Front Dash Piece

Hey Guys,

I somehow cracked my front dash piece of my Cavalier. The piece that is located in between the front vent and the window. Does anyone know if that piece if replaceable easily or not and how much it will run me from the dealer?

Thanks

Lewis

[Lances133]

It's an EXTREMLY common problem with these cars, 8 out of every 10 of them probly have atleast 1 crack there. And UNFORTUNETLY the only way to replace this part is to remove the ENTIRE dash, and I mean entire, steering wheel, all the dash covers, the radio, the hvac, some heat/ac tubing, all of it.

But this is what you will need to replace the little crack that is oh so annoying....



It's from a Sunfire but same deal just minor differences.

Yes, it's f*cking ridiculous but what can ya do? If you want to try and save yourself more cracks, remove the top dash pad and loosen up some of the screws a bit.

What?? OMG.. F*** that! That peice from GMC must cost over a 1000$. I think ill stick with my crack dash. My friend's Sunfire piece comes right out apparently but I can not remember what year his is.

Thanks for you help anyways

Lewis

[Lances133]

Yeah, on the 00+ Sunfires the piece alone comes off, Cavalier owners got screwed on that one. You always try and find one from a junk yard but it would still be pricey and who would want to install THAT?

[jakegday]

god DAMN! i never knew that was all 1 piece, shit!

glad mine never cracked

[Lances133]

Yeah it sucks, I got 2 cracks on each side of the center vent. Oh well, maybe it'll be a weekend project someday

[JaysZ24]

Damn im happy i don't have any cracks on mine at all and if i did i would just leave it too

[Lances133]

might want to consider loosening some of those screws then

[Viper_Storm]

could always get some bondo, few packs of sandpaper, a roll or 2 of masking tape, primer, primer sealer, and spray paint (a flat paint, something that wont add to the glare)

mask off everything execpt that peice in the middle, add bondo to the crack(s) sand that whole peice down smooth (not just the bondo parts, becasue it will leave a textured surface where you didnt bondo, then use a damp sponge or towel to get rid of all the sanding dust, then primer, then primer seal, then paint, while its still tacky remove the masking tape, let it dry

all this, 30 bucks for supplies & a few hours of time

[Lances133]

Yeah but that could be just as much hassel, especially if you've never used bondo before. And priming that tight area = not good. Unless you mask off everything you'll probly get primer and other stuff all over the place and possibly make more work for yourself. And I dunno about you guys but I HATE when I have to clean the inside of my windshield with windex, that area is so small, I could only imagine doing that in there.

[Derk_eliso]

yeah mine cracked too, I bought that vinyl repair kit, and it looked horrible, so what I did instead was measure and cut a piece of fabric (fleece) and I sprayed it with adhesive and streched the fleece around it. Beforewords I stenciled cavalier into it b/c I thought I was cool, lol. turned out alright. not bad for no experiance with fabrication.

[Viper_Storm]

Originally Posted by Lances133

Yeah but that could be just as much hassel, especially if you've never used bondo before. And priming that tight area = not good. Unless you mask off everything you'll probly get primer and other stuff all over the place and possibly make more work for yourself. And I dunno about you guys but I HATE when I have to clean the inside of my windshield with windex, that area is so small, I could only imagine doing that in there.

bondo really isnt all that hard to work with, but i never really thought about the priming & painting part, you would have to some kind of painting experience or else you will deff get it everywhere.

on a side note for my above post get some news paper as well so you can mask off larger areas easier, like the windshield and the dash pad.

i have never acctually tried this but this is the way im going to go, when i take on this project for my little brothers 98 cav i will take tons of pics from prep to finish and we will see how it goes.

[JStumpalump150]

derk, your interior is sooo cool. i wish i had time to do something like that
maybe this summer i will go at it

[Derk_eliso]

you are my inspiration, you and my fans, hahahaah lol.