________________
Join the 74 KGhia Registry - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O4MQepBrAnwCKn9EXzSVPUmVA_oUOJU-WrmFUxON-qQ/edit#gid=0