Then I'm not doing a good job of communicating my own thoughts. Or, I'm doing a good job of communicating what they said but not my feelings.

I get really bad vibes from Just Dashes. They told me the absolute wrong price, and that fits with some things I've read on the internet about them. But Dashes Direct called me back to say that they were wrong when they said our original dashes have metal bases - they are plastic. One was wrong on a very, VERY major point and I didn't find out until I called back. The other was wrong on a trivial point that made no difference at all, but called me back to sort it out.

Or, let's look at it another way: The guy at JD wasn't competent to do his job of quoting prices, and the guy at DD is so meticulous that he fretted over a statement that had no bearing. Either way I get much better vibes from DD than JD.

Here it is at JBG. Here it is at NPD.

 

Did you look closely... JBG's dash has incorrect speaker hole configuration, NPD's are correct.. Somebody not describing their product correctly...JBG

 

Well, JBG has the better price, but only in black it looks like. I don't think black would dye very well so I either need white (to dye) or will need to change my interior to black.

Hmm.. black WOULD look good on the dark blue truck..

 

My guess is that JBG's picture is incorrect. According to DD, if it is made on Ford tooling it is a DD dash pad, and will have correct speaker holes. I ran into the same thing with Comp Cams - the picture on their website shows the wrong stuff in one of their kits, as confirmed by their employee.

I'm told the SEM paint covers black quite well. Having said that, I would order white if it is available. But black might look very good in a blue truck.

 

You beat me to it Reamer, my plan is to fit speaker enclosures in each end of the dash and to fit a storage "unit" in the centre using all the space available. I'm checking late model cars and utes for a suitable item. There are open trays, open trays with 12v outlets, and tubs with hatch lids with 12 v outlets inside.

Obviously a unit with a stepped lip would be best, just cut the hole and stick it down.

Good luck at your end.

 

got it.... keep looking for ideas!

 

I already have the SEM in the tan as I planned to refresh my interior. Decisions Decisions..

 

What is the color code for the tan SEM?

 

Just to throw this into the conversation, My dash cover had the usual hole where the speaker is. I just repainted it and added this LMC Dash Protector. I've had it 3 years and it's not faded and looks really nice.

Truck Parts and Truck Accessories

 

Gary- Thanks for taking all the time to research and call people in getting these things sorted out. Hopefully by the end of this fiasco we will know the decent product for us.

Heesman- did you post pictures of the dash pad somewhere?

 

Sorry for the delay in getting pictures. Here you go. The dash seems nice, however, I noticed a tear in one of the corners of the dash. I have a call into NPD about this and hopefully they will resolve the issue.

Box:


Packaged Dash:
















It is a bit flimsy but the original dash was a bit flimsy too.

Eric

 

Looks like a winner!
May I ask what you actually paid?
Was black the only color, or specified by you?
Thanks
Reamer

 

Eric - Thanks a bunch! Other than the flexibility, does it look good? Does the grain appear correct and the lines sharp? Otherwise it looks good from what I can see on my cell phone. When I get home and put it on a bigger screen maybe I can see details better.

 

NPD has them in black or white - I went with black as I am changing the interior to my truck to black (thread titled "Piney's Rebuild"). Including the freight I paid $453.50.

As my previous post said I noticed a tear/nick in one of the corners of the dash. NPD came through and are picking it up and sending me a new one. Good customer service.

 

I just talked with Dave at SEM Products and he said 2 or 3 light coats of their paint will hide either the black or the white and give the same color in the end. The coats should be light to make sure they don't run and hide the grain, and wait about 15 minutes between coats to allow them to flash.

Given that I'm thinking I'll go with JBG's black unit, although I'm not quite decided yet. Let's hear some more thoughts on the quality. And I want to look at it on a big screen. Plus, maybe get pics from DD.