Talked with both Damian and Danny at Dashes Direct. Here are my notes as well as a picture Damian sent. However, that pic isn't much help so I asked him to pull a unit from inventory and take several good pictures, including of the grain and the speaker holes. That was via email so I don't yet know if he will.

• Danny is the tooling manager, and he's the one that makes it happen
• They are the only one making dash pads using the original Ford tooling
• The tooling is like a clam shell, with the base, foam, and vinyl loaded and then brought together to bond and make the unit, so it will be exactly the original size for sure - both the top and bottom sides.
• The base they use is plastic, not metal like Ford used. That let them reduce the costs, and while it does make the pad flexible before it is mounted, once mounted it will be solid.
• The foam they use is the same as originally used. And, it has to be the same thickness or the parts wouldn't bond and make a unit.
• The vinyl is exactly the same vinyl, from the same manufacturer, and grain, Corinthian (he didn't understand when I said "Ricardo Montalban"), that was used originally. However, there were several suppliers to Ford and he has seen a few original pads that had different grain, although Corinthian was the main one. Also, this vinyl does not have any more UV stability than the original did, so it will eventually crack like the original did. But, a protectant can dramatically extend the life of it and preserve the plasticiser that evaporates and makes the vinyl hard and susceptible to breaking or cracking.
• The speaker holes are exactly the same as from Ford as they are made by the same die as they were originally.
• In other words, their pads are identical to the original with the exception that they don't have the metal base - and that won't matter once it is in place and screwed down.
• They don't do group buys. (But, that's not a prob for us as NPD wants $335 and DD wants $450. And, they did confirm that NPD's unit is theirs - as are the ones from any other vendor that says it was built on the original tooling.)