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Best '70's domestic instrument panel

24 messages,  Last post on Sep 23, 2012 at 9:09 AM

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Messages Page 3 of 3

#15 of 24 Re: . [uplanderguy] by andre1969

Sep 21, 2012 (4:24 pm)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Sep 21, 2012 4:08 pm)
It does look nice, with that silver trim, and I like the driver-oriented, cockpit style layout of the gauges (what few there were).
 
I also liked that silver trim insert on the door panels. The '71 was pretty classy...for the 70's. So naturally, they couldn't leave well enough alone, and had to pimp it up in later years.

#16 of 24 Re: How 'bout '60's panels? [uplanderguy] by berri

Sep 21, 2012 (6:00 pm)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Sep 21, 2012 4:14 pm)
Two fine choices! I thought Pontiac put out some really nice looking vehicles, inside and out, from 61-66. I've always liked the Hawk GT, even more so than the Avanti personally. I also liked some of the Mopar IP's from the 60's, like the domed, back lit Chrysler one from around 61. I also liked that Mopar still gave you all four gauges on the dash back then, even on compacts. Of course, Virgil Exner also had some rather bizarre stuff too like the 61 Plymouth dash (well, the whole car really). The original Sting Ray (always forget which version was two words versus one on that) was a nice looker. Then there was the (for its time at least) space age mid 60's modern dash with the swing away steering wheel on the T-Birds.
 
Going back another decade into the 50's, I think the mid decade had some good looking interiors. In particular, I liked the 56 Ford, 54-56 DeSoto and the 55/56 Buick and Olds IP's. Toward the end of the 50's, I liked most everything about the 58 Pontiac for some reason that I can't put my finger on. And the 59 Chevy dash was kind of interesting for its time.
 
I wish there was more material out there on interiors really.

#17 of 24 Re: How 'bout '60's panels? [berri] by uplanderguy

Sep 21, 2012 (6:11 pm)

Replying to: berri (Sep 21, 2012 6:00 pm)
I like the Gran Turismo Hawk better than the Avanti, too. The DNA from the '53 coupes is still there, but I can't think of many '53 cars that could be sold as '64 models and be critically accepted like the Hawks were. I've read that although there are some visual hints linking the two, there are only a handful of parts numbers that are an exact interchange from the '53 to the '64.
 
I like the '62 (I think) Chrysler dash that had the clear dome you mentioned. I like the '67 full-size Chevrolet panel too..huge round dials behind a clear cover.

#18 of 24 Re: How 'bout '60's panels? [uplanderguy] by uplanderguy

Sep 22, 2012 (5:07 am)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Sep 21, 2012 6:11 pm)
You mentioned the '56 Ford dash. I've always liked it too. It's an example of simple and beautiful design. I like it eons better than the '55 Ford dash. I also still like the '55 and '56 Chevy dash, with some Corvette look there.
 
Back to the '60's...I like the '61 Chevy dash (really, same as the '62), with the center glovebox. I hated on the '61's how the radio pushbuttons spelled out "Chevy" though. I love '61 Impalas but would have to find one with a non-pushbutton radio!

#19 of 24 Re: How 'bout '60's panels? [uplanderguy] by lemko

Sep 22, 2012 (5:18 am)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Sep 22, 2012 5:07 am)
The radio buttons spelled out BUICK on my 1968 Buick Special Deluxe.

#20 of 24 Re: How 'bout '60's panels? [lemko] by uplanderguy

Sep 22, 2012 (5:24 am)

Replying to: lemko (Sep 22, 2012 5:18 am)
I think "Buick" on the radio buttons is OK; "Chevy" I think is cheesy on a top-line Impala! It'd be like "Merc" for "Mercury" or "Olds" for Oldsmobile. I could be wrong, but I don't remember Oldsmobile ever using "Olds" on one of their cars, although I do remember them using "Olds" in advertisements.

#21 of 24 1978 Buick Electra Park Avenue by omarman

Sep 22, 2012 (2:50 pm)

My aunt bought a new Buick Park Avenue in '78 and the plush interior with big round dials on the dash made the car feel expensive. Very nice seats too.
Photobucket

#22 of 24 Re: 1978 Buick Electra Park Avenue [omarman] by uplanderguy

Sep 22, 2012 (3:23 pm)

Replying to: omarman (Sep 22, 2012 2:50 pm)
That is a great panel! I particularly like the clock over on the passenger side.
 
One thing I didn't like GM doing around that time and later, is their using the 'casket handle' style pull on the doors.

#23 of 24 Re: 1978 Buick Electra Park Avenue [uplanderguy] by andre1969

Sep 22, 2012 (4:17 pm)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Sep 22, 2012 3:23 pm)
I'm somewhere in the middle with regards to that Buick full-size dashboard. I do think the overall style of it looks great, but I never did like that clock stuck over on the passenger side. Just seems kinda random to me. I also don't like the silver dials, although by the time it ended up in my grandmother's '85 LeSabre, the dials were black, and the clock was digital and integrated into the radio, so IMO the overall look was much better.
 
However. By 1985, the fake woodgrain had taken on a somewhat radioactive look that just didn't seem that pleasing to me. And, I always thought there was a lot of wasted space on the passenger side. They should have put the glovebox up higher in the dash, so it could have been larger. As it was, the glovebox was really tiny for a car this size.
 
Another beef I have with this dashboard is that, as far as I know at least, you could not get extra gauges with it, like you could on a Chevy, Pontiac, or Olds.
 
But, all that aside, it wouldn't keep me from bringing a nice LeSabre or Electra into my flock!
 
**Edit: one other thing I remember about my grandmother's LeSabre, is that the dash padding was a high quality stuff that had almost a leathery look to it. It never cracked, either. I've noticed that most cars that used this kind of stuff never did crack...the Mopar R-bodies used it as well. However, another variable might have been that the padding didn't go all the way to the windshield. there was a metal panel between the padding and the dashboard that you could pop off to get to the speakers, and possibly other things. So, that might have had something to do with it. On cars I've had where the padding went all the way to the windshield, like my '80 Malibu, '86 Monte Carlo, and '85 Silverado, they all cracked.

#24 of 24 Re: 1978 Buick Electra Park Avenue [andre1969] by uplanderguy

Sep 23, 2012 (9:09 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 22, 2012 4:17 pm)
I did like the silver dials, as with the woodgrain I was reminded of barometers I'd see in nice offices--I link it with 'sophisticated'!
 
I think I know what you mean about the later 'woodgrain' on Buicks. If I'm remembering correctly, it resembled what Chevy used in '80-82 on Caprices and especially, Malibu Classics and Monte Carlos. A friend said it looked like 'brown paint when not stirred enough'. I agreed. In '83 on the Malibu and Montes, they started using a dark woodgrain that was rather flat in gloss, and used this on later Caprices too. I liked it much better than the earlier, shiny stuff.
 
You're right about cracked dashes...it's odd to not see a full-size Chevy, or Malibu or Monte Carlo, of the late '70's and early '80's without cracks on the top of the dash. Our '77 red dash never cracked in the 3+ years we owned it, but I knew a guy in college (I graduated in '80) with a '77 Caprice with black interior and it had a cracked dash at that point.

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