dash tops - any theories

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dash tops - any theories

Postby jpsmit » Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:25 am

As I am trying to get rocking and rolling with the GT I have a cracked dashtop to contend with. What have others done to repair/ restore theirs?

thanks
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Re: dash tops - any theories

Postby jpsmit » Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:08 pm

Well I went to my local auto upholstery guy to enquire after contact cement and made an executive decision that sometimes your wallet is your best tool. I am really happy I did. A conversation determined that leather was the way to go, so without further ado:

redone dash s.jpg
redone dash s.jpg (45.45 KiB) Viewed 1529 times


redone dash 2s.jpg
redone dash 2s.jpg (39.47 KiB) Viewed 1529 times


redone dash 3s.jpg
redone dash 3s.jpg (38.24 KiB) Viewed 1529 times


A leather seam was added so not exactly accurate but I think it actually updates it tastefully.
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Re: dash tops - any theories

Postby droopsnoot » Sat Mar 06, 2021 7:05 pm

That looks very nice.

There's quite a bit of interest over here because a trim company has recently purchased a vacuum-forming machine which can be used to re-cover dashes. They haven't got it operational yet, and of course for you the cost of carriage alone would make it much more expensive. A cover with a seam appears to be a decent enough compromise as I doubt it would be possible to stretch the material by hand far enough to cover properly.
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Re: dash tops - any theories

Postby jpsmit » Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:01 am

exactly - I actually looked into whether I could even create my own vacuum setup and decided it was too much like work. Likewise there is just dashes in the USA but they are well over $1000 USD - this was less than 1/2 that.
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Re: dash tops - any theories

Postby Colin » Mon Mar 08, 2021 12:28 pm

What an excellent job.

The tailored seam might even be a rare genuine improvement to an original interior trim design.

Proper craftsmanship. :)
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Re: dash tops - any theories

Postby droopsnoot » Mon Mar 08, 2021 7:01 pm

Yes, I quite like that seam, you do see them on some quite top-end vehicles and it's a lot better than trying to form it around a corner in a single piece.
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