Quote:

What I mean is the 2 outer speakers of the 3 speaker dash don't sit flush against the dash pad. There is a slight gap since the curve of the speaker grill doesn't match the curve of the dash pad.



Of coarse I can't see yours specifically to see how bad it is, but as far as I know, this isn't unusual. First of all, make sure you have the correct speaker grills. The 70 Challenger "J" grills are unique. 70-74 barracuda & 71-74 challenger "B" grills are the same. I imagine you have the correct grills, but I had to mention it just in case. The new dash foam is different from the old foam. The old foam would expand and contract at a different speed than the vinyl covering, which is why the dash cracks after the vinyl gets brittle. I suggest tightening the grills down as much as you can without stripping any threads. Over time, with heat cycles from parking in the sun with the windows up, the new foam should give way a little to the constant pressure of the tight grill, and the grill may settle down a bit. After a whole summer of driving, you might find that you can tighten them a bit more. This was the case with my 70 'Cuda Just Dashes pad several years ago. I've seen several junkyard E bodies where the dash grills didn't fit perfect, and they didn't appear to have been messed with since the factory installed them (until I took them apart). Some are better than others, and they've had 40 years of heat cycles for the foam to adjust. Another option is to carve out some of that foam from the side of the speaker opening to get the contour you need, just be carefull.

The other things you mention are deffinately legitimate complaints.

Tav