The Ford Barn - View Single Post - 30-31 instrument panel

Conaway2 · 04-20-2020, 01:54 PM

After consulting with a couple of guys who restore instrument panels, we determined that since mine has some rust pitting in the horizontal lines on the front, it’s not worth replating, as the rust pits will still be there. Apparently restorable 30-31 instrument panels are hard to find, as most have rust pitting on the front.

So, I spent an hour buffing my original instrument panel, and it looks acceptable. It is missing some plating and is slightly pitted in a few places, but my car is a driver, and the original panel is just showing it’s age a bit. Ironically, the repro panel that I bought 30 years ago is beginning to rust through the chrome plating, so the 90-year old original panel now looks as good as or better than the repro.

I removed the repro panel and compared the original to it side by side - the repro is almost 1/4” deeper, which is why the screws would barely engage. The original panel is now back on the car - it’s a perfect fit and all screws engage as they should.

04-20-2020, 01:54 PM	#14
Conaway2 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC Posts: 601	Re: 30-31 instrument panel After consulting with a couple of guys who restore instrument panels, we determined that since mine has some rust pitting in the horizontal lines on the front, it’s not worth replating, as the rust pits will still be there. Apparently restorable 30-31 instrument panels are hard to find, as most have rust pitting on the front. So, I spent an hour buffing my original instrument panel, and it looks acceptable. It is missing some plating and is slightly pitted in a few places, but my car is a driver, and the original panel is just showing it’s age a bit. Ironically, the repro panel that I bought 30 years ago is beginning to rust through the chrome plating, so the 90-year old original panel now looks as good as or better than the repro. I removed the repro panel and compared the original to it side by side - the repro is almost 1/4” deeper, which is why the screws would barely engage. The original panel is now back on the car - it’s a perfect fit and all screws engage as they should.