Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation

Jack the R wrote:: The two console pieces you didn't get, I plan to leave off. The piece around the vents won't line up visually with the console, it is too wide (and can't be any other way). Since it won't flow vertically with the console, you're better off without it. That way you preserve the horizontal flow of the dash.

The small piece at the top of the console I may put on, but only because the surface film on the factory piece is peeling in the middle. I would rather leave it off though, it creates the same kind of negative space that leaving off the piece on the console lid button does. I like the way your dash looks without it (and the vent piece).

One reason I thought about those pieces was to make it look closer to the console of my '65, the wood goes all the way up, might not look great but it is a thought.

Jack the R wrote:: I really like that the Sherwood kit has the lettering on the armrest control pieces! BD Trims really ought to get the lettering on their pieces.

I noticed that the Sherwood control pieces have more rounded tips than the BD Trims pieces. I don't have a preference either way, just sayin'.

That is one thing I forgot to mention, you can tell from the picture of the pieces that the tips come to a different point, rounded point that is, from one side to the other, I did think they could have done a better job there.

Jack the R wrote:: I'm not sure I would have used the control pieces without the armrest pieces too, which gets back to the "touch" quality issue. And the armrest pieces really do look "stuck on." I don't think there's a way I can fix that. Still, I wish my control pieces had the lettering so I had a better option for using them and the arm rest pieces. It's a shame to have them and not use them.

How does your kit feel to the touch?

When I was looking, I almost got the 9 piece kit without the control pieces and then decided I'd get the 11 piece kit and see how it looked, I decided to go ahead and use them. Around the controls it doesn't feel bad, but you are right that it might not feel right on the armrest. The kit is very smooth to the touch, I use the Zaino Bros polish on it once or twice a year.

Jack the R wrote:: Another thing I like about the Sherwood kit vs the BD Trims kit - you've got two pieces for the center console. The part that goes around the shifter, and a seperate piece directly behind the shifter, around the release button for the console lid. BD Trims does this with one piece, even though there is a step behind the shift surround wood. The BD Trims piece leaves a nasty empty space there. I thought all kinds of dust bunnies and filth would get under there and glued in place on the exposed 3M tape, so I filled in the area with epoxy putty. That's really not an option unless you're going to paint like me. Sherwood definitely came up with a better solution.

After I got mine I kind of wanted the one piece for the console, of course the '95 didn't have anything to begin with so it would have just followed the curve of the console naturally without any removing of parts or filling in spaces.

Jack the R wrote:: BTW 99Rivman, you're kit is the reason why I bought mine. You've got the best interior I've seen on a Riv, bar none. I don't think mine will be as good since my medium gray doesn't contrast as much with the dark ebony world.

Thanks

,I think...so it must be my fault this can of worms got opened? poop

I think it will look good when you are finished, what you have done on the console so far looks sharp!
I think the color choice you made looks better than the carbon fiber I have as a spare.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

99Rivman wrote:: After I got mine I kind of wanted the one piece for the console, of course the '95 didn't have anything to begin with so it would have just followed the curve of the console naturally without any removing of parts or filling in spaces.

I found a pic of the 95 interior in an old Road and Track - the transition between the shift area and the console lid release area seems too abrupt to cover with one piece without it folding.

I can understand why you would want the one piece across the dash now. That area beneath the head unit is considerably thicker than on 96-99 cars.

99Rivman wrote:: Thanks ,I think...so it must be my fault this can of worms got opened?

Nah, it's because of you that I decided to go for the kit, because of a few of the other guys that I picked BD Trims, and BD Trims fault that they will likely lose busniess from this.

99Rivman wrote:: I think it will look good when you are finished, what you have done on the console so far looks sharp!
I think the color choice you made looks better than the carbon fiber I have as a spare.

For $40 I might have picked up the carbon fiber too. I do think the Ebony Zebra Wood is a better match for the Riv. It's got all the glossy black evil of the CF, without losing the woodgrain classiness a luxury car for grown ups should have.

I'm going to be royally pissed if I'm still waiting for my replacement pieces a year from now (like Spacebar). Like, posting on every car forum I can find pissed.

