StevenB L98/LS1

I just finished installing the new dash pad in my Trans Am. Has anyone experienced a bad alignment when trying to bolt the new one on? I had to fangle the bolts in weird to get it fully bolted back together because the one i bought from OER doesn't line up well from the holes they drilled. after a few methods the center bolt mount had to be bolted in first, then the 1st bolt on the drivers side i had to literally force in after putting pressure down on it for it to go in. After that everything seemed to go in easy. Has anyone else had this problem? Here are pics of the old one and the new one. After 24 years last winter finally did a number on my original.

FBFAN

That new one looks great! Thanks for letting us know about the bolt alignment problem.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Looks good. You might be one of the first to get one. Can you post more pics of it?

StevenB L98/LS1

Here is what i have before the install, i think there is room for improvement on the quality but overall it seemed okay.

Citation X

Ya I remember there being some trouble with that on my camaro when I replaced it. Its been a while but I think they are from the same manufacturer.

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

I need to replace my factory one because mainly they made one side too long so it discolors the door panel moldings after a while. Seriously considering this at some point, just weary about dishing out 400+ on a dash pad

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Did you get that from Classic??

StevenB L98/LS1

I got mine from Jegs, and because it was cheaper last year when it was on back order i got mine at $369. Since then it looks like they added another $100 because its in stock now.

'92Firebird

iTrader: (1)

I also have the new OER dash. Over all it looks pretty good but it isn't as good as the original. My original had cracks so I had to do something. My holes aligned perfectly. However, I have a couple of bubbles on the driver side in the new dash but they are very small. The vents don't look quite the same as the originals but very close. One thing I'd caution others about is the plastic speaker grills. I parked mine in the sun one day. When I got in I found that the plastic speaker grills had warped from the heat. I live in Louisiana and this time of year it is hitting 100 so the temp inside the car is over 100 even when the air temp is in the upper 90's. I am surprised to find that they warped from the heat as I'm sure others in TX, NM, AZ and even MS, AL, GA and FL at times are as hot as or even hotter than in Louisiana in the summer. This would certainly be a problem for any who live in areas with extreme heat.

StevenB L98/LS1

Yes the speaker covers started to warp really bad on mine, terrible quality. It's almost as if it was just made out of a hard rubber material. So I took it off and took my original plastic speaker covers on the new one and just glued them to the new one. Warning to everyone that buys this dash pad the speakers will warp from the sun. You better off just buying a mint original dash or swapping your original plastic speaker cover over to the new. At first the dash was great but after a month I started seeing how terrible the quality really was. Call hawks or who ever you decide to buy this from first. I contacted oer about this issue and they said they wouldn't do anything for me. So I'm now tempted to just take the new one out and keep it as a spare and go find an original mint dash.

HeathAU25

For anyone interested, you could always take this route. Definitely won't warp... ever
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...d-picture.html