Wow, REAL WOOD dash bezels!

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Check this out. They also come in several colors of carbon fiber. Rates pretty high on my Cool-O-Meter







#ad
















http://www.exoticwooddash.com/mddodge16.htm

 

[Benson]

Sure beats the multipiece crap I got. I bought it sight unseen at Tulare last year. It is nice wood but the coverage is awful, just narrow strips.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

tntway

Here's what I was talkinga 'bout. I went the extra mile for ya to dig this one up, due to the UTTERLY INEPT AND WORTHLESS SEARCH FUNCTION on this board I had to scroll through every single page until I came to page 100 and something #@$%! #@$%! #@$%!

 

[Chipstien]

Ah-men:-laf

 

[tntway]

thanks vaughn!!!!

in a word guys... AWESOME!! wow looks better than anything i've seen... ... now adding that shifter knob... ... WOO HOO!!!!!!!



thanks again vaughn... ... can't wait to see ya back out east here...

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

No problem tntway. I want to add one of these primo dash bezels to my truck eventually as well. I like the carbon fiber ones too



Speaking of going back east I'm planning to do the TDR nationals this year. If some of you guys from the NE can make it we could cross paths again I sure enjoyed meeting you folks for breakfast and cruisin' to Massdiesel's event. If I can drive 2000+ miles you guys from Connecticut & Massachusetts should be able to make it to Indiana

 

[EricBu12]

Vaughn,

I have this cover on my truck as well. you might have seen it at the bomb party... .



If you havent put it on yet, you need to clean the plastic with alcohol and put alcohol on the stickey cover to reduce the stickiness untill you have it set where you want then push into place. the switch covers were even easier, just clean and press on.

here is a pic of it installed



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=242&width=2

 

[willyslover]

that is one nice looking piece...

Eric. . are you saying the dash piece is a glue on to existing molding ?. . if so any concern with age cracking / splitting ?



Vaughan. . did you order it ? [like to look when I pass thru next trip up there looking for the place. ]



and how about Muncie guys are ya going ? HVAC and I are head'in out there for it.

 

[John]

Hey Eric, the dash fascia you have installed in your Ram doesn't look like the one pictured at the top of the thread... yours has some of the surrounding OE plastic showing (on the edges) whereas, the pic at the top of the thread eludes to complete coverage of the OE dash fascia.



??????????

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

replacement

I just called Exotic Wood dash and John is correct, the piece fits over the stock dash bezel. However, on some models of trucks the actual wood dash kit replaces the stock piece(s). The tech there talked like they could do the same for our trucks if someone was willing to part with theirs for awhile (but I wonder why they didn't do that in the first place since they would've had to of had a bezel in the first place to make the cover kit??). He also said customers can send in their bezels for a custom fit. But if anyone wants to call for clarification their number is on the first webpage on the link above.



Willyslover you crack me up . . .

Vaughn: . . . I would like to add one of those to my truck eventually as well (note keyword eventually )

Gary, 1 day later: Hey Vaughn didja order it yet? LOL

You'll be the first to know if I do go ahead and get one

 

[John]

Just wondering here but...



according to exoticwooddash.com's Website this particular molded dash only fits '00 through '02 Dodge Rams. As near as I can figure it should fit all the way back to '98. 5 and even the '98s. Any insight into this?



BTW, I talked to an exoticwooddash.com tech. the other day about this very subject...



he stated that he didn't know why that particular dash only fit the '00s and newer. I wonder if it was never checked on the earlier versions with the re-designed interior from '98 up?



I may just go ahead and order one and see for myself.

 

[John]

Oops! I just read the entire thread again instead of looking at the thread starting pic and making my last post.



I just noticed that the molded dash is a cover and not a replacement dash fascia.



I guess I should have read my own post!



Now I'm not so interested. I received a tip from another TDR member that the molded overlays warp in the sun... not good!



Oh well, looks like I'll need to call that exoticwooddash.com tech. back and double check the overlay information (something may have changed in last year or so... who knows?)



