Hiding my damaged dash

[lilbugger]

My 66 had an aftermarket radio yanked out of it at some point in it's life. The center section of the dash was damaged pretty good, and it's dinged up from top to bottom. The previous owner hid the damage with a piece of carbon fiber board, which he drilled holes in for the light, wiper, and hazard knobs. Last night I decided to install a radio in it, the plan was to cut out my radio opening in the carbon fiber and install the radio. Well I damaged the carbon fiber pretty good while cutting the radio hole. So long story short I need something to replace the carbon fiber board with. Any thoughts?

[Blue Baron]

You have a car with a hacked dash and you have to do what you think works and looks best to you. None of us really knows what your goals are for this car.

[fatalifeaten]

Add to that "and what your skills will allow you to do, or what your wallet will pay someone else to do for you." If you're handy and can tackle the repairs yourself, the sky is the limit. On the other hand, if you're less handy and everything you will try is going to make it worse, save yourself the agony and save up some money to have it repaired by a pro. Put the radio in the glove box for now, figure out what you want to do with the dash, and get it fixed to your liking.

You asked for thoughts, so here's mine. I like the lines VW gave our little friends from the factory. Stock dash, stock (appearing) radio, nothing cluttering up the dash except maybe a discrete gauge pod, again sporting period appearing faces. We can put modern guts into many things nowadays and make something old new again. As an example, my sapphire III is unrepairable after having been melted during it's lifetime, but the face is still in almost original condition. I'll be adapting it to fit modern electronics inside for a small stereo system in my car a little further down the project map. To me, this is the best of both worlds. Classic beautiful lines and modern functionality hidden behind them.

[agggilli]

Hey lil bugger, not sure what you are looking for but this place offers two styles of dash replacements that bolt through the original dash and fit tight. It's just another alternative if you are interested. Just scroll down the page in the link to see them. http://www.vwinnovations.com/bug.html

[Roadbug]

I wouldn't do this unless the rest of the car was especially nice and stock.
Otherwise goober it up like most of the VW's are done now with customization to you personal choice. Kind of like women with Tattoo's, if your name is "Bubba" and you like tattoo's, then meeting a girl with BUBBA tattooed on her chest might be a deal maker.
Bubba liked it, but what about the next suitor? If Bubba keeps her for 40 years, all is fine, if not, She's damaged merchandise. Same thing applies to old VW's.
Good Luck and remember these cars are for fun, not an investment.

[pira114]

I wouldn't do this unless the rest of the car was especially nice and stock.
Otherwise goober it up like most of the VW's are done now with customization to you personal choice. Kind of like women with Tattoo's, if your name is "Bubba" and you like tattoo's, then meeting a girl with BUBBA tattooed on her chest might be a deal maker.
Bubba liked it, but what about the next suitor? If Bubba keeps her for 40 years, all is fine, if not, She's damaged merchandise. Same thing applies to old VW's.
Good Luck and remember these cars are for fun, not an investment.

That's the best analogy I've heard in years!