Opinions on ABS core dashpads

[Deezel]

Took a chance and ordered a pad from Dash Pad Pros, aka, the El Paso guy. I asked if it was ok to strip the old vinyl and foam from my steel core to save on shipping costs and they were good with that. Right now I'm at $1950 USD with shipping but should see close to $200 USD back from my core after paying to ship it down. That $200 I'm expecting back will most likely end up in the governments pocket and to the delivery company for brokerage fees.

I'll report back once I have the pad in my hands, on its condition and time it took to get here.

Thanks to everyone who responded to this thread.

What's their estimated time frame ?

I got my tracking number for the dash pad on the evening of the 17th. I just checked tracking and it still only says a label was created. Hopefully I see it change to "in transit" soon....

[Jay Bee]

I know it's too late now BUT I got thinking. With all the cores that have been popping up in Alan's thread I wonder If it could have been possible to find a "not so bad" one that Fibrenew could have restored. Yeah, it would have taken a lot of picture swapping back and forth though.

[Deezel]

Dash pad is definitely on the way!  It's showing that it's North Dakota right now.
Hopefully it gets here before Thursday as I have to leave town for a couple of weeks.
Also got my $395 USD back for the core. It cost me just over $200 CAD to send down and my refund was $540 CAD so I can't complain too much about it.

I'll make sure to post some pictures of it when I can.

So far I really have zero complaints with Dash Pad Pros. Communication has been excellent and the turn around time was very fast. As long as the quality is good, I'll be a happy camper.

[captcolour]

Are there known problems with the "ABS" cores or just speculation?

Late 70s/early 80s, pretty much all cores moved from steel to high heat glass-filled ABS or SMA copolymer (higher heat resistance) mostly for energy management during collisions.  So there is a long history of plastic cores.  Today they are typically made from long glass fiber polypropylene which is lighter and stronger than the ABS/SMA product.

What I don't know is how they would justify a $250K steel injection mold for a plastic ebody core unless the mold they are using is aluminum and would have a limited life.  Dimensions of the plastic core may be somewhat variable due to the wearing of the aluminum in that case.

[Deezel]

Dash pad showed up today and I couldn't be happier! It looks absolutely perfect and the steel core I received is in excellent condition.
If anyone ever asked me about getting a dash pad, I would definitely recommend them. Start to finish, they were outstanding. 

[anlauto]

Great to hear ....

[Marty]

Good for you!  Your dash pad looks great.

[70vert]

@Deezel  - are they buying cores for $395 USD or only knocking that much off a sale price if you send them a core?

[anlauto]

@Deezel  - are they buying cores for $395 USD or only knocking that much off a sale price if you send them a core?

They buy them for $100-$120, although I heard ABC pays $200 ?? but YES you're correct they only knock off $395 if you're buying a new pad from them....pretty standard procedure

[733604bbl]

Hi Runcharger, do you have a source for the repair kit? Am interested.
Thank you