Product Share: DashTop Replacement Door Map Pockets

[Dyn Blin]

Good afternoon all.  I wanted to share this product with others that may be thinking about purchasing.  My aim is not so much a "review" as a reflection if what you may expect beyond trying to judge by the pictures in the catalogues.

My door projects have finally concluded- new glass runs, new dew strips, new weather stripping and upper door stripping, interior cavity surface rust mitigation, new speakers, sound dampening, refinishing the plastics, trim and arm rests all have helped the rattles, wind noise, speaker fidelity, and best of all, not sounding like a garbage can was dropped when the doors are closed.  

As part of the process, I tried to salvage the OE map pockets at the bottom of the door.  I don't know if they came with the truck when new, but they were Ford parts.  Over time, the mounting tabs were broken, the plastic cracked where feet had met them countless times over the last 37 years, and the color had faded.  Although I'm still working on repairing and refinishing them, I decided to try one of few currently-marketed options.  These options seem to fall into 4 categories:  
*Auction sites & CraigsList for original pockets- most the findings are pricey and most have some kind of damage I currently have.
*Salvage yard finds- if this was an option, it was an uncommon one judging from the few I can find, and condition is usually pretty poor.
*Catalogues for carpeted pockets- intriguing, but I'm not sure of the carpet color I'll eventually install in the cab to match.
*Replacement pockets- slightly different design (more on that to follow).  

I went with the last option to see what came, determine the quality, and have something in place while I work on other projects.

Most of the catalogue products I've seen in LMC and NPD appear to be DashTop's (aka Palco Industries) offerings out of Reno.  You've likely seen some of their other products for door panels, dash overlays, those cool speaker headliner replacements, and others.  

Although available direct from DashTop's website, the base price is substantially higher than offered via LMC and NPD.  Add to that premiums for color, shipping and handling, it's a much less expensive prospect to order from either, with LMC's being priced best by a good margin.

Here are a couple pictures of what arrived:




The color match is perfect to the ColorBond "Saddle" I've used for some other interior highlights.

The plastic is a bit less substantial in gauge than the OE pockets they are replacing.  I will be reinforcing them with some bar-stock and/or bent steel rods epoxied to the "inside" of the pockets

Of obvious note is the difference in design, leaving the "back" of the pocket open to the door frame.  The inside bottom of the door acts as the backstop to the installed panel.

The bulge of the pocket itself sits a bit more outward than the OE, too.  In other words, it's "deeper" by about 1/3 of an inch.

The access openings to the pockets are roughly cut on some of the edges.  It's not enough to  make me break out the file and touch up the paint after more finely finishing them, but caught my eye.

Pics of of the new and original side-by-side (the dark blue 3rd panel is the OE):





Edit- back of pocket with reinforcement

 
I hope some will find these helpful in deciding if these will meet a need.

[Gary Lewis]

Well done, Mark!