Rusted Out 1970 850 Spider Fix-Up

You also would want to replace the large rubber mount as well as it looks rather weathered. Jeff is showing the smaller rubber mount that goes on top in his image. I suspect he has one of the large ones as well.
Yes, I'd recommend replacing that, as well. I don't have any of the large lower bushings that I'd want to sell (the ones I have are slated for use on my own cars), I just kinda assumed he'd buy a new one from a vendor. The upper rubber bushing I offered is a "good used" one, as again the new ones I have are meant for my own cars (they're also used on the trans mounts). Looking at what Daniel has, replacing his upper bushing seemed more critical & my good used one is in far better condition than his current one (it was a "freebie" I just tossed into the mix).
 
Yes, I'd recommend replacing that, as well. I don't have any of the large lower bushings that I'd want to sell (the ones I have are slated for use on my own cars), I just kinda assumed he'd buy a new one from a vendor. The upper rubber bushing I offered is a "good used" one, as again the new ones I have are meant for my own cars (they're also used on the trans mounts). Looking at what Daniel has, replacing his upper bushing seemed more critical & my good used one is in far better condition than his current one (it was a "freebie" I just tossed into the mix).
Sorry not meaning to sell your good stock :) you often have some many duplicates of things I wrongly thought you might have several floating around.

I tend to want new rubber parts but some of the old stock stuff was very good quality that one sometimes wants something which is actually vintage over the questionable modern reproductions.
 
Miss me? I have been enjoying the car, but it is time to do the dash. Any helpful hints in getting the padded part out? I think I am going to fill the cracks and cover it in vinyl. I think anything else will just result in cracks reappearing in the Texas blast furnace. Also, any leads on getting a good fitting car cover? Outside use. Apologize if I have asked this before.

Here is what I am starting with. Time for the vinyl covering on the right to be redone when I do the left hand side.
 

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Craig Shepard has a couple of Youtube that cover some of this

There is also the fill with bondo and then coat with bed liner/rhino liner as an approach to doing this.

I think filling with urethane foam, a thin veneer of bondo and the vinyl covering would be a good way to approach it.

Here is a great how to:

A very good how to with materials:
 
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A couple of hours of not unpleasant work, and the pad is out. Amazingly, only one pad bolt broke. Plenty of rust though. The passenger side interior light is completely eaten up. Anyone have a spare?
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Time for cogitation, and then ACTION!
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Cool - I found some universal lights at Autozone a while back that fit the space for the lights quite easily. Also, there is a bolt on the bracket holding the sterring wheel which if removed allows you to swing the whole thing down if you want a little more room to play in. ljf
 
Cool - I found some universal lights at Autozone a while back that fit the space for the lights quite easily. Also, there is a bolt on the bracket holding the sterring wheel which if removed allows you to swing the whole thing down if you want a little more room to play in. ljf
I do, I do. That bolt is coming out. Thanks!
 
Ok, here we go! I have ground down the edges of the cracks
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And here it is with the spray foam in the cracks. Now to let it set up. I am off to look at veneers for the dash. Let us see what exotic wood I come up with!

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Isn’t this fun? How not to refinish a crash pad.
 
Top to bottom: black vinyl for dash, cherry veneer my wife picked out, and the cruddy looking dashboard. One thing good about the cherry is that it is super thin, so hopefully it will follow the lines of the metal dash when the gauges are refitted.
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Oh, and the foam after expansion.
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That foam fills the gap pretty nicely. The only issue is that there is still a bit of a raised area around the new foam. The old dash has taken a curl where it cracked, and I think there will be a very small lump under the new covering. I don’t think it can be avoided. Maybe if I glued a thin layer of foam over the entire dash.

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I think others have cut back the old vinyl to get rid of the hump and infilled with foam.
 
YouTube has a bunch of dash refurb videos available. Everyone I can remember watching (where they were repairing cracks in the dash) recommended smoothing out the gouged areas with body filler, before recovering. Seems like it would be pretty easy to skim over the foam you've already applied.
 
I think others have cut back the old vinyl to get rid of the hump and infilled with foam.
I did that where the crack lip was very pronounced, but this is a large are that has a subtle, but noticeable raise to it.

Now I am starting to have my doubts as to whether or not I can get this vinyl to stretch enough to cover this dash. It is a very complex object. Hmmmm…maybe truck bed lining time.
 
Ok, I think I am going to try to spray the dash with bedliner. So in prep for that, I have covered the cracks in an excellent sealant I use called master sealant np1 (I think). It is very slow setting up, so that project is on hold for today. Since I got my real work done early today, I decided to take a shot at re-veneering the dash. Amazingly, the metal panel was rusty! Sanded it down, glued up the wood and metal, slapped them together and then cut out holes with a knife. Used the Dremel to smooth up the edges. Turned out pretty nice! Will need to stain and seal. I have no idea how well it will hold up…the veneer is pretty thin.
Before and after..
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now to figure out what to do with all the toggle switch plates that have no letters left on them.
 
Alright, let’s do this. I can’t get this soft foam any flatter.
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Far from perfect, but much better. The guys with the hard plastic dashes or without these multiple curves have much better results. I can live with this!
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