Dan Cobb

A couple of additinal pics of my interior project can be found here .

I just covered the guage pod in matching (cork) vinyl. I went with a black leather dash for reasons of simplicity, cost, availability, etc. I think it looks good, barring the wrinkles in my first attempt to recover the guage pod.
My second (and FINAL!) attempt will surely yield far better results.
(At least I hope!)
I also have installed the rear speaker grills.

Please tell me what you think about the modification. I like the effect after switching to the black dash, but maybe I'm too close to the project to see it clearly.
Thanks,
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kcirderf

Dan

Awesome job. You need to keep adding pictures to your album. What are you using for the windshield? Aftermarket?

Fred S.

Dan Cobb

Hi Fred, how are you doing?
The original is to be re-installed as soon as I am ready to do it.
If it breaks during install, I suppose I will be in a fix. I've seen new OEM units for $230 or so on eBay. I have not priced any others, OEM included.
Am I in for a surprise? Probably. But the whole thing will be just a small part of a greater adventure.
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Gost

Not bad Dan. When you get it perfect on your next attempt it'll be better than a pro could do it. I really like the color. I had a 73 Triumph TR6 that I did a frame off restoration over a year and the interior was the same color with a midnight blue exterior. Extremely satisfying and the awards and trophies give you a warm fuzzy. Took 3rd in class at the Vanderbilt concours up against Ferraris, Astