Imperial Home Page -> Repair -> Interior -> 1960 Dash
Question from Tom, September 11, 2009:
I need to recover the dash on my 60 Crown. Some of the literature says the material is saddle-grain vinyl. I have talked with Old Auto Interiors and SMS and they have no information on dash coverings. SMS said they would need a sample. Has anyone gotten dash vinyl from them?
Does anyone have specific ID numbers for the charcoal gray dash vinyl for a 60?
Is the dash the same as the vinyl on the top of the door panels?
What have you used and where did it come from?
How did you get the edge on the front of the pad. My upholsterer has tried twice with out success. The edge where it turns down just rounds over and the point is lost.
Replies:
From John C. (Sep 2009):
Tom, those are heat-molded vinyl. I don't think it can be done with flat goods without a hot mold. Outfits like 'Just Dashes' make a good business by recovering padded dashes like these. It'll cost you $1-2K (depending on the number of parts), but it's perfect when done.
From Paul (Sep 2009):
I have two 1960 models, one early & the other one late. Both are original. The early one has a slightly different grain on the dash pad than the tops of the door panels, and the other one (late) is exactly the same material as the top of the door panels. They did make changes during the model year. I think if you match the tops of your door panels, you will be good to go, at least with 99.9% of us. The remaining 1/10th of one percent may know the date that your car was made and whether or not the dash pad should match the door panel tops. Do you care that much? If you do, than wait for more information. 1960 is a popular year on this forum and some one might have the exact answer.
From John S. (Sep 2009):
The dash on both of mine appear to have the same grain. The 2 door with black dash is very early production, since it has the door actuated swivel seat cable provision in the hinge. The interior has been redone on this one but the black material I got from Original Auto Interiors appears to be an exact match of the original, The silver material however is slightly different. The 4 door with blue interior is a later build, since the swivel seats don't have the door cable feature. The door panels are original on this one & also match the dash.
My 4 door with blue dash seems to have a more textured finish. Its not as textured as the trim up near the windshield though. The 2 door with black dash (earlier build) is more smooth & shiny.
From Paul (Sep 2009):
Does your car have flat "crinkle"or semi-gloss metallic painted hoods over the pods for the speedometer and the gauges?
This may also be factor, and is directly related to the date of production.The textured surface was introduced late in the production run to eliminate glare. The pods should also match the painted portion around the base of the windshield as well as the painted portion of the turn signal lever trim.
From Tom (Sep 2009):
Mine is an early build and it has a smooth 'semi gloss' type of finish. It's not real shiny but it's not what you would call flat either.
From Paul (Sep 2009):
Well, we are not sure that they are directly connected, but there are different original dash pad grain patterns. Late production cars have the textured finish painted hoods over the speedometer and the gauge cluster.
To throw another variable into the mix, some cars have gauges with black back grounds while others have gray. There is question as to whether this is an early/late production issue, or a special accommodation for certain colored cars. It seems the majority of the black gauge cars have purple interiors.
1960 is a very interesting year, especially in these types of details.From Clay (Sep 2009):
My Custom also has a black background on the gages even though it has a light blue interior. As close as I can tell the dash material is the same as the material on the doors.
This page last updated 17 September 2009. Send us your feedback, and come join the Imperial Mailing List - Online Car Club.
