dash pad cover ? / 74 monte

i met a local one day stopped by my shop who had a cool 73/77 olds and we got chatting

he had said to me there is a company that makes a hard cap type cover that goes over an existing dash pad and completely form fittingly covers up the old cracked ugly pad - but its suposed to be pretty form fitting so it does not look out of place - or look like a silly rug on top of the dash either.

my dash is split in a few places and the lower corners by the guage clusters are all worn off and ratty looking
if there is a such thing as a nice hard cap type cover for our soft dash pad please share with me the company and or where i can look in to the purchace of one.


since we are talking about interiors - my factory color is blue interior - and id realley enjoy black instead.
how hard will the switch be for me - i plan to replace my worn out front bench with buckets or swivel buckets and make a custom center consol of my own design - but the rear seats will stay so they will need either recovered or dye / paint to black - has anyone done this yet - and how did it work out for you ? im worried black paint or dye will rub off on to someone sitting back there ( not that i carry rear pasangers much but )

There are several companies that make molded dash caps for Monte Carlos/Chevelles.  In fact, my Laguna has one the previous owner installed (it's now cracked, also..lol!).  You'll get various opinions on here as to how they fit and look.  Personally, I've seen many on these cars and am not a fan of how they look.  But, considering the alternatives of paying a company such as Just Dashes $1000+ to restore yours or, on the rare chance you'll find an original undamaged one that can cost $500-$800, they are the best option from a cost standpoint.  Some on here have gone completely custom in refinishing their dashes and have come up with some very creative works of art.

Regarding changing the interior to black, it can certainly be done.  If your existing plastic trims/kick panels/lower door panels/qtr panels are in good condition, you can save some time/money by repainting them.  Using a quality plastic compatible paint such as SEM seems to give lasting results as long as proper preparation is done prior to painting.  Otherwise, you'll have to begin the search for black pcs...which can be a challenge, but not impossible.  I could possibly help with some of that if that's the way you prefer to go.

Here's a quick rundown on seat options if you're considering swapping from bench to bucket.  Swivel buckets will require different seat belt retractors; along with different inner belts...which are a challenge to find (and, somewhat expensive when you do find them).  I do happen to have a couple spare sets.  Standard buckets will utilize your existing seat belt retractors but, you'll still need different inners.  Of course, Chevy did not provide std bucket seats on this gen of "A" bodies....only, Olds, Buick and Pontiac.  If you should find some power std bucket seats, you're back to needing different outer retractors similar to the swivel buckets.  Regardless of which style bucket seat you use, you'll need to install inner mtg studs to the floor.  Chevy used brackets with protruding studs welded to the floors.  Swivels will require rear outer mtg studs as well as new mtg holes for the retractors (same with pwr std buckets).

Since it's near impossible to find used buckets that will match your rear seats and/or won't require re-covering, you'll probably need to invest in matching repro seat covers for front and rear.  Rears are fairly easy to do yourself...however, swivel buckets have a reputation for being a huge p.i.t.a to do yourself; although it has been done.  I'm sitting on a pair of swivel seat covers myself...waiting to work up the courage to try my hand at recovering them.

Hope this gives you some insight as to what to expect.

Excellent advice. I will only add that vinyl dye works well if done properly on the plastic trim, but not very well on seat covers. It wont come off on your passengers, but it does wear off and look scuffed easily.

When I installed the dash covers in my Malibu and El Camino, I didn't use the silicone stickum they included. Mine are held in/on with screws that normally hold the front, in the defroster openings.
And I put s few screws along the bottom.  If they ever need replacing, I wont have the silicone stuff to deal with.

Here is a Palco dash cap, which I think is the brand that OPGI sells. If you look closely you can see it is short by the vents and has the wrong grain to it. These issue seem to be common with all brands of dash caps from what I have read.


There's carpet covers but not sure if they fit any better than the plastic ones.

i was expecting to have to figure out some sort of seat belt replacment - as my driver seatbelt is half way freyed where it goes over my shoulder

not going for origonality and hoping maby.... i can sneak by with just some lap belts with no shoulder strap...

and those two pictures of the plastic type cover dash cap look great ! i can totaly deal with the vents being short by a little... i wonder tho - i replaced my center dash speakers with a pair of 4x6 up there i wonder if the dash cap has a mesh there to allow sound thru ?

brian74montecarlo wrote:i was expecting to have to figure out some sort of seat belt replacment - as my driver seatbelt is half way freyed where it goes over my shoulder

not going for origonality and hoping maby....   i can sneak by with just some lap belts with no shoulder strap...

I've got a guy locally that rewebs them. PM or email me if you want details, he does very nice work. Steve (mcarlo77) and I have both had ours redone and Steve is happy as am I.