maquino
06-26-2004, 08:01 PM
Partly an "FYI" post, partly to inquire whether anyone has found additional alternatives ..
I like wood dashboards on some [but not all] cars. These kits can either enhance an interior very nicely or just look tacky; sometimes it's a very fine line.
Anyhow, for the 2004+ GTO, so far I've managed to find four different kits on the web. They are:
http://www.exoticwooddash.com
which sells a dash & doors kit for about $350, and a dash-only kit for about $227.
And:
http://www.superiordash.com
which sells a dash-only kit for about $339.
And:
http://www.woodtrim.com
which sells a dash-only kit for about $235 (10% extra for certain woods).
You can view schematics/pictures of all of these kits on their websites.
Exotic Wood Dash's full kit does almost the entire dashboard area, and the optional kit does the tops of the door panels as well. Drawbacks that I notice (other than that it seems a bit excessive) are:
(1) Wood surround of gauge cluster stops halfway up.
(2) Wood on center console stops slightly above A/C vents, looking imcomplete.
Superior Dash's kit does the center console, gauge cluster, and side A/C vents. Drawbacks:
(1) Covers the Blaupunkt label on the radio.
(2) Stops immediately above A/C vents on the console.
(3) includes around the power-window controls, but leaves the coin-storage right behind it bare.
Woodtrim's kit is slightly more elaborate than Superior Dash's. Its only drawback is that once again it stops immediately above the console A/C vents.
Since none of these kits wants to touch the topmost section of the center console, I suspect that it's because that area is slightly convex atop the dashboard, and a "flat piece" wouldn't fit it precisely.
That's all I've found so far. Anyone found others?
[From my websearches, I've noticed that many wood-dashboard websites are simply links to Exotic Wood Dash's kits.]
My parting thought is that, if I installed one of these kits, I'd be tempted to omit the pieces covering the "brushed aluminum" trim in the cabin, as I think it is very nicely done and shouldn't be covered up. Covering up black plastic with Carpathian Burlwood, however, wouldn't bother me.
Michael Aquino
I like wood dashboards on some [but not all] cars. These kits can either enhance an interior very nicely or just look tacky; sometimes it's a very fine line.
Anyhow, for the 2004+ GTO, so far I've managed to find four different kits on the web. They are:
http://www.exoticwooddash.com
which sells a dash & doors kit for about $350, and a dash-only kit for about $227.
And:
http://www.superiordash.com
which sells a dash-only kit for about $339.
And:
http://www.woodtrim.com
which sells a dash-only kit for about $235 (10% extra for certain woods).
You can view schematics/pictures of all of these kits on their websites.
Exotic Wood Dash's full kit does almost the entire dashboard area, and the optional kit does the tops of the door panels as well. Drawbacks that I notice (other than that it seems a bit excessive) are:
(1) Wood surround of gauge cluster stops halfway up.
(2) Wood on center console stops slightly above A/C vents, looking imcomplete.
Superior Dash's kit does the center console, gauge cluster, and side A/C vents. Drawbacks:
(1) Covers the Blaupunkt label on the radio.
(2) Stops immediately above A/C vents on the console.
(3) includes around the power-window controls, but leaves the coin-storage right behind it bare.
Woodtrim's kit is slightly more elaborate than Superior Dash's. Its only drawback is that once again it stops immediately above the console A/C vents.
Since none of these kits wants to touch the topmost section of the center console, I suspect that it's because that area is slightly convex atop the dashboard, and a "flat piece" wouldn't fit it precisely.
That's all I've found so far. Anyone found others?
[From my websearches, I've noticed that many wood-dashboard websites are simply links to Exotic Wood Dash's kits.]
My parting thought is that, if I installed one of these kits, I'd be tempted to omit the pieces covering the "brushed aluminum" trim in the cabin, as I think it is very nicely done and shouldn't be covered up. Covering up black plastic with Carpathian Burlwood, however, wouldn't bother me.
Michael Aquino