[goatwgn]

Sometime next year, I am going to pull my instrument panel so I can replace my dash harness (already have a new one), and I was going to either restore, or replace the housing when I do, because the "chrome" has worn off, and I think it would look better than the silver paint I have on there now. This is on my '66 Tempest Custom wagon. Have any of you had any experience with the aftermarket housing?? I believe it is the same one that everyone sells. I know it can be iffy sending out my original to be rechromed, If this piece fits well it would make the job simpler, and faster. I know some repop stuff is trash, just wondering about this part. Thanks for any input.

[vidguy]

I have the 67 Bezel and it is really nice.
All in all it is a great piece with excellent chroming. I would recommend it.

The only bigger issue I had was related to the car being a convertible. If you have a convertible top, the switch will not fit in the stock location unless you Drill a hole and grind at the molding for the screw shafts. That is not a knock on the bezel really. They could have done something to accommodate the convertible switch location on the left side of the bezel but they did not. The convertible production % is so small I can see why they did not. The factory didn't either. On my original bezel there was clearly grinding done at the factory to allow the switch to fit although the original bezel's hole looked really clean and may have been molded in rather than drilled..
I posted about what I did using the right side speaker hole and adding extension wires to the switch to reach it. I just wasn't going to risk drilling into that thing...

The other minor issue was that the radio holes for some reason spaced my radio back about 1/16" - 1/8th" from the face. Just enough to make it hard to screw the shafts back into place with the nuts. .The standoff where the control shafts poke through seem to stick out (towards the front of the car)- about that much. I had to struggle a bit to get the radio back in the opening all the way. The other is that the sides might need mild sanding to shape to the metal. Very minor.

[goatwgn]

Thanks for the input Vidguy. I may be going this route instead of restoring mine.

[Peter Serio]

You will save time and money by going with the new reproduction Bezel, the chrome plating is beautiful !!! Plus the company that imported those, I know that a portion of the profits goes into funding other reproduction parts we all might need at some future time.

[goatwgn]

Does anyone have a picture of one installed??

[Peter Serio]

Here is a new imported '67 GTO dash Bezel right before I sent it out (I just put the gauges onto this for a customer). The same people who made this bezel make the 65 and 66s new.

[goatwgn]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

Here is a new imported '67 GTO dash Bezel right before I sent it out (I just put the gauges onto this for a customer). The same people who made this bezel make the 65 and 66s new.

Nice! I plan on reusing my woodgrain. It is attached to an aluminum panel that I can easily take out of the present housing.Thanks for posting. Did you use new lenses, or polish up the old ones?

[vidguy]

Originally Posted by goatwgn

Does anyone have a picture of one installed??

Here is mine. The pics are kinda close up as thats the nest way to see some detail. So after this pic was taken now a few months later right there at the left edge, the edge of the bezel has scratched some paint off of the dash. That's why I say you could smooth that a little and work the curve to provide some space between the metal and the bezel. Otherwise it is super.

[goatwgn]

Originally Posted by vidguy

Here is mine. The pics are kinda close up as thats the nest way to see some detail. So after this pic was taken now a few months later right there at the left edge, the edge of the bezel has scratched some paint off of the dash. That's why I say you could smooth that a little and work the curve to provide some space between the metal and the bezel. Otherwise it is super.

Thanks for the update. Yes, it looks like just to make sure, I should probably test fit it, before even installing instrumentation. That way, I can sand or file the edges, and keep test fitting it to make sure all is good. Beautiful looking dash there.

[Peter Serio]

The way to test an old lens to even see if it is "re-usable" is first to wash it in a bucket of warm soapy water.

Most 50 year old lenses are yellowed from years of sun exposure. Once that clear plastic turns yellow there is no way to reverse that and it will keep getting worse over time.

Dry the lens with a soft cotton towel. Take it outside on a nice sunny day and hold the lens up to the sky. That test will tell you if the plastic is clear or yellowed. Old dash lenses will get hazy and scratched. Sometimes that can be polished to improve the look but most-often it is not possible to really get all of the scratches out. Imported lenses are made from plastic that is soft, (it has a low melting temperature so those lenses are less expensive to mold) however the down side is that those lenses can not be polished. Once one of those gets scratched or cloudy you really have no choice but to replace it.

Best to go with a made in the USA lens. (If one is available for the year of car that you own.)