Ya shur can bet that anyone in Southern California who owns an 1800, fur shur, has experienced dried and cracked dash pads. The sun is great for making raisins and banana chips, yah, but is not as agreeable with thin vinyl stretched over thin padding, sitting directly beneath an efficient greenhouse membrane (windscreen). If you've got a high 90s point car and want to compete with the hard cores, then you need the "real thing" replacement (Kurt Sievert has got a new set cheap!). If you're like the rest of us, yah, then you can get by with a far more durable product at a fraction of the cost, fraction of the labor, and have some bones and time left over for a "sixer" of Old Milwaukee (or better)!

     The product that I refer to is the "Dash Cap," a cap to cover the ugliness of what'cha now got. It's not an exact replica of the earlier dash design, in that it uses the coarse grain finish like the injected models have. What it does have is about five times the thickness of the Swedish vinyl, it can be installed without removing the dashboard, and has a lifetime warrantee against it behaving like the Swedish bikini version did. And, according to one source, it can be ordered molded in colors (how about orange to go with that orange ES--pretty spiffy, eh?). I recommend you just stay with black, however, yah.

     First you need to acquire a set, so take all your empty beer cans down to the recycler until you get about 100+ bucks. From here there are about five options for purchasing the thing: J. C. Whitney, Chicago; Lii Montgomery, New Mexico; Foreign Autotech, or Bob Stein, Pennsylvania; or from any number of high priced performance shops around town. If you have purchased anything from J.C. Whitney you will get the sales catalog, which sells dash caps for $89 or less, if my memory serves me.

     Once you have the "Dash Cap," pick a complete day to do the deed (unless yur 1800 just sits around--then take yur time!). I did the lower section first, and that is what I still recommend. Remove the steering wheel and little cover over the turn signal/overdrive switches. I removed both switch panels on a '73 model, but don't think it's mandatory. The area around the turn signal/dimmer switch on the latest models will require some freelance trimming, as this switch body is much larger and protrudes to the left. Be prepared to put it on and take if off a few hundred times, and please, take your time. The resulting workmanship will be evident far longer than adherence to the timeline!

     But, before you can put it on and take it off, you will need to make the existing covering conform to the proper shape. Don't just rip off the old dash pad--the new cap will be glued to whatever is left on your dash, and the more the better . You will need to trim away any high spots that result from cracked, curling vinyl. and dusty, dried foam. Remove just enough to allow the cap to fit over the remainder. The old one will be very brittle and will break out with just yur fingers. If the old dash pad is gone completely, all is not lost. A can of spray-in insulation foam should fill the Void nicely, and adhere to the cap as well. This can be purchased at Gateway Industries in San Diego, among other places. The new cap set is sized quite well and very little trimming is needed for the area under the instruments. After the turn signal area is finished and high spots removed, clean the entire area with isopropyl alcohol -beer will not do! The adhesive supplied with the caps is yur basic RTV silicone, or "bathtub sealant." Have several bricks available, as this stuff takes 24 hours to cure, and you can't sit there holding it that long. When all the trimming is done and it fits great, clean the inside of the cap with alcohol, too! RTV takes time to cure, so it is not necessary to rush this part of the job either. Apply RTV in beads to the inside of the cap, with the outside bead 1/2 inch from the edge of the cap. Push the cap fully on the dash into position, and use the bricks and duct tape to secure it exactly where you want it. Now leave this for the day and night, and DO NOT DISTURB!

     To do the top dash, it's the same thing, except you need to decide up front whether to glue it over the air duct rims, or try to remove and replace them. Replacement would be the hard part, yah shur. If you are replacing the windscreen at the same time, it would be no problem with it out. You decide. I think a small offset Phillips would remove the screws, but it's making the holes and starting the screws back in that is really scary. GOOD LUCK!