"Does anybody out there know how to repair small cracks and chips in the plastic covered foam part of the dashboard and console?"
I have used a vinyl repair kit (automotive store). You get about six colors of 'goop' and a hardener. You mix colors to match your dash. My repair is mostly out of sight -- and I didn't get the color quite right, but the repair has held up very well. The repair is above the hood release, where your knee bumps the dash on entry. I know I have bumped the repaired area, and it has held. There had been a nickel sized area of exposed foam and cracked vinyl.
I was very impressed with the product, but it took more than a day to dry-- I may have not mixed the goop properly.
From: Bob Waldron
Dash removal starts with removing a portion of the center console from the shifter forward. I left the heater controls and radio in place.
First I removed the shifter retaining pin out of my automatic shifter, removed the shifter console fascia (4 - 7mm screws) and then the radio fascia and center pod covering the radio and heater A/C controls. Then I removed the metal brace connecting the top of the center pod with the center section of the dash. (6 - 7mm screws)
I am still not sure that removing the Instrument cluster is totally necessary, it sure seemed that way to me so I removed the top and bottom instrument cluster trim plates and the cluster itself being very careful in removing/unplugging wiring to the instruments and carefully removing the plastic wire stays and clips that attach the wiring to the instrument panel framework.
Next I removed the hood release (3 phillips) and the fuse box (2 - 10mm bolts). Long wire ties come in handy for draping all of the wiring over the steering column towards the center of the vehicle and tying them off to the frame. With these items off and out of the way, I went for the actual dash bolts/screws...
The dash has two 10mm bolts on bottom of both sides of the dash directly underneath the air vents, right next to the door jams. The dash speaker compartments also have two LONG 7mm screws in each speaker cavity. If your dash speakers are stock you will want to remove both speakers and unplug them from the speaker wires. (My speakers were replaced with Jensen tri-ax 4x10's with extra l-o-n-g wires so I left them in place.) With these items out you need to gently pry the dash panel off of the two tabs below the center air vents (directly above heater controls) and position the center section of the dash slightly above these tabs to prepare for dash lift off.
This is where a friend or neighbor comes in real handy. lift the dash off of the frame and rotate it slightly to clear the steering wheel. If you have not already unplugged the speaker wires, now you can do so easily by looking at them through the windshield. The air vent assembly under the dash also needs to be removed to expose the wiring sleeve. The air vent assembly has 3 - 7mm screws on top and one at the bottom (behind the center pod)
From: Mark W. Mumma