Interior of Car - Refinished Dash & Crash Pad
Here are some pictures of the Interior. Talked my wife into refinishing the dash. The original vinyl covered foam crash pad (on top of the dash) was cracked, so I bought a molded plastic crash pad from Sports Car World for $195. Also spent $12 (to RD Enterprises) for stick on instrument and switch labels.
The molded plastic crash pad has to be trimmed to fit into the car. This is a little tricky, because I thought I had a good fit, but when I tightened the chrome screws that hold the dash to the car, the pad bowed a little. Most of the gap between the pad and bottom of windshield is hidden by upholstry piping, but the fit isn't perfect. Still, it looks a lot better than it did before, and you have to look for the imperfection.
Removing the dash pretty much follows the instructions in the Workshop Manual. The worst part is the small screws that attach the defroster vents to the crash pad. There isn't enough clearance between the pad and windshield to get a screwdriver on the front screws. I finally cut down a small phillips insert, and then by pressing down from the top, and using a needle nose plier to rotate the shaft, was able to remove them.
It is also important to label the wires as you disconnect them from the guages and switches. You take the labels off as you reconnect them.
Interior looks pretty good except for the wires that show in the passenger's footwell. I think that I will cut a plastic milk container, paint it black and use it as a cover.