The dash is complete

I finally finished the dash this weekend. I repainted the top of dash, and began putting the thing back together and I got to thinking: when will I have this dash apart this much again?

I decided I had better top-coat the rest while I was this far in. I removed the rest of the dash parts and wiring and cleaned the front pad with lacquer thinner. I also wiped the glove box cover down, but don't use lacquer thinner for this, it is made of ABS and the thinner will attack it. I used hot soapy water for this. I sprayed it with a vinyl paint. A couple of light coats was all it took. I am really happy with how it turned out.


While I had the rest of the instrument panel out, I decided to fix the crack in the top pad as well.  I had a leather/vinyl patch kit from long ago, so I thought I would give it a shot.  First I cleaned the top pad with lacquer thinner and let it dry thoroughly.  Then I patched it up according to the instructions.  It looked pretty good.  I then put a top coat on this pad as well.  This made the glosses even and also made it match the rest of the newly painted dash parts.  It's not perfect, but it sure looks better than that nasty looking crack/split.  I am sure if one was willing to put in several hours to make it really perfect, it would be possible to make it look even better.  It's good enough for now.

 I re-installed everything I took apart and cleaned under the dash as well. Even the back side of the dash parts are clean now!
I re-glued the cracks I had in the fiber/wood glove box and that will be reinstalled as soon as it dries. Maybe tonight.
After a quick ride to be sure everything was working correctly, I decided it was time to pull that engine to check torques and completeness of re-assembly (see previous post) I put it up on jack stands and removed the rear bumper and battery so far. Let the engine work begin.