I have a 1988 pickup 2wd with a blue dash. It has a short tray. This is it.



I found this blue dash. It has a long tray. It is from a 1984.



Other than the size of the tray I cannot see the difference. The seller says that in March 1987 Toyota switched to the short tray. The seller says that my 1988 hood above the instrument cluster will not fit the long tray dash, that I would have to find a blue hood from a long tray truck to go with the long tray dash.

This is the message from the seller of the long tray blue dash: "This dash will bolt on where your existing dash is, but the dash piece that covers your gauge cluster won't fit. If you look closely at my dash, you will that there is a corner above the vents, before the tray. your dash does not have this corner and is rather smooth. to make this work with your truck, you would need to find the other dash piece. Here is a link to another auction for a 4runner that has this similar dash. Go to the pictures of the dash and you will understand what i am talking about."

The picture the seller had me look at is this 1986 4Runner brown dash with a long tray.



I can see that my 1988 pickup hood above the instrument cluster is different than the 1986 4Runner hood. But I must be dense because I do not see a "corner above the vents, before the tray" that my 1988 does not have.

I cannot figure out why/why not my 1988 hood will not work with the 1984 blue long tray dash.

What am I missing that I cannot see in the pictures?

 

Figured it out. I saw a pickup with the long tray dash and parked next to it and looked through the window to compare.

The long tray dash has a squarish/sharp edge to it and my small tray dash is more rounded. Since the profiles of the dashes are different my short tray instrument cluster hood will not sit on a long tray dash.

I am wondering if I can cut the edge of my hood to fit the profile of the long tray dash. Has anyone tried this?

 

Your dash looks like it's cracking in the same places as mine - only on the right side of the dash tray. I wonder if they all do that. I put some expoxy resin into mine where it's been cracking to keep the cracks from getting worse. My plumber's kid repairs dashes for a living, supposedly they look as good as new when he's done, but I haven't been able to connect with him. Might be easier / cheaper than replacing the dash.

I saw these dash covers - http://www.dashtops.com/dashboard/buydash.cfm/5572 - but haven't looked into it in much detail. Anybody know if they're any good? From their catalog, it looks like the '87 and '88 dashes are different than other years.

Are those pop-out drink holders under your radio? If yes, what did you use for them and where did you get them? I just have a little tray on mine

 

I had been looking at pictures of old trucks on ebay trying to figure out the short vs long tray deal, and it seems that this is the typical place for the short tray dash to crack.

I know about the dash overlays that I can glue on. I have already looked into it as a possible alternative.

Those are pop-out cupholders. I think a storage tray could go there when the truck was new.

I bought the 1988 in 1989 and all it had was a big hole where the radio and storage tray would go. Bought a radio then had to buy a kit to put it in. The company that made the radio kit also had this thing that mounted on the bottom of the radio kit for for cupholders. Since I needed to cover the gap below the radio I also bought the cupholder kit.

This was a long, long time ago. I bought it at K-Mart or Walmart.

 

Well, I might be the first to invent this wheel.

The left is the short tray hood. Right is the long tray hood. You can see that the profiles of the edge that sits on top of a dash are different.



Left is the long tray dash. Right is the short long tray. You can see that short tray dash has a more rounded profile.



That is what I can see with my eyes. Once you bolt/screw in mismatched parts then all bets are off.

So, yotatech fans, can I put in the long tray dash and cut the edge of my short tray hood to fit? Or, will there be any gaps even after the trim job?

 

Still talking to myself.

I bought the long tray dash from ebay and the long tray hood from the local wrecker.

Need to remove the far right vent to get to a dash bolt. I asked the wrecker guy and he said "have fun." And would not remove it for me. Now I know why.

There are 4 metal clips. I can release 3. The right corner will not budge.

Any hints?

If I use too much force I think I will break the vent and spend another few weeks finding a replacement. I cannot reach behind the dash with my hand.

 

this is interesting. thanks for the detailed pictures!
my short tray dash is cracked in the exact same spot as yours.

plesae keep us updated as to how it turns out. i would like to replace mine someday

 

That passenger side vent is tricky to trying to push down on those spring clamps.

 

my 86 is cracked in the same place also hmmmm must be the weak link in the dash

 

i have a 86 pickup and it does not look like the brown 86 4 runner???? so the runner 86 dash is diff than 86 pickup?? im totally confused, my dash is exactly like your blue short tray, could it be the brown one is a 85??,,

 

The picture of the brown 4Runner dash with the long tray came from here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyot...QQcmdZViewItem

The brown dash was listed as a 1986 4Runner.

If you have a 1986 pickup with a short tray, well, all I can tell you is what I was told. You should have a long tray. But what I have found out in the past 2 months is that people mix up years and mix up the pickup with the 4Runner. So who knows?

From what little I have gathered in 2 months I think of my pickup as 1984-1988, and the 4Runner as 1985-1989.

 

oct 1986 I bought the truck new, this dash thing does get confusing it really would be neat to find out exactly what the heck toyota really did produce and style for the given years, i agree i never really seen any concrete info except i do know mine has the short impression

 

dang ive had that truck a long time

 

I would like to thank my mother, putty knives, and what is left of my credit card.

 

I know all the #'s on that card aren't shown but I'd black out or delete that picture or cancel the card.

Fraud is #1 crime atm.

This thread has been handy! Looks like your dash and the older (long tray) have different styling on the pass side vent as well (square).

I have the short tray (1987). For references sake! No cracks.

Our 2wd has same dash (short) and its cracked same place.

Think toyota will recall it? haha jk

 

then again the card is expire nm... lol

 

And the passenger side vent for my short tray dash that I was trying to save and reuse for the long tray dash does not fit the long tray dash.

After all that work, what a waste of time trying to save a vent that does not fit.

I know next to nothing about parts for my 1988 truck that I bought in 1989. But I could see with my eyes the passenger side vent was different. When I asked I was told they were the same. A direct swap.

Right....

 

I called that one

lol

 

You did....

 

Sorry I started this, but it is done.

Short tray dash and hood out.



Long tray dash and hood in.



On the right is the longer passenger side vent that goes with the long tray dash.