Jack the R wrote:: It's got all the glossy black evil of the CF, without losing the woodgrain classiness a luxury car for grown ups should have.

hey man..........that means im fully grown up grimace

YESSSSSS

98riviera98 wrote:

Jack the R wrote:: It's got all the glossy black evil of the CF, without losing the woodgrain classiness a luxury car for grown ups should have.

hey man..........that means im fully grown up grimace

YESSSSSS

I don't know about that one. lmfao

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Got a reply from BD Trims saying they will send replacement parts. This is good because I am getting antsy to finish the install. Last night I was trying to figure out if there was any way to pull the scratch out of pt. #2. Scratch X says not to use on vinyl or rubber. The BD Trims pieces are coated with epoxy but I figured I'd better not mess with it. Might make it worse. But once I get my replacement pieces in I will be able to experiment on these old ones, which could be useful if the new ones ever get scratched.

Jack the R wrote:: Got a reply from BD Trims saying they will send replacement parts. This is good because I am getting antsy to finish the install. Last night I was trying to figure out if there was any way to pull the scratch out of pt. #2. Scratch X says not to use on vinyl or rubber. The BD Trims pieces are coated with epoxy but I figured I'd better not mess with it. Might make it worse. But once I get my replacement pieces in I will be able to experiment on these old ones, which could be useful if the new ones ever get scratched.

I've had mine on for over a year now with no scratches at all. Maybe I'm just careful. :O

I guess you got a lot better customer service than I did. How many emails did you have to send?

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

SpaceBar wrote:: I've had mine on for over a year now with no scratches at all. Maybe I'm just careful. :O

Ride a lot of passengers around? I don't, but I kinda figure that if people can break it they will. There are a LOT of trashy people these days who won't give a second thought about bashing up your stuff. Maybe I shouldn't blame BD Trims for assuming I was one of them - 9 times out of 10 they woulda been right.

Have you noticed the feel of your kit improving since you got it? I remember mine having a greasy feel when I got it but it doesn't seem as bad now. It's also not outgassing any more - maybe there's a connection?

Heh, an interesting aside for those thinking of getting a kit - while it's still outgassing, you WILL have new car smell again yay

But maybe more than you'd ever want if you stick the kit right in. sick

Those fumes are strong!

Anyhow, I stuck some of the armrest pieces in today and the instrument cluster piece, to get an idea of what I want to use. I climbed in the back today which I hadn't done before - the console area looks really good from the back! I'm still not sure about the arm rests though. It's like I said before, they look slapped on, but the color contrast is good. Take the armrest pieces away and the area looks too plain. It's like, there's good (no armrest pieces), and there's better (armrest pieces), but there is no best. But if you're not sitting in the back looking at it up close, it probably works. I'll give it another chance after I get the dash pieces in. I'm more worried about the outer portion of the door armrests - I'll look at that every time I get in. But once I'm in it's behind me and I won't see it.

SpaceBar wrote:: I guess you got a lot better customer service than I did. How many emails did you have to send?

3, not counting the one where I said I wanted to send it back. Plus the effort put into this review.

In your case, on the one hand they practically had to make a custom dash to make your kit, and it can't be too easy to hunt up a Riv if you're not going to buy it. But on the other hand, they probably should have known they didn't have a kit for 95. It's got to be tough keeping track of model year changes, but it is their business.

[quote="Jack the R"]

SpaceBar wrote:

SpaceBar wrote:: I guess you got a lot better customer service than I did. How many emails did you have to send?

3, not counting the one where I said I wanted to send it back. Plus the effort put into this review.

In your case, on the one hand they practically had to make a custom dash to make your kit, and it can't be too easy to hunt up a Riv if you're not going to buy it. But on the other hand, they probably should have known they didn't have a kit for 95. It's got to be tough keeping track of model year changes, but it is their business.

I completely understood that part of it. Thats why I was pretty patient for the first 6 months of it. But I was being told it was only going to be a couple weeks. I was told they were going to meet up with me and use my Riv and I took that day off and never heard anything from them. I also was getting a different answer almost everytime and I had to reexplain myself everytime I talked to them. That was my problem with them.

Also my kit feels better now than when I first got it too. Not much better but still better.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

SpaceBar wrote:: But I was being told it was only going to be a couple weeks. I was told they were going to meet up with me and use my Riv and I took that day off and never heard anything from them.

No excuse for that.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Got another box from BD Trims today. Most of the new pieces are flawless. A couple however have small raised dimples, which look like a speck of dust got caught underneath the epoxy layer before it was applied. Unfortunately one of these is #4 (passenger side dash piece), which also has a very light scrape about where the first piece #4 had a ding.

