Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 Birds of a feather flock together

upper dash cracks

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Old Jul 15, 2007 | 08:08 AM
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Default upper dash cracks

Im pissed that my dash has a small crack.
Car stays in the garage and is pampered
has only 60K on it(1997).
I just bought a 94 parts car and the whole dash looks like is ready to cave in
from so many cracks.
How hard is this to change and what years fit a 97?
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Old Jul 15, 2007 | 09:13 AM
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very easy to change... it will probably happen again. and i'm pretty sure a 93 to 02 had the same dash
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Old Jul 15, 2007 | 10:10 AM
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I use a dash hugger (carpet). You can Google it. Might be a cheap, easy fix.

If you do get one, you're going to have a hard time installing it if you have used any Armor All type of material on it though. The velcro's tape doesn't stick.
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Old Jul 15, 2007 | 01:07 PM
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I would consider a cover but want to replace the plastic first.
How hard is it to replace?
I thought that they used 2 different ones 93-7,98+
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Old Jul 15, 2007 | 10:18 PM
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not sure about the years. and many have told me that it is not the sun that cracks the dash but the fact that we have mid engine cars and the heat rises from the engine and the dash is right on top. but that may be a myth. i got one small crack in mine and i took it out...crack even more, wrapped it black vinyl to cover up the cracks, and then put a dash mat on it.
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Old Jul 16, 2007 | 10:40 AM
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Mine cracked between the defroster vent and leading edge.
Its as small a crack as you can get(about 1") but still visable.
Now the parts car is another story.
I wouldnt even put sunglasses on top for fear of "losing " them.
Got any instructions on how to remove it?
why did yours crack more when you removed it?
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Old Jul 16, 2007 | 11:31 AM
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my top dash cracked about 3 years ago, I bought a new one off of ebay from a 02, it was a little darker shade of gray, but after I installed it, you couldnt tell the difference.

To change it out, just pull out the broken pieces then you will see how it mounts, there are these little velcro pads, pull those off. You are going to have to remove your pillar moldings, if its a Ttop its easy, a little more work if its a hard top. Then just set down the new dash top, push it down so the velcro pads stick together and Voila

then my actual dash cracked, right in between the center A/C ducts
I got a dash from a 00, that was the same exact color as the original. That was a little hard to change out
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Old Jul 16, 2007 | 02:52 PM
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Well mines a convertible so will probably be twice as hard.
I dont want to break this one getting it off as I could repair it
and keep as a back up.
So your saying that you have a 97 and one from an 02 fit?
Mines grey interior also so I will have the same color match problems.
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Old Jul 16, 2007 | 08:16 PM
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Yea all the 4th Gen dashes are the same, just the colors are slightly different, there are minor changes but none of which are cosmetic.
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Old Jul 17, 2007 | 05:04 AM
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so how can I remove it without doing more damage?
Maybe use a fork or putty knife to get under it?
how much are new ones?
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Old Jul 17, 2007 | 10:54 AM
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its pretty hard to remove old ones with out cracking them, because usually they are brittle and getting that velcro unhooked requires alot of jerking and pulling them out requires the dash to flex, I dont know if you can pull it out

I bought mine on ebay so I dont know if the numbers will help you.

I got the whole dash assembly for $150 and I got the dash top for $60

just go in search for firebird dash you are bound to find somehting
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Old Jul 17, 2007 | 11:21 AM
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OK thanks
Ive got a few 68s myself.
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Old Jul 18, 2007 | 04:45 PM
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I think Ill go practice on the parts car thats already toast.
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Old Jul 19, 2007 | 09:09 PM
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I just did mine. Removing the old dash caused it to split into about 5 pieces. Not only do you have velcro mounts you also have clips that tend to break the tabs off the dash panel.
I bought one from a local salvage yard that had one for 100 bucks. They did change the color of the panel in 2000 (I think) from dark grey to black. Just make sure it has all the tabs or you can add extra velcro in the general area of the broken tabs to prevent rattles.
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Old Jul 20, 2007 | 08:36 AM
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If they break when you remove them how did the salvage yard get that one off?
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