Man... and I had a plan too!

 

[EricBu12]

That pic I have of my overlay is what is pictured at the top.



I have had it on for 3 yrs now and it has not warped... .



Cleaning the plastic with alcohol first will ensure good aheasion.



This sure made the interior of the truck look better



This unit does not go all the way around, there is exposed OE dash on the edges. It looks really good.



<img src=https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/sizeimage.php?&photoid=242&width=2/src img>

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Hey John who pulled this dusty old thread out of the cobwebs??



I too was quite interested in this dash until I found out the same thing after calling them. Oh well! The carbon fiber has to look nice though!



Eric is yours from Exoticwooddash? Yours looks more factory being it doesn't overlay the whole dash trimpiece.



My biggest problem with an overlay is it usually looks like an overlay. It looks like a cheap stuck-on aftermarket item. John, Rob Hanson's truck comes to mind



Back to your discussions about the '00 model change I think there was something different around the upper RH porthole which I believe is a 12v cig lighter socket on yours and became the on/off switch for the airbag later. I think the shape of the hole changed if I remember right. Just a hunch.



Vaughn

 

[John]

Thanks Eric for the helpful installation tips however, the dash overlay you have insalled on your Ram is not the same as inllustrated in the thread starting pic. The one in the pic is from exoticwooddash.com



Vaughn, I pulled this old thread out of the closet for personal reasons. I was/am interested in a certain dash they make to work in harmony with another "project" I'm going to get started on.







PS Vaughn: I like those 13 stick-on type pieces Rob has on his Ram. He has the medium burl pieces from exoticwooddash.com... and it IS real wood. If I order the exoticwooddash.com overlay, and don't like it, and/or it doesn't fit my year I will return it and probably purchase the same kit Rob has although, I will select another finish.

 

[John]

Originally posted by Vaughn MacKenzie

I think there was something different around the upper RH porthole which I believe is a 12v cig lighter socket on yours and became the on/off switch for the airbag later. I think the shape of the hole changed if I remember right.

Vaughn, that changed in the '99 model year. I have a 12v power port in the upper right side of the dash, '99+ have the air bag control switch there. I have the air bag control and fog light switches in the lower right side... where the '99+ small cubby hole is. I was already aware of those differences. I also know that in '99 they changed the headlight switch (rotational type as opposed to the earlier pull-on style). However, given all that, it still looks to me that the later dash fascia will interchange with the earlier one.



I guess there's one way to find out!



BTW Vaughn, according to exoticwooddash.com, the molded dash overlay is ONLY shown to fit '00 and up Rams. If your theory were correct, one would think that they would have incorporated the '99 in there as well (same dash... '99 through '02... unless I'm missing something).

 

[EricBu12]

John,



Mine is not the OEM Wood. that color is REAL dark.



You are assuming on the pic at the top that the overlay wraps around the entire dash piece. What you see is what is there. it just goes to the edges.....



What you see in the pic of mine is what it will look like when on.



I have the 2 side pieces for the switches. I can't remember if I got the item from exotic wood but looking at the pic, it is the same.

 

[John]

First of all Eric, thank you for taking the time to help out a fellow TDR member.



If you purchased the molded dash from Geno's Garage it is made by Husky... the same company that makes Husky Liner floor "mats. " The pic of the molded dash and molded door trim pieces that Vaughn posted are from exoticwooddash.com. These are manufactured by B&I.



Irresepective, I spent a lot of time with Evan Beck yesterday trying to determine if the dash FASCIA piece (the part that the molded piece bonds to) is in fact the same from '98 through '02. The answer is a discouraging no, although very close in appearance, they are not the same. The headlight cutout in the '99+ fascias are a little larger as well as the lower right portion of the fascia (by the lower right side of the cubby hole on '99+ Ram) being profiled a little differently.



Oh well, it was another great attempt that lead nowhere!



Ah, the agony of defeat!