When I looked at it earlier, I thought maybe I should go ahead and install it and be done with it, but now I'm not so sure. The scrape I could live with, it's hard to spot, but the dust speck really sticks out when the light hits it.

Anywho, I've got a few questions -

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 15_door_swoop

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 15_door_swoop

How do you remove the door panels? I want to paint this swoop thing - hopefully it comes out of the panel.

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 16_remove_badge

Is there a trick to pulling these badges without breaking the plastic tabs? I thought those metal fasteners would come off easy but they're on good.

(BTW, if anyone else ever wants to do this (paint), the vents unsnap easy)

Does anyone know how to remove the light switch and trip reset/traction control unit?

The door panel comes of very easy:
Trim Panel – Replacement
1. Remove bezel finish cover from door handle bezel by unsnapping upper tab with thin-bladed tool.
2. Remove door handle bezel by removing one screw, slipping bezel off, over door handle and disconnecting flood lamp wiring harness.
3. Unsnap two pull handle finish plugs with thin-bladed tool.
4. Remove two screws from pull handle (do not remove pull handle).
5. Remove two screws, one from upper front of door panel and one from upper rear of door panel.
6. Lift up on trim panel to disengage hooks on backside of panel.
7. Disconnect electrical connectors.

I used the point of a couple of scribes to get the badge off, just have to work the clips off very patiently.

I'd have to look in my service manual and see about the swoop thing and the other switches, I'll try and get back to you by tomorrow night.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Thanks, I'll have a crack at the door panels tomorrow. I'm not sure about the first step - is that a breaky breaky plastic tab I need to undo?

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Got the door panel pulled apart - now all I need to know is how to remove the light switch and trip reset/trac control switch.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 17_door_pieces

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Sick!

I botched the driver's side piece up a bit. You can't tell in these pics but if you looked at the real thing you'd notice. I did the passenger side first and got it perfect. Some of these pieces are very tricky to install. Even with practice, you can screw up. I wouldn't recommend this for everyone. You can easily ruin your interior. I won't feel like I'm out of the woods until the last piece is on. I'm worried about doing the dash now, but at least it doesn't have the crazy curvature of those door pieces.

I'm well pleased with the look of what's done though. Motor Trend didn't like the contrast between the black vents and the light colored interiors. That contrast is gone now. The result is going to be a very different looking interior, and a big improvement.

99Rivman, have you had a chance to look for the switch stuff yet?

Jack the R wrote:: Got the door panel pulled apart - now all I need to know is how to remove the light switch and trip reset/trac control switch.

Jack the R wrote:: 99Rivman, have you had a chance to look for the switch stuff yet?

Sorry about the delay, bow

been kind of busy bonk

...anyway

My '95 manual didn't say anything but see a figure and it didn't show much so I wanted to check in my '99 manual and I had a little trouble locating it.
Too many beers the last time I used it I guess and it didn't get put back where it belonged! beer

It's pretty simple I guess, as follows:
1. Removed IP cluster trim panel....you got that part whipped!
NEXT STEP IS FROM THE BACK OF THE PANEL
2. Turn the traction control/trip odometer reset switch assembly counter clockwise in order to disengage the switch.
3. Remove the switch.

The light switch is pretty much the same except it adds: Disconnect the headlamp switch electrical connector.

Then reverse for installation.

Again, headshot

sorry about the delay, hope this helps.

BTW, what you've done so far looks good! thumbsup

I like the color choice you made for the gray interior.
When I did mine it was a hot sunny day and I just laid the pieces in the sun for a few minutes and they got pliable enough I could roll them up if I wanted to.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Thanks! Got 'em pulled!

I used a heat gun on my pieces. It does make them more flexible but they still stick solid the moment they contact the dash pieces. I thought I had the alignment right on the piece I botched, and it was very close. Up around the vents the alignment is perfect, but it drifts off towards the point. You just can't tell on these door panel pieces (until it's too late).

The dash pieces are flatter though so perhaps I will not have as much trouble out of them. I really wish my 2nd piece #4 hadn't had that dirt spec trapped under the epoxy layer. Now I've got to wait again to finish my dash, and hope the next piece is perfect.

I'm glad I stuck it out with the dash kit and found a way to make it work. Looking at Rivs with stock interiors, they seem shockingly plain now. This has definitely taken the car up a notch.

Jack the R wrote:: Thanks! Got 'em pulled!

