If the InstallDate is simply the date without the "-" or "/" chars, just use Left() / SubStr() / Right() functions to grab the parts and reformat it.
 Code:
$InstDate = '20141113'
; reformat the date, adding dashes
$InstDate = Left($InstDate, 4) + '-' + SubStr($InstDate, 5, 2) + '-' + Right($InstDate, 2)
If you have a cTime value, it will not look anything like a date and will be a fairly large number, since it will contain the number of seconds since a specific "Epoch" date (such as Jan 1, 1970). The SerialDate or TimeConvert UDFs will convert these values. TimeConvert() allows you to specify an alternate Epoch date, which might be needed for certain data sources. See this page for more info on computer time Epoch values.

Glenn
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Actually I am a Rocket Scientist! \:D