Dash board refurbishment (is it wort it )

Whilst working on the vans i have had to remove the dashboard to gain access , the below photos are of the panel that fits tight up to the windscreen has seen far better days. the photos below show the state of it
it this a typical state of these , i know the van has had a new front panel and i have photos of how it was, it was appalling.

Is this worth spending some time working on it , or does anyone have one for sale in a better state

 

They do rot out at the front - mine is covered in vinyl but I expect looks yours underneath.

You can pick them up pretty easily - either a new one from the usual suspects or there are a few places that sell second hand ones on fleabay. I recall prices of £30-£40 for a second hand one.

 

I sanded mine and painted in black Hammerite satin finish.

 

Id just get a new one. I paid £45 for a solid rust free one. If its slight rust they can be repaired but the corners are tricky to replicate.

 

I'm currently working on reproducing them in GRP... never rust again

 

Sounds like a perfect solution Paul , any indication on a price range ?

i find that buying the larger stuff on flea bay is difficult only by the fact that most people sell on collection only , fine if you live in Devon and Cornwall but not so when you live more central as i do as the problem arises of getting the items to your door .
to be honest my welding skills - are not there so i fancied a go at practicing the cutting and welding on this old one , but keeping an eye out for a good second hand one , there are a few on flea bay now but they have 4 air vents , im sure mine has only two (one on each outer edge)

 

Price should be reasonably cheap, as it's lay-up time, and complexity of part that increases the cost... postage is an increased cost too, as you have to go a bit ott to avoid transit damage!!

 

I was going to have this done in fibre glass but mine wernt to bad so I painted it

 

I repaired the 1 corner of mine, will see how fits when the time comes, as carl said was quite tricky to get is right so might need other one

 

If you keep an eye out online they can be picked up in better condition for £20-£30

Even if your going to buy a better condition one id have a go at tidying that one up

If you balls it up it doesent really matter
If you bring it back to life you will have practised some skills and maybe learent some new skills
Restoring a piece like that will give you more confidence to tackle larger jobs in the future

Were lucky in the vdub world as theres plenty of repair panels and second hand good condition parts still floating round
Other marques of classic car have next to nothing availble for them and everything has to be repaired of fabricated from scratch
One day all the spare dub parts and body cuts will run low and we all will have to restore and make do and mend

 

I was stuck for one and mine was not too disimilar to yours. think mine was about £45 - no time to shop around!

 

i have bit the bullet and paid 50 pounds delivered of flea bay , from the pic it looks decent enough and an exact match to mine (others ive seen have extra vents ) I decided i need to get her back on the road as ive only had her on road 1 day since i got her so this will speed things up , i do agree that the old ne will be a good stating point to learn a bit about the welding side of things , perhaps for another day in the future

 

Don't VW Heritage have these available new?

 

Sell them, yes, available, no

 

Typical

 

I never thought to see if there were any new ones on sale oh well never mind , having said that i have ranted elsewhere re the quality of replacement bits i have bought being of poor quality (not meant in relation to any particular retailer) , am i talking myself into thinking ive bought the right thing with an original second hand genuine panel.

Also i assume the elongated holes at the front of the panel is to secure it to .... Brackets that dont exist on my replacement front panel?

 

I bought a new dash from VWH recently and it went straight back - it was pants. The steel top is fine, although the padded bits are cracked damaged. It's going back in how it is for now but I would like to get it refurbished at some point.

 

The shape is hard to match, took me ages but mine only had the corner gone.

 

+++++UPDATE ++++++

A update in relation to the dash from eBay

On 18th April i paid the sum of £50 to eBay member "vwclassics-uk"

i paid via pay-pal .

A couple of days later noted that the seller also had a servo for sale , but listed as available only for a specific buyer , i contacted "vwclassics-uk" via eBay and asked if i could also buy the servo if the intended customer didn't want it

i got a reply stating my dash was ready for dispatch and i could have the servo if i wanted it and it could be posted out with the dash, i replied that i now only needed the dash now thank you .

Since then i have not heard anything from the seller "vwclassics-uk" and i have not received the dash

i have sent several (three) emails to the seller in relation to the delivery , or lack of it , but i have not received any reply from the seller , i have even sent a email stating if it is not delivered by 3rd May i want a full refund, i still haven't got the dash

i have been a eBay member for 12 years and this is the first "problem" i have ever had.

am i being too impatient or does anyone else smell a fish here that ive been ripped off . ?

THE DASH CAME ABOUT 2 HOURS AFTER THE POST ABOVE THANKFULLY

I MAY HAVE JUMPED THE GUN A LITTLE FOR WHICH I APOLOGISE

HOWEVER THE COMMUNICATION FROM THE SELLER HAS BEEN ABYSMAL AND CAUSED ANXIETY THAT IS AVOIDABLE SO EASILY

THE DASH IS EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED AND GOOD QUALITY WELL PACKAGED