1968 Plymouth GTX

[440 PHIXX]

Working on reassembling the dash a little at a time.
View attachment 1510704

Looks like I will have to go with a '69 radio bezel as I cannot find the correct '68 one.

Nice! I have the 0-150 I’m putting into the ‘68 GTX I’m building!

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

My car came with a front to rear speaker fader control.
For some reason, I am not able to locate it. Searched high and low but have no idea where it went.
Part #2864305 if anyone has a source for it?

 

[Pistol Pete]

The 69 bezel is more reddish. The 68 is more brownish. Ill try and take a pic of the 2 when I get home after work.

The one in your pic looks to be a 68.

Im going all by memory, so I may be way off. LOL

Mario is right ....BUT they all vary in shading, even in the same model year. I had several pieces both '68 and '69 when building my car and I ended up using whichever ones looked the best next to the radio plate, regardless of the year.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Another question.
Notice my ashtray has a rectangle shaped holder for the flashers.
You can see a flasher inserted on the right side.

The flasher in there wasn't hooked up:

Does anyone make a replacement for it, so I can use the holders on the side of the ashtray?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

The round flasher will fit in the same holder...

 

[1 Wild R/T]

However, if you want a rectangular one...

flasher 175 for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for flasher 175 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

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Also there's a round one shown mounted in the clip at the link...

 

[Sam69sat]

Some progress on the dash pad restoration.
Started with this:
View attachment 1490821

Removed the loose vinyl and foam (a dirty and time consuming job) and then filled the cracks and voids with expandable foam. Removed the excess with a saw blade and sanded the foam level to the surface.
From there I applied filler and sanded everything flat and smooth. It took repeated coats of filler due to deformed areas through out the pad.
View attachment 1490825

I have enough vinyl for three tries at getting it right. If everything goes as I hope it will, then I plan to restore this other old pad I saved from my signature car and then selling it.
As you can see it is in much worse condition and may require installing new foam as well:
View attachment 1490826

Great job on the pad. I've been wanting to attempt this with a 66/67 pad. Do you have a link to the vinyl you used? Also do you use contact cement on the entire surface of the pad when glueing the vinyl? Any other tips about your process would be greatly appreciated.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Vinyl purchased here:

USA Fabric Store Marine Vinyl Fabric Upholstery Outdoor Boat Automotive 54 inches Wide (by The Yard, Black)​

(Sorry, it won't let me insert a link for some reason. Got it on Amazon.)

Yes, contact cement applied to the entire surface.

The difficult part is the center top and bottom. Because of the angles they want to buckle. This is where the heat gun is absolutely necessary and why you want to use 4 way stretch vinyl. My goal was to keep the top portion wrinkle free and then I just had to deal with the bottom side.

I had the vinyl laid out on a table, then sprayed with contact cement the top of the pad as well as the vinyl. Then I laid the pad top down onto the vinyl making sure there was sufficient vinyl showing to wrap the back edge. Then I rolled the pad over smoothing the top vinyl with my hands to get good adhesion. This ensured the top portion was wrinkle free.

Rolled it back over on to the top and then began working the bottom with a heat gun in hand.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Applied the ECS Automotive Concepts stencil to the VIN tag today.
You only get one chance at this, as once it makes contact there is no readjusting.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Is the border on the console top a light argent silver?

Nobody knows?

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Next question.
Is there a source for this mounting tab that attaches to the console top plate?

If not, can anyone provide dimensions and a profile view so I can make one?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Is the border on the console top a light argent silver?
View attachment 1512900

Nobody knows?

Yes, Silver Argent..
Don't think anyone repo's it... If no one else takes care of it I'll try to get pictures & dimensions when I get back home on Thursday...

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Okay, I was blessed to find the mounting tab was still on the '69 console top I am selling on eBay.
Here it as after using a wire wheel to remove rust.

I made up a diagram just in case someone has to make their own. Made of 20ga steel.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

I finally gave up and bought a 1969 radio bezel. Not happy with the look as it is much darker than the existing trim.

Now to decide if I can fix it?

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Turned out I couldn't fix the coloring on the radio bezel. I had hoped it to remove a single layer of the paint and leave the woodgrain look but it wasn't possible.

So I moved on to the console compartment door.
Here's what I started with. You can see the Argent Silver paint is quite worn:

I washed the grooves with lacquer thinner and then a soap/degreaser. Rinsed it well and then sprayed wax and grease remover on it and wiped it dry. Masked all the chrome off and used OER MOPAR LT ARGENT PAINT SATIN.

Of course there is some pitting but all in all it turned out pretty decent.
Here's the bottom:

The paint dries very fast and seems to be a near prefect match to the original color.

 

[MarPar]

Now, how to paint the black in-between all the ridges LOL

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Now, how to paint the black in-between all the ridges LOL

Looking at all the reproduction tops, I didn't see any 1968s with black on them.
Are you sure it's supposed to be there? If so is it gloss, satin or flat black?

Here's my top plate repainted.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I don't think the 68 console has any black in the ribs...

 

[68BabyBlue]

I don't think the 68 console has any black in the ribs...

My original in Baby Blue didn’t.

 

[MarPar]

Looks like I mixed it up with another year or something. I could have sworn my 68 had the ribs painted black.
Sorry for the agita. lol