My Installation & Review of the Nissan 240SX 1989-1994 dash overlay manufactured by Coverlay Mfg. part #10-890 by Kevin.



Coverlay dash covers are vacuum-molded from the original dash to give an original look and a perfect fit. Made from thick, durable ABS plastic, Coverlay dash covers will not crack under extreme hot or cold temperatures. This product is a restorative piece & intended for those who want to restore the interior of their car to a new-like status.



Initial impression with this product is Excellent. This is a factory black dash cover. It is rigid but flexible & duplicates the look, feel & curves of the original perfectly.

Dash removal is NOT necessary! Installation is just a matter of applying glue & sliding it over, since it fits like a glove.



Included with this kit is-

(1) dash overlay(1) bottle silicone glue(1) set of directions



What you’ll need tool wise is-

Glass cleaner with ammonia (such as Windex©)Utility knife (to trim if needed)Sandpaper (to sand down cracks if needed)Tape (not required, but helpful)



1) Getting started, clean surface of dash with Windex©, removing all traces of preservatives, oil etc. Surface must be clean & dry.2) Place silicone glue in a cup of hot water until warm to facilitate ease of application.3) Apply silicone glue VERY Sparingly around perimeter, defrost vents & A/C vents. DO NOT apply glue to center of dash. This can interfere with thermal expansion, possibly warping the overlay.



Now, carefully slide the cover into position without disturbing the glue. When it’s in place, apply firm pressure to perimeter, vents & special attention to cluster perimeter & glove box perimeter. Tape is not necessary, but I found it helpful to hold down edges & seams.Also, stuff newspaper or towels between the windshield & dash cover to add pressure around this perimeter. Allow 8 hours to dry!



After 8 hours, remove tape & towels. You are done with your installation of this product. Enjoy your newly revitalized dash!

Before-



After-

For HUD brothers, remove gauge cluster & HUD. Place overlay on top of dash, making sure it’s seated properly. Take a BLUE sharpie inside the hole where the gauge cluster was & carefully trace from the inside your HUD cutout. Blue you ask? It will show up rather well on a black surface. Trust me!



After this is done, use your Dremel® tool (if you don’t have one, get one!) to cut this out from the inside of the overlay. Remove any residue, flashing that may accumulate. That’s it.

Modified by Dammitboy at 5:49 PM 4/14/2007
Modified by Dammitboy at 5:54 PM 4/14/2007

there are no pics!!!

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wow...to my surprise it came out quite well...Nice job with the step by step instalation.

Looks like a great product. I will order one this week

Here's a few more random pics.

looks great. my dash definitely needs this. great job on the write-up.

Now since this overlay will be more rigid than the OEM dash, how will dash removal go? It is critical to be able bend the dash slightly to be able to remove it.

Why not just remove the overlay first?

Grr....the part of me that wants this badly is clashing with the part of me that's a poor bastard.

very clean, i approve.

price numbers man!!!

looks great, and looks to be a darker color than the charcoal, which is good imo, the darker the better.

For all the "haters" from the other thread, I challenge you to find a better (and cheaper) alternative.

That is the sweetness!!

BTW, it is $161 shipped, NICO members ONLY. You MUST call and give them your NICO screen name to order.

not bad for the price. definitely worth it.

Nice . Hopefully I won't need one of these for awhile though.

Ok so whats the number.

I need to look into this

I think it looks like ****, but im allowed to have my opinion I guess.

^ LOL - You'd think it was a new stock dash if no one had told you otherwise.

Whatever dude.

AZhitman wrote:^ LOL - You'd think it was a new stock dash if no one had told you otherwise.

Whatever dude.

You can clearly see the lines from it being a cheap overlay. I dont like the cheap plastic look of it either. Maybe Im just picky, but dashes are cheap from the wrecking yard.



Whatever dude.

I've not seen a clean S13 dash for less than $100. In the southwest, there's not an uncracked dash to be found... My convertible has one, but who's to say it's not ready to crack?

Eh, whatever. The whole car's only worth $1K, so "cheap" is just fine.

AZhitman wrote:For all the "haters" from the other thread, I challenge you to find a better (and cheaper) alternative.

That is the sweetness!!

BTW, it is $161 shipped, NICO members ONLY. You MUST call and give them your NICO screen name to order.

Challenge met...

$100, plus shipping from 200 miles away, plus a day to swap it?

Smells like $200 + a wasted day to me.

No thanks - have fun.

plus the fact that it will crack in the box on the way to your house, or when you try to install it.I think there will always be people that think it should be done differently. If so, go ahead and do it. If my dash ever cracks I'm going with coverlay.

agreed, if the dash does ever crack, coverlay for me also. my only gripe is them not doing the cut out for us HUD people. I'm not saying that i couldnt cut the hole myself but i know many of us would rather them cut the hole than us..................great product though and that has to be the best overlay for any dash that i have ever seen.

Let me just say this- I'm not with Coverlay. I don't work for them. I just think they've made a great product & want to support them for supporting us.

With that out of the way, here's the way I see it. This product is for someone who cares about the interiior of their car. Sure, an uncracked dash is preferable, but I'd rather install somthing that's new, looks good & will not crack. Plus, thare's a lifetime warranty here.

Being realistic, our dashes are going on 20 years old. They are not factory fresh & drying out. Ones that have'nt cracked yet, will. Especially if you live in the south, it's inevitible. If you want to replace with a used dash, knock yourself out. I'm just not keen on replacing a replacement.

If you don't care about cracks or crap interior, then don't sweat it.

Kevin

SlipnSliden 240 wrote: I think it looks like ****, but im allowed to have my opinion I guess.

So....you think it looks worse now then it did dried out with cracks?

Think of it this way, I have the very first one. I addressed the likes & dislikes with Coverlay. I told them I did not like the edges that abruptly end, & was told they will make them more of a smooth transition on future pieces.

Kevin

as i stated in the other thread. this isn't something i would get myself, but it's nice to have the option.

they should offer the dash with some sort of vinyl cover or something. the material from the pix looks like it's feel the same as my plastic cooler i use for drinks...

Bumnah wrote:they should offer the dash with some sort of vinyl cover or something. the material from the pix looks like it's feel the same as my plastic cooler i use for drinks...

They do offer different grain patterns also. You have that option when you order.

Kevin

redtop91 wrote:Now since this overlay will be more rigid than the OEM dash, how will dash removal go? It is critical to be able bend the dash slightly to be able to remove it.

Do you mean removeing the oem dash? If so it's not necessary. When I say the overlay is rigid it is but at the same time it's quite flexible. I had no problems sliding it on or off.