Since the hardest part of a reproduction dash is done just waiting for production and shipping, I have turned my attention to the part that really shows the most: the dash face pad.
Doing the pad out of the original padded vinyl would be extremely difficult and they would still be fragile. Color matching would be close to impossible. However we could do it in a soft touch injection molded plastic. We could get the texture shape and color spot on and it would be much less likely to get damaged. unless you stuck your thumb nail into it it would be hard to tell it wasn’t padded underneath. Who would do that anyway?
But it is the details that always get in the way. Early build standards had little taped in lenses for turn signal brake lights and high beams. Later '67s and all '68s used really nice looking little framed lenses, and a frame around the wiper switch where it came through the dash. (any got a late '67 that could take a picture so I can see if it is the same as '68?) The vast majority of dashes were the later style but even the guys that have that version know that the lenses are all burned and shrinking and replacements are really expensive and super hard to find. So it looks like we need to do those lenses.
That brings me to the next part. The aluminum trim around the outside of the pad. There are two versions of the '67 and two of the '68. (AC and non AC)
If you had good originals you could use them and maybe clean them up but will you want to? Ford supplied it when you bought the service replacement part. It wasn’t really designed to be removed and reinstalled. It was actually crimped on to the pad.
If I am recalling correctly there is another difference between the 67 and the 68 pad. On the passenger side of the pad the one year is just plain padded vinyl and the other year has a stitched embossed type border. I have a couple of used ones laying around and will try to remember to look at them tomorrow.
That is correct Randy. Right now I can see the need for three pad molding tools. The smooth version was used on all AC cars in 67 and 68. The smooth version used in non AC cars with no cutout for the center vent in mid to late ‘67s.And then the contoured version used in non AC applications in ‘68.
Nugget Gold is a ‘68 only color. And not that popular. Not sure what to do about that.
My experience is that when the paint looks bad it suddenly becomes a defective product returned for refund. It only takes a few to cover the extra investment in correct color products.
But you may well be right. It might be completely impossible to do the colors
Question. I’ve got an early 67 with the lenses taped to the back of the dash board. The tape has changed color over the years. Has anyone cut the tape away from the lens hole, but left it in place? Wondering if this helps with the color of the indicator (I just switched to LED bulbs and an contemplating this move).
Man this is a difficult part to reproduce with the turn signal lenses, aluminum trim, etc. but it would be such a game changer for every non-XR7 Cougar - especially when combined with your new repro dash bezels.
It’s a big project. We have our arms around what we need to tool up. Here’s a happy little fact that is causing some grief: the original pads have shrunk over time. Fortunately the aluminum trim has not. What this means is that we can’t just scan original pads and get useable dimensions. We have to essentially design the pads from the ground up. I have a real concern about how much engineering time we are going to have just to get it designed.
At any rate we are pushing towards getting things quoted.
