Worth it to buy an uncracked dash? (longevity question)

[S13siliva]

So i have the infamous cracked S13 dash, the local upholstery shop is not confident enough to re wrap the dash in black vynal.

So my question is have any of you had good luck replacing the entire dash for an uncracked one? I dont really want to spend hundreds of dollars for a dash that is going to crack a year or even worse a few months down the road and put me back at square one. Thanks all.
(Edit) To be more specific, has anyone bought a dash just to have the composite foam dry out and crack later down the road?

[drumer_boy456]

are you fucking serious dude?

[JM216S14]

Its totally worth it, its not hard either just a few bolts and its in and out! Id buy a new one if I was you. Gives your car such a better look

[S13siliva]

I know the swap is easy, it's a matter of do all dashboards eventually crack or are the ones that haven't cracked going to crack. I was curious as to whether or not anyone bought a dash just to have had the composite in the replacement dash end up drying out and cracking as well.
As for the simpleton comment above.... No response needed really.

[TheRealSy90]

Every uncracked dash will crack eventually. We brought a perfect one from socal in my friends evo and it cracked on the way back to AZ even with the air conditioning on.

[S13siliva]

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

Every uncracked dash will crack eventually. We brought a perfect one from socal in my friends evo and it cracked on the way back to AZ even with the air conditioning on.

That's what I was afraid of, I suppose the best option is to have the dash re wrapped by a confident upholsterer.

[brndck]

if you use sun shades when you park, and a dash mat, your dash can last for years without cracking. My car is a 1993, and only has two tiny spider cracks on the dash (each is about the size of a pin head), I use sun shades every time I park, even if its just gonna be for 5 minutes.

[Kuma]

lol@ the upholstery shop not confident enough to do it. what do they do, just install pre-made seat covers? If they can make a seat pattern from scratch, they can do a dash. there's a company that sells leather dash covers you can install yourself. use the search feature for the thread about it, if no one chimes in to link the site.

[Bushido]

just get the coverlay dash cover and be done with it.

[S13siliva]

Thanks guys for all the info. I am going to be checking with an out of town upholstery shop and see what they have to say about it.

[rellik27]

Originally Posted by brndck

if you use sun shades when you park, and a dash mat, your dash can last for years without cracking. My car is a 1993, and only has two tiny spider cracks on the dash (each is about the size of a pin head), I use sun shades every time I park, even if its just gonna be for 5 minutes.

Lol I do the same always put the shade for anything, baby my dash.

[Hoffman5982]

I have an 89 HUD dash with only 2 tiny spider cracks. I don't use a shade. I should probably start

[Zzz89]

I've installed 3 used uncracked dash in 3 different s13s and they've held up fine over the last 3-4 years. Where I'm from the weather gets pretty hot during summer as well. Every single s13 dash in existence has dried up because these cars are over 20 years old, I believe its how it dried up that causes the cracks. During the 20+ years of their life, most were sunbath to death while others were slowly dried out not allowing the cracks to form. So if it hasn't cracked by now, the chances of it cracking will probably be lower. It will however be a bit more fragile as it is pretty old. This is just my experience and opinion though. If you're not too sure I would go with the coverlay for insurance. It looks interesting and it'll probably last a good while.
http://www.frsport.com/Coverlay-10-8...4_p_34937.html

[blkvrtswp]

I picked up a spare scuffed up uncracked dash, stored it in my temp and humidity controlled cellar (never below 50). I noticed the other day that it is COVERED in cracks now. Big long ones! Luckily I plan on stripping it for a leather recover, but I was surprised it cracked so bad just sitting there in under 4 months.

[R_Rod_s13]

I just tinted my front windshield with uv protective flim

[brndck]

one other trick I've been told is from an upholstery shop, is that anything vinyl dries out over the years, and it helps retain the moisture in the material if you:

once a month, put a bowl of water on your car with no lid on, all windows up, and let it sit, hopefully when its warm outside, so that the water evaporates inside the car and the humidity is retained by the material

I have no idea if this actually works, just something I was told.

[rawgarage]

New dash for the bitches manna

[10psitx]

Texas weather is hard on s chassis dashes, i have a few uncracked dashes in my stash to replace the cracked ones when i flip cars...most of the cars with replaced dashed are still uncracked, i know 2 have cracked, the time spans about 5 years so far. Replacing a cracked dash is worth it if you are looking at doing a nice interior, it not that hard as you know and prices range from $100 to $250 for used dashes depending on who's selling. My cars usually have a sunshade if outside or parked in my garage.

Side note-I get my dashes from Indiana, they have rotted out shell and pristine interiors whereas Texas has great rust free shells with messed up interiors so i trade dashes for a shell when my buddy comes down to get parts etc...

[AzS13hatch]

Putting a cup/bowl/ or even water bottle in your car(with no lid) will help if you do it frequently enough. It all depends on the weather in your area, but in AZ its hot and most importantly really dry. They crack from lack of moisture more so than just heat so the evaporated water helps considerably

[KiLLeR2001]

I have 2 uncracked dashes for many years now. Living in Florida the air is always humid but I also wipe my dash down every few months with Meguiars protectant. Whatever you do don't use Armorall products on your dash, I did one time and my dash started cracking soon after.

[S13siliva]

More good info, this was what i was trying to ask, what everyone's experience was with how well the replacement dash held up.

[Touge_Monster]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

I have 2 uncracked dashes for many years now. Living in Florida the air is always humid but I also wipe my dash down every few months with Meguiars protectant. Whatever you do don't use Armorall products on your dash, I did one time and my dash started cracking soon after.

This! Used armorall in my first one and it cracked right away. After switching to miguiars it has been good

[S13siliva]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

I have 2 uncracked dashes for many years now. Living in Florida the air is always humid but I also wipe my dash down every few months with Meguiars protectant. Whatever you do don't use Armorall products on your dash, I did one time and my dash started cracking soon after.

I will pay to ship one if you would sell to me?????

[KiLLeR2001]

Maybe if I can find one more to hoard I'll sell one Gotta catch 'em all Dashemon!!!

[S13siliva]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

Maybe if I can find one more to hoard I'll sell one Gotta catch 'em all Dashemon!!!

Haha understandable. They aren't easy to find anymore.

[jsu1012]

anyone know where i can get the coverlay dash cover for rhd dashes?

[bmaddock]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

I have 2 uncracked dashes for many years now. Living in Florida the air is always humid but I also wipe my dash down every few months with Meguiars protectant. Whatever you do don't use Armorall products on your dash, I did one time and my dash started cracking soon after.

Damn, I had a crackless dash up until last summer...and I feel like I first used a friends armorall around then. It's just one single 10" crack on top of the cluster. Will definitely be changing to meguiar's and I started using a sun shade after that.