Dash rebuilds - justdashes.com

[nando]

Saw this on Jay Leno's youtube channel - https://www.justdashes.com/ - and wondered immediately if they had done an E30 before.

They don't have any examples of E30 dashes shown, but they do list it on their site (among other older BMWs) so they must have done one or two before. Anyone have feel like calling them for a quote?

the last list price for a new E30 dash was over $1200 and they're NLA now. I wonder how competitive they'd be with that. They can also recover your center console in the same material which is pretty appealing.

Original, uncracked E30 dashes have to be extremely rare - and all of them are going to crack eventually, so it seems pointless to pay a premium for one.

[Vincenze]

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...8#post10065478

They have videos https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2820548074672132

[nando]

yeah they showed the whole process on Jay's show. Seems like a top notch product.

$1600 is a lot but it puts a ceiling on the price of good, used dashes. So that's good to know!

My dash has been cracked for a while, but I don't really notice it because the crack is completely blocked by my steering wheel, lol.

[uturn]

I saw that Jay Leno episode also- a lot of man hours.

However, if I'm going to get my dash done, I want it wrapped in leather.

[nando]

I dunno. Leather doesn't conform to corners that well, so you're going to end up with a bunch of seams. Plus I'd worry it would cost way more money and end up looking like one of those cheap ebay sport seat covers, unless you're paying significantly more for somebody with a lot of skill to make it look tight. Plus it doesn't address the root cause of the issue - the foam itself expands and contracts at a different rate from the rest of the materials, which is why cracks form in the first place.

[rturbo 930]

Might also be worth seeing if these guys could start making them if the demand is there. They've been making reproduction dashes for the Z for a bit now, and the reception has been good.

https://www.instagram.com/vintagedashes

The benefit here is that it's a completely new product, no old foam to deal with. I haven't watched the Jay Leno video, so I don't know their process but I'm assuming there's old foam still in their finished product.

[Vincenze]

Plus it doesn't address the root cause of the issue - the foam itself expands and contracts at a different rate from the rest of the materials, which is why cracks form in the first place.

What do they do with the foam that it stops deteriorating?

[cory58]

So many uncracked dashes in Europe. How to get them over here?

[nando]

What do they do with the foam that it stops deteriorating?

they strip it down and rebuild it with modern closed-cell foam. they're not just re-skinning it with vynil - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb3BQhDFWOI

[nando]

So many uncracked dashes in Europe. How to get them over here?

they're going to crack eventually. I live in the PNW and my car is always garaged, and my dash looks like a dried up lake bed.

[nando]

Might also be worth seeing if these guys could start making them if the demand is there. They've been making reproduction dashes for the Z for a bit now, and the reception has been good.

https://www.instagram.com/vintagedashes

The benefit here is that it's a completely new product, no old foam to deal with. I haven't watched the Jay Leno video, so I don't know their process but I'm assuming there's old foam still in their finished product.

Those look great (and similar to the one I posted). They have a picture of an E30 dash in there and say they're working on it.

[82eye]

they're going to crack eventually. I live in the PNW and my car is always garaged, and my dash looks like a dried up lake bed.

a lot depends on climate. dashes last a little longer in canada. probably get an extra 5 yrs to a decade out of them. they all crack here eventually as well.

[AceAndrew777]

Coming from the 2002 world here, where dashes have been an issue for longer by virtue of age.

- JustDashes has done many BMW 2002 dashes, and many reviews are documented on the BMW2002faq.com . CliffsNotes: Very good, Very expensive, Very long-lasting (considering alternatives), and Very long lead times (6months + is not abnormal).

- Vintage Dashes, decent guys whom I have talked with on a handful of occasions. CliffsNotes: Manufactured overseas (but with a lot of in-person quality control), straight-talk about condition of product, long development time (we're going on four years since production for 2002 dashes was announced, and still nada).

- Leather Wrap / Vinyl Wrap: quality is extremely dependent on the person doing the work. For ten shops, maybe one does dash recovering jobs that are decent. (decent = no excessive stitch lines, straight stitching, not over-stretched, quality material, proper cutting back, crack mitigation, and overlaying of underlying foam). Quality is NOT dependent on price.
--------------------------------------------

-Personal Choice:
For my own dash (early 3-piece 2002 dash with the chrome lower accent) I opted to repair cracks myself and had a vetted individual/shop do the new foam and recovering. BMW black vinyl was used, which was hands-down what I'd recommend over standard vinyl or leather for E30 guys. Much more robust and able to stretch better than leather. I'd love to grab a Vintage Dashes 2002 dash when they finally finish, if only to squirrel away for the inevitable day issues arise on what I have now.

(pictures here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...2#post10047622 )

(Source: Global Upholstery [Anaheim, CA], "BMW Vinyl 1970-1993" Black 36) ; Sold by the yard; they may not always have in stock.

[reelizmpro]

JustDashes is just so expensive it made more sense to buy used uncracked dashes for $100-500 or even the new production BMW dash for $1000. If they would just get the price down, they'd have more customers. I thought I saw a post for a potential group buy on R3v once and believe nothing came of it. Not enough interest I guess. Also, there are no pictures of their E30 dashes anywhere that I have seen. Kinda hard to ask that much money for something sight unseen. I like the leather/vinyl wrapped dashes but it depends on who does it like Andrew said. It was a factory option in europe on special models and adds more luxury to a classy interior. The ones from E28/E30 goodies looks pretty good and priced right but I believe they are NLA at the moment. As always, it's great we have options though.