[midniteblues]

Wow! That really blows.

You could make a peice of formica or similar shapeable material tinted lexan comes to mind.
Both materials can be had in all kinds of textures and colors.

You could slowly and carefully router in the oe pattern for the ducts and radio slots.

A peice of that cheap auto carpeting like the parts store sells,like the stuff they cover woofer boxes in.

Or you could try too epoxy in your patch plates from the bottom fill in and smooth out the top and vinyl wrap it.

I know its easier said than done but might not look bad at all.

Really not a bad idea too have speakers up there if you wanted a "system" so they call it.
I have some(dusty) new vintage radio shack speaker grills that would probably look ok on there.
but I see it's not what you want.

That dash pad looks to be the easiest best route though.