Dashboard project

WorkAlero · 05-19-2009, 04:01 PM

Well, I'm about halfway through my dashboard swap. I've been doing a bunch of projects recently to get my Alero back to presentable condition. The Alero was my daily driver while my 2004 Pontiac GTO was the garage queen. For the four years I owned the GTO I kind of let the Alero go with the exception of routine maintenance and a couple of wheel bearings. Last August I had to part with the goat due to economic reasons. After sulking all winter I needed something to work on since I couldn't mod the Pontiac anymore, so I decided it was time to give the Oldsmobile some attention.

I started, a couple of weeks ago by fixing my LIMG. That was a fun job that took all weekend but now I feel much better after getting it done. I had a pretty bad oil leak and that has now ceased. I don't think there was any damage to the internals. She still runs really good. I found a really nice dashboard on Ebay for $80. I just had to drive 3 1/2 hrs. each way to pick it up. No biggie, just a nice day of driving the Olds up to Michigan and back. Now that I'm layed off I decided to tackle the dashboard swap. It really hasn't been that bad. Just A LOT of stuff to take apart and then put back together. It will be worth it in the end. I'll post a couple of pics of the carnage for everyone's enjoyment. I'll post a couple more once I get it done tomorrow.

WorkAlero · 05-19-2009, 04:02 PM

I also need to repaint the cowl molding since it's gotten really discolored.

DOHC_tuner · 05-19-2009, 04:05 PM

Nice...now wrap it in black suede...thats what I plan to do.

cherrington17 · 05-19-2009, 04:14 PM

eh. suede would get destroyed pretty quick.

keep us posted, work.

surreal_awakening · 05-20-2009, 07:59 AM

Hey...looks a bit like mine inside now! Awesome! Next, swap out that cancerous hood!

Nate's Alero · 05-20-2009, 08:38 AM

hahaha, could have gone with a dash cap for like 140$ look good too

FIX THE HOOD RUST!

smokey · 05-20-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate's Alero

hahaha, could have gone with a dash cap for like 140$ look good too

FIX THE HOOD RUST!

Ya fixing the hood rust is a piece of cake and it wont look like you done anything to it if you know what you are doing. I had a little spot and now it looks like new.

Buy some rust remover, rub it on the rust, sand it off, wash with water, bondo, then prime, then paint. Its as easy as that.

Nate's Alero · 05-20-2009, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smokey

Ya fixing the hood rust is a piece of cake and it wont look like you done anything to it if you know what you are doing. I had a little spot and now it looks like new.

Buy some rust remover, rub it on the rust, sand it off, wash with water, bondo, then prime, then paint. Its as easy as that.

i just sanded, primed and painted....

WorkAlero · 05-20-2009, 11:30 AM

The hood is next on my to do list. I don't think this hood is worth fixing. The rust goes halfway up the side where the skin wraps around the underframe. You can't see it in the pictures. I've been looking for another one. If I can't find one once I get the funds I'm just gonna buy a new one and paint it myself.

I'm not sure what you're talking about Nate with a new dash cap. I've only got about $120 in this dash and it looks really good. I've got everything back together as of this morning. I'll post some more pics once i get that cowl molding painted and put back on. Should be this evening or tomorrow. I'm just really happy I didn't pop the air bags. This is the first time I've had to deal with them as far as removing and putting them back in place.

The only snag that I ran into was when I went to put the factory radio back in. My car is a 2000 and this dash came out of an 2003. I know the radios are different but I didn't think about that before I had everything back in place. The guide post on the back of the radios are a couple of inches off from each other. I fixed that with a drill.

Nate's Alero · 05-20-2009, 11:43 AM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1999-...Q5fAccessories

dash cap, easier to replace that the entire dash

ask redog, it looks kick ass

whiterider00 · 05-20-2009, 05:53 PM

anybody happen to have a pic of that^^ installed? mine is rippling almost back to the edge above the gauge cluster, so i would really like to get something that looks better, and i really dont feel like doing all the work to replace the whole dash. thanks.

WorkAlero · 05-20-2009, 08:23 PM

Here's some pics of the finished project. I stumbled on a pretty cool interior mod totally by mistake. When I painted the cowl molding (the piece that fits between the dashboard and the windshield), I noticed the paint was way too light to match the dark color of the dash. I layed a coat down on it anyhow and set in place, once it was dry, and to my surprise it was a near perfect match to the light gray on the interior and particularly the plastic covers inside the A-pillars. I decided to put another coat on it and see how it looked and I really like it. Looks like it could have come from the factory that way. The light gray headliner now continues down the windshield and right across the front of the dash. I think it just adds to the two-tone interior look of the car.

Overall I'm very happy with the results. The entire thing looks factory and practically brand new. I've got about $120 and a day and a half of labor in the whole thing. This job can be done in a day but I took my time and cleaned a lot of the interior parts as I reinstalled them. All the vents and switches are now clean. Now I need to clean the carpet really good. It's pretty nasty.

Let me know what you think!

Valley olds · 05-20-2009, 09:32 PM

Looks really good. That "accidental" mod looks especially nice.

WreckItRoth · 12-10-2014, 02:40 AM

Really like how it blends to the pillars. Good job man.

Nas Escobar · 12-17-2014, 12:28 AM

That looks awesome!

Is that vinyl from the fabric store?