[john m123td]

Hello all you w123 people in the USA.

I am living in Ireland, which is a country that has the steering on the other side.

I own a 1977 240d which at some point in its life been converted to a 300td.
This car has the auto box. My car is LHD.

The car is white with the blue interior, and a cracked blue dash in five places.

I need your help guys in sourcing a dash cap in blue, the suede or carpet type.
I have failed to get one in Europe so far. A second hand from a breakers would do just fine.
The postage and cost I would of course cover.

 

[Robin-H]

Why not get yourself a replacement dash? They shouldn't be that hard to find in these wet climates. The Dutch wrecking yards are crowded with W123's having perfect dashes. You can use SEM shadow blue to paint a black one blue (or visit volico.de).

 

[Deemo13]

Why not get yourself a replacement dash? They shouldn't be that hard to find in these wet climates. The Dutch wrecking yards are crowded with W123's having perfect dashes. You can use SEM shadow blue to paint a black one blue (or visit volico.de).

Only problem might be that they have dashboards on the other side from what he has, which might be why OP is looking to America.

I got my dash cap brand new, but I dont know where from since it was a gift.

 

[Robin-H]

Yeah, but I assumed they have wrecking years in Ireland as well?

 

[240_benz]

I bought a suede cover from this place: Custom Car Seat Covers, SUVs Floor mats, Trucks Sun Shades, Steering Wheel Cover I find that black looks pretty good on the blue dash but that's just me. The fit is near perfect but I would recommend getting some more velcro because they only supply you with one strip. Other than that I'm happy with it. I'm not sure if they ship internationally but you could call and ask. My car used to have one of those stupid plastic covers and it was horrible. It made lots of rattling noises and made the air coming out of the windshield vents a whole lot noisier too so, based on that I wouldn't recommend one.

 

[Gregs300CD]

When applied properly a dash cap wouldn't be noticed by anyone not looking for it, but I wouldn't know how to get it applied properly without removing the dash.

 

[PinkFloydFan810]

I've seen dash caps come unglued when the right glue wasn't used and they make a real mess when they come off and make everything look nasty. I'd find a replacement dash in black as they are very common and paint it blue as suggested. Then, a suede cover to assure it doesn't crack again.

 

[Deemo13]

I have my dash cap on, but I didnt glue it down. It looks fine to me and stays decently in place. I didnt really want to have it glued down permanently.

 

[gatorblue92]

My dear departed 300D had a blue dash as well with a cap installed and it looked horrible too since it had also cracked. I bought a carpeted mat to cover up the mess and I was very happy with it. I'm not sure if they ship to you but its worth looking into.

DashMat | America's #1 Dashboard Covers

 

[john m123td]

Thanks for the comments guys, my search for a dash cap goes on. the one in pic by gatorblue 92 is perfect, thanks for photo.
I have looked at all the sites that I can find that have been suggested.
They all say the same, postage within the USA.
I am hoping that one of you 123 fans over their will come across one, maybe from a breakers yard. My car is over 35 years old and would not mind.
I have just completed a 2000 mile trip through europe without a hitch, keeping the speed around 55 to 60 mph, it was happy their.

 

[JoshW123]

No upholstery shops over there you could take the car to? I can't imagine that they'd take more than a morning or afternoon to craft something for you.

 

[gatorblue92]

Have you checked at peach parts? I think they ship internationally.

 

[DRVN2WN]

Yeah, but I assumed they have wrecking years in Ireland as well?

They do, but the cars there are RHD and the OP's is LHD.


To the OP, are you looking for a carpet one then, if you like the pic that gatorblue posted?

 

[john m123td]

Dash caps

I thought that one in blue looked really good, and fitted so well, ie snug over air vents.
I think theUSA Is the home of dash caps or covers, we just to not get the high temp in Europe other then the odd couple of weeks.
But since my search begun, I cannot find one in blue!

 

[mike-81-240d]

I had one in blue that I used in both my 240D and 300DT. Both had crack free blue dashes, I just chose to protect them. I think I gave the the mat to my buddy to put in his 300DT with a badly cracked dash. If I hadn't I'd gladly send it your way. I bought a license plate from Ireland on ebay, and the shipping was cheaper then I expected.

 

[john m123td]

Dash caps

Thanks for your reply, we would not have cars in Ireland to the standard you guys in the states seem to own. My car is 1977 and very clean, but""""""""
Please can you tell me what ratio rear axle you are running in your car, and the cruising speed. I currently have fitted a 3.46 but have a 3.67 that needs a new pinion bearing before install. I cruise all day in comfort at no more then 60 mph. Question will the 3.67 give a little more, remember that it is a 300 td sedan.
If I want to keep a clean license 60 mph is fine. I sold a very quick Volvo v70 2.5 turbo gas to get this classic and more then happy.

 

[mike-81-240d]

Thanks for your reply, we would not have cars in Ireland to the standard you guys in the states seem to own. My car is 1977 and very clean, but""""""""
Please can you tell me what ratio rear axle you are running in your car, and the cruising speed. I currently have fitted a 3.46 but have a 3.67 that needs a new pinion bearing before install. I cruise all day in comfort at no more then 60 mph. Question will the 3.67 give a little more, remember that it is a 300 td sedan.
If I want to keep a clean license 60 mph is fine. I sold a very quick Volvo v70 2.5 turbo gas to get this classic and more then happy.

I don't have a tachometer, but my car cruises fine at 60mph. Still has the stock 3.07 differential. Gets about 27mpg at that pace. My guess would be 3000RPM.

 

[MBeige]

Dash cap, velour

 

[gatorblue92]

Dash cap, velour

You need to fire your writers