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Hello Mick and all:
I note
that Mick included a few questions for me related to my refurbished
dash.
First let me give a bit of background.
As many of you may already know I am doing a complete
restoration on a 1959 LeBaron. I purchased the car in Washington D.C. in April,
2003 and made the decision to do a "complete" on it. For those of you that saw
pictures of the 1959 "Chrysler New Yorker Imperial Crown..etc" my car will
be almost identical to it with some differences (mine does not have Auto
Pilot but does have dual A/C and mine will not have the flaws such as wrong
hub caps, damaged horn ring padding, corroded front bumper,...).
I won't go into any great detail but suffice to say that my car had
extensive corrosion both inside and out.
Regarding the interior almost everything was corroded except a
few stainless steel pieces.
The dash was in this condition: The padding was
completely dried out and cracked up ( this included the padding on the horn
ring), the aluminized portion of the dash was pitted and bent extensively, the
glove box door was damaged (it appears to have been pried on and hit a number of
times), the only gauge that may have worked was
the amperes, there was an "after market" temperature
gauge fastened to the bottom of the dash, the glass faceplate
that displays the speed and other gauge readings was broken,........ I'm
sure you get the idea.
I was able to locate another dash that was from a 1959 LeBaron
and was the same color as mine. It also had a cracked faceplate but I was
able to locate an NOS faceplate on e-Bay.
Both dashes and the new faceplate were sent to American
Classic Restorations in Uxbridge, MA. After many exchanges of information a plan
for overhaul was formulated. No compromises, the dash had to meet the test of
being in a showroom in 1959. American Classic does not do padding. They have an
arrangement with Just Dashes and the dash plus horn ring were shipped
to them for this work. American Classic addressed such items as repairing
all gauges, refacing all switches and gauges, having metal parts chromed or
anodized or whatever was required (yes Mick this included the ashtray) and the
list goes on. If someone wants more detail contact me off line. The shipment
left here (Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada) on September 9, 2003 and arrived back
here on June 18, 2004. (283 days). So much for my May 1/04 planned completion
date!
It was very expensive to repair. For instance Just
Dashes' portion was US$1400 (including $350 for the horn ring) not
including the packaging and shipping to and from Uxbridge, MA. Seems expensive
compared to what Mick paid.
The real test is whether I am satisfied with the final
product. Initially it looks to be what I asked for. I will be able to answer
this question more definitively when we install it (~ 4 weeks from now) as I
have not had a detailed look at every small part yet.
I am not sure what else to add other than I am getting more
and more anxious to drive this machine. There has to be more to this than paying
bills!
Mel
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