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68 dash pad recovered by Al Knoch

13K views 34 replies 15 participants last post by  txrsss 
#1 · (Edited)
I just got my dash pad back that I mailed to Al Knoch. I think it looks fantastic. It looks like an NOS although I've never seen an NOS. I can't wait for the restorer to put it in.

It cost me $50 to mail it and they charged me $100 and I guess they aren't charging me for return shipping.
 

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#5 ·
Mine was an original of course that was all cracked up but had solid metal. They stripped it and recovered it. One leg had separated from the main metal piece and they are glued together from the factory by Al spot welded it together. Better than original on that end.

I tried to upload some before pics but I must be over my limit.
 
#7 ·
I'd like to see clear close ups of that pad. Recently no one was performing excellent work. Nice to see they nailed it if the photos show it. Looks good but I'll bet the grain is not a perfect match. That was the only difference in the other A. Knoch pad I saw. Most have never laid they eyes on a GM pad and don't even know the difference, even when seeing the awful bloated ones on the market.
 
#9 ·
I would like to see some close-ups as well. Do you think they stripped all the original vinyl off before recovering? It would seem almost impossible to do without destroying the foam around the core or affecting the shape of the pad. For $100, I bet they just cut out & smoothed the cracks then wrapped it in new vinyl. Looks good from what can be seen in the pics you posted.
 
#10 ·
I made some changes to the pics at the top. As thin as it feels I have to believe they stripped off all the old vinyl and pad and put new on. It's really flat from front to back (no bow). Looking at it from one end along the back it is a little wavy but I think that will straighten out when it's installed.
 
#13 ·
...I have to believe they stripped off all the old vinyl and pad and put new on.
Looking at the pics again, I think you are correct. The foam looks like it is a light tan color, where the original foam was a grey color. Also, the back side of the original pads I have seen have all had quite a bit of excess foam covering the steel core. On yours, you can see the holes in the core.
 
#11 ·
That is much better than any re-pop garbage that is being sold even if the grain might not 100%. Every re-pop I have seen looks like re-poop. This looks great!! The price is right also.

I have a very nice orginal 67 Dash pad no cracks at all. It's good to know I can send in my other nasty orginal 67 dash pad to get recovered just to keep as a spare.
 
#15 ·
Winch- Does the black vinyl wrap around the upper edge of the pad like it did originally? In your picture showing the back side it doesn't look like it. Only asking because I'm thinking about having Al Knoch recover mine (since yours came out so nice). Here are some pics of an original dash pad for reference:




 
#17 ·
Yes it wraps around the entire pad about 3/4 inch and covers all those tabs that stick out. I tried adding some more pics but it won't let me. If anyone wants more pics email me at kenwinchester@gmail.com
How hard was it to remove it and put back ? That procedure i'd really like some pictures. Mines has a crack down the middle and i've been wondering how hard it is to uninstall. :yes:
 
#20 ·
I don't think there is any special deal at AK. I just called the number on their website which is 1-800-880-8080 and asked if they would recover mine. The receptionist didn't know anything about it but checked into it and called me back and said yeah they'd do it for $100. I got a feeling anyone who wants this maybe should jump on it before AK finds out how much demand there might be and starts charging something more like what Just Dashes charges.
 
#26 ·
It was $100 for quite a long time as I gave them my dash last year at Corvette Carlisle. It was not my orig. dash but another one I had but the one leg was too rusty to re-do but they sold me one of their repro's and for the money its a great product. Picked the new one and my old one back up at Fall Carlisle. Good people to deal with and I thought the cost was a steal. Believe that was to help kick business in and start the word of mouth but agree even $165 or $175 is still good when you consider what JustDashes guotes (told me $350) and what you get back. Now no knock (or Al, get it) on justdashes as they do supply some great products.
 
#28 ·
I went to U-Haul and bought 2 lamp boxes. They are 48x12x12. I slit the corners of one so it slid down into the other one. Filled it with packing peanuts and taped the heck out of. I guess it got there OK. Mine was a lot sturdier than the one they sent it back in but it came back OK
 
#32 ·
I like my dash pad so much that I just called AK and asked for an estimate to recover my door panels, paint the hard vinyl stuff like seat backs, side bracket covers, arm rest base, and sell me their seat covers. If I have them do it all it should match better than if I piece it together. I'll let y'all know how that comes out.
 
#35 · (Edited)
I have had the '67 prototype/repro pad in my hands. It was created from my mint original '67 pad. The '67 bright blue pad will be in production ASAP. Maybe a few weeks...or sooner. I let the guys at Al's know today that their bright blue color sample is dead on. We will match the red in the next week or two. I am trying to locate original examples of the lt. blue, gold and turquoise pads so that these can be matched as well. Al and I have talked about reproing the metal substrate for the '67 and it may very well happen. I will check into the status when I am there. Sending in your original metal substrate is an option. I had this done for mine.

He would very much like to reproduce the '69 but a mint or NOS original is needed. I have feelers out, but if anyone here has a perfect original example it can be easily done.

Al has many of the '67 items in the works as we speak, improvements to their current items and new reproductions as well. I live in the same town as the factory and have been trying to help them in their quest to improve the '67-'69 Camaro items.

Feel free to PM or email me @ txrsss@msn.com


Mike Rossi
 
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