NYS roadster registration: dashboard padding

[Cutter 54]

I am interested to know if anyone has recently (past 6-12 months) had a problem or has insight about registering a roadster in New York due to inadequate or absent dashboard padding.
The printed requirements indicate a padded dash and sun visors for cars of MODEL YEAR 1968 or newer. When I called DMV about this I was told that the 1968 refers to YEAR OF BUILD, although this is contradictory to the printed information. Further more, just what constitutes the dashboard? Is it the instrument panel or is it the part of the body inside the cockpit, at the top of the instrument panel, below the windshield? THAT would be the first place of impact, aside from the steering wheel, in a decelerating crash.

I welcome useful, preferably fact based, input.

[egchewy79]

I'm not from NY, but there are plenty of forum members who might be able to help you out. In Ohio, there are some inspection sites that are known to be more lenient than others when it comes to some of these things. See if anyone can steer you in the right direction. I've heard of people putting cut off tube socks over the visors to make them "padded" to pass inspection.

[cfriedman67]

I registered my MkIV in NY state less thana year ago. You do need a padded dash. I think I used an 1/8 inch pad underneath the fabric of the dash. I covered my own dash. The dash is the sheet metal piece that the gauges go in and you need to over the whole piece. You also need to cover the sun visors as well. You can just rap them in a towel for the inspection.

[Cutter 54]

Thanks for reply. So the "dash" in question is NOT the short overhang of the body in the cockpit beneath the windshield.
I figured as much. Can I ask how you came to know the padding is required? Did you have a discussion with an inspector? I don't mean to sound like an interrogator but maybe the ruling is not consistently applied by all inspectors. Common sense indicates that a 1/8" foam padding will not offer much/any protection in a frontal crash if the occupants are unbelted. Maybe I ASSume too much. I need to decide whether to to take a chance with my wood veneer dash here in Suffolk or to go ahead and buy or make a new padded cloth covered dash JUST TO PASS INSPECTION. The visors don't seem difficult to pad.
Appreciate the feedback.

[cfriedman67]

No problem at all. Check out this link https://dmv.ny.gov/forms/mv529.pdf. It will give you the confirmation that you need a padded dash and visor.

[first time builder]

So according to that NYS list the only lights that need to be DOT or SAE are the headlights.

[cfriedman67]

Not sure if that is the case or not. I used the light covers supplied by FFR except for LED head lights.

[Cutter 54]

Thanks again, but this is neither news to me nor definitive. What I mean is the statement SEEMS clear, however there are problems in interpretation; let's put the issue under a microscope.
-First, MODEL YEAR refers to the year or vintage or iteration of the car as determined by the manufacturer. In my recent phone call to the NYS DMV homemade car registration office I was informed that the above words actually mean "THE YEAR YOU BUILT THE CAR". How about that? Would anyone who understands the English language come to the same conclusion as our NYS employee? No. Either he doesn't know what he is talking about, or he has taken liberty as someone in a position of authority and can INTERPRET language as he pleases. This is not good customer service.
-Point number 2: In general, a car dashboard will vary depending on the car's interior. I ask what is an actual Cobra dash board? The vertical aluminum panel which houses the instruments? Or is it the horizontal cowl on the top of the instrument panel represented by the fiberglass body protruding into the upper forward cockpit? Hmmmmm. A helpful hint here is that the regs indicate the purpose of the padding is to "provide impact protection for occupants". Where are occupants likely to impact the cockpit fixed structures in a deceleration event (ie. frontal collision)? The closest structure, aside from the steering wheel, is the TOP of the dashboard AREA, namely the horizontal cowl portion of the body. THAT apparently is what needs to be padded. Can I prove this? Is there a dictionary definition for "Cobra dashboard"? Will my conclusion stand up in a NY court of law? No, no and no. So what to do?
-To help out this poor neophyte mechanic wannabe (yours truly) I sought help from 2 experienced New York car guys. I was educated by an experienced hot rod builder who has been there and done that 100 times over for 45+ years and has built an FFR Roadster and (courtesy of the Club Cobra website) Rick of Time Machine, a New York Superformance dealer in Buffalo. They led me to the above conclusions. Based on this information I plan to apply some 1/4" thick padding covered by either vinyl or leather on the body cowl protruding into the cockpit and not touch my wood veneer INSTRUMENT PANEL (commonly known as DASHBOARD).
So thank you cfriedman67. I am glad you had no trouble registering your car AND I was NOT trying to mock your response. Rather I was criticizing how the written word is not always clear particularly when issued by a bureaucracy. I wanted to dig deeper into the regulations out of my own personal motives to determine if I NEEDED to replace my wood dash.
Thank you all for your input and attention. I will certainly follow up once I register my little beast sometime this summer.
Cheers.

[Blitzboy54]

You don’t need to cover to cowl. Do whatever you like but nobody in NY has ever had to do that. You might be over thinking this. I’m submitting my paperwork in the next 30 days. I would recommend just doing what everyone else does.

[max390]

I just put pipe insulation on the cowl for inspection in 2016. It actually goes on easy, conforms pretty well, and won’t damage the body.

[Cutter 54]

Appreciate the comments. I am considering switching to decaf…

[ggunter]

When I was at FFR they said a guy in Texas had the same issue with dash board padding. Tony said the guy used bubble wrap taped to the dash and sunvisors to get it to pass. Seems crude but if it works, play their silly game and get it through.

[Cutter 54]

Yes, I get it. I just needed to know what the "rules" are so I don't over do it and make a whole new dash for no good reason. Some of us have some OCD traits (who, me?) and reflex to overkill mode when they hit a roadblock. We old guys get cranky sometimes.

[first time builder]

My wife tells me I'm a cranky old man, my answer is YUP. Cant answer that she makes me that way. LOL