just purchased a brand new dashpad from a distributor here in va. for my 70 camaro
from classic industries. the fit is horrible, gaps, sticks up higher than metal part at least a 1/2", has anyone bought one from another distributor
and been satisfied, getting my money back. thanks

 

Gaps are unacceptable. Sticking up higher than the metal is normal even with stock pad. Unless you mean it's got 1/2" of gap above the metal. The way the pad is built it just naturally is higher than the adjacent metal, even if it's tight to the metal.
Often these new pads need to have the metal clamping tabs bent to hold the front edge down, as the tabs get tweaked when removing the old pad. I'm not sure if there's more than one maker of these repro pads, as I heard they're all made by the same company.
If your old pad is still there, you might consider a dashpad cap. These caps are a thin skin that fits over a cracked or damaged pad, and make them look like new again. On badly warped pads the old pad needs to be trimmed down on the high spots to make the new cap lay flat, but once they're installed and glued in place, they look just like originals.

 

if u got some cracks some of the 4th gen guys i know will take some 3M plastic vinyl leather idk what its called glue filler crap lol. fill it and make it smooth. then clean and upholster the whole thing in some (your color chose) vinyl with some 3m spray crap. and it looks brand new. if yours is warped then its damaged but the 4th gen dashes crack in the sun and they do that and looks pretty sweet.

sorry for the non technical terms im going to look for were i found how to do that and ill link it here. sounds easy to do to a dash pad i would think if you got someone who knew how to work with fabrics

i know my rear shelf in my 79 im going to cut some thin partial board to fit and upholster it in black vinyl with some padding so it looks nice. gonna have the girlfriend do it with me. beats the stock cardboard crap leme find the link to that atleast its an idea

 

if u got some cracks some of the 4th gen guys i know will take some 3M plastic vinyl leather idk what its called glue filler crap lol. fill it and make it smooth. then clean and upholster the whole thing in some (your color chose) vinyl with some 3m spray crap. and it looks brand new. if yours is warped then its damaged but the 4th gen dashes crack in the sun and they do that and looks pretty sweet.

sorry for the non technical terms im going to look for were i found how to do that and ill link it here. sounds easy to do to a dash pad i would think if you got someone who knew how to work with fabrics

i know my rear shelf in my 79 im going to cut some thin partial board to fit and upholster it in black vinyl with some padding so it looks nice. gonna have the girlfriend do it with me. beats the stock cardboard crap leme find the link to that atleast its an idea

 

http://www.fbodyonline.com/fix-cracked-dash-in-4th-gen/

check that out for an idea. maybe you could do that to your dash pad? i do know u are puting it over the original vinyl but i dont see why as a temp thing or a custom look that would be bad? just dont use that plastic welder cause ur not working with plastic use some sort of 3m vinyl filler or something

 

I did that same thing with my door top trim pieces. On my '71 they are hard plastic and looked sunbaked and flaky. I took the trim off them, sprayed them with contact cement, then sprayed the black naugahyde, and pressed it in place. Saved the cost of new ones for less than $5 in material.

 

yep! im going to do that when i replace the door panels on my 79 buy 1970s door panels or try an find them used and do that. im using my dads top piece for my drivers side door just so it dont cut the crap out of me if i put my arm there. but if i can find a matching set of those top caps ima do that then get lower door panels cause there cheaper on classic industries

 

Yes, I bought the door panels cheap. Less than $100 a pair. I know where there are a number of upper trim pieces to fit your car at All American Classics in Vancouver. Not sure what they'd get for them, but they've got tons of mid-late 2nd gen Camaros.

 

they got parts there? like used camaro parts? i need to go ASAP i got a list of junkyardable things i need.

 

Yes, it's a wrecking yard, and they sell parts and complete cars too.
http://www.allamericanclassics.com/