I used a heat gun on my pieces. It does make them more flexible but they still stick solid the moment they contact the dash pieces. I thought I had the alignment right on the piece I botched, and it was very close. Up around the vents the alignment is perfect, but it drifts off towards the point. You just can't tell on these door panel pieces (until it's too late).

The dash pieces are flatter though so perhaps I will not have as much trouble out of them. I really wish my 2nd piece #4 hadn't had that dirt spec trapped under the epoxy layer. Now I've got to wait again to finish my dash, and hope the next piece is perfect.

I'm glad I stuck it out with the dash kit and found a way to make it work. Looking at Rivs with stock interiors, they seem shockingly plain now. This has definitely taken the car up a notch.

I got some vinyl prep stuff with mine, it definitely made the pieces stick real good real fast! giveup

That was one of the reasons I removed everything as you are, so I could work with it on a bench, I figured I would have a better chance of getting them right.
The dash kits do dress them up a good bit. thumbsup

hey where can you get that kit and how much does it run?

http://www.bdtrims.com/dash-kits.php?model=Riviera&year=1998&make=Buick&cat=US&action=Show+Products

_________________
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'95 Celica GT 2.2L • 5-spd • 165k miles • 0-60: yes

'98 SC Riviera • 281k miles • 298 HP/370 TQ • 0-60: 5.79s • ET: 13.97 @ 99.28 • 4087 lb • 20.1 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:30
3.4" pulley • AL104 plugs • 180º t-stat • FWI w/K&N • 1.9:1 rockers • OR pushrods • LS6 valve springs • SLP headers • ZZP fuel rails
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'70 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe 455cid • 116k miles
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thanks

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Small update - still waiting on the replacement pieces for my blemished replacement pieces. BD Trims said they mailed them out on the 15th, but I checked the tracking # wondering why they havne't arrived yet, and it said pieces were mailed on the 18th. Uh huh. They're also going regular mail this time instead of UPS. Man, I hope that doesn't mean it's going to take 6-8 weeks for them to arrive instead of 3 days!

On the upside, I asked about the cost of replacement pieces for the door panel I didn't get aligned just right, and the piece around the instrument cluster, which I have somehow managed to do an itsy bitsy bit of surface damage to. I don't know if I'll order replacements or not, but the price wasn't bad. It depends on whether these next pieces coming have any blemishes on them or not.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

Another update - I got the latest pieces. The passenger dash piece is good, the passenger arm rest piece is blemished again.

I sent BDTrims $30 on Oct. 23 for a couple extra replacement pieces (my fault on these pieces). I have yet to get even an order confirmation from BD Trims. I have emailed them twice, asking for my order confirmation, and have gotten nothing but silence. I'll email them again shortly.

What do you think? At what point do I turn into Mr. mad

? Are they trying to screw me over? I've got a record of the transaction through PayPal. How long do I go without acknowledgement from BD Trims before trying to take action through PayPal?

My dash is waiting in the next room to put the trim pieces on - it has been out and waiting since 27 September. Maybe I should just put it together with the pieces I have and try to get my $30 back. With BD Trims track record, they'll have to remake the piece around the instrument cluster 2-3 times before I get one free of blemishes, and it'll be December before I can put my dash back in.
I've got a couple little dings between the two guages by the stereo. It's not that noticeable. It will drive me insane because I know it's there is all.

If I end up going that route, I will 100% definitely recommend no one ever do business with BD Trims. It'll be a sad end considering how happy I am with the look of the installed pieces, but this is beyond ridiculous.

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8072 Merit : 105

It's done!

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 21_dash_outside

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 19_dash_inside

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 20_dash_inside_driver_side

The Riv badge really leaps out against the ebony zebra wood -

Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation - Page 3 22_riv

I had a smooth install up until I hit the passenger side dash piece. I got a few air bubbles trapped underneath the overlay. I ended up drilling through the dash from behind to let the air out. If that had been the first fix I'd thought of, I would have had a perfect install.But first I tried to push them out which just made things worse. I won't say that it's ruined, but it's "not quite as good as it could be."

I'm finding the gloss to be a little overpowering. If it could be cut down to 3/4's, the kit would be better. I would definitely not install any more pieces than this, it would be waaaay too much.

So far no one is guessing the kit isn't factory, or even picking out the wood pieces as the dash kit. My mother grabbed the dash pad and asked if that's what I put in. I was hoping my install would blend in well, but it is a little disappointing when people don't notice.

» Post pics of your wood dash kit here.
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