Luke Merrick

Hi all,

I’ve just finished extensive work on my ‘78 toro and am now needing to find another project for my restoration. I just rebuild my entire fuel system from carb to fuel tank, and now that she runs flawlessly I can focus on the cosmetics. I have a red interior with door panels that are cracked pretty badly, along with my dash that’s also pretty rough. I’m willing to get this done professionally but I’d rather save the dough. With that being said, what is the material used in the door panel armrests? To further clarify it’s the surrounding platform that has the lock/window mechanisms. Also, what can I do about the dash?

jaunty75

I have both '77 and '78 Toronados. The armrests in the '78 were in good shape when I got the car, but the '77 armrests were a mess. Cracked and torn and covered with clear shipping tape.

I had both sides reupholstered by a local shop, and I can't begin to imagine trying to do this myself. The guy that did the job was a consummate professional, and went through with me what he planned to do to make the repair. Yes, there is a seam there that wasn't there originally, but I don't mind that at all, and I think it actually looks as least as good as the original.

I'd bite the bullet and get this done by a professional. At least talk to a couple of shops and see what they say.


Here's the left and right side before the repair.







Here's after the repair.








As far as the dashpad, if it's cracked, I'd think the easiest thing to do is get a replacement from a parts car. I don't know how you repair the crack without it being noticeable. They can be painted if you can't find one of the correct color.

Luke Merrick

Looks great! If you don’t mind me asking, how much do you think this would cost give or take?

jaunty75

I apologize, but I don't remember what this cost, and I didn't save the receipt. I don't recall that it was anything to possibly dissuade me from having it done. A couple hundred dollars a side? This was in 2021.

Here's a photo of the left side door panel as it was returned to me from the upholsterer, so you can see what he actually did. It goes without saying that I removed both door panels and took them to the shop, rather than taking the whole car and having them do it.

Olds64

You can repair the dash with a product like Polyvance.

https://www.polyvance.com/Padded-Dash-Filler-2/2050-9/

The problem is that you should remove the dash to repair it properly. Here is a thread with links on repairing a dash.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...h-pads-168868/

There are plenty of options besides Just Dashes that are cheaper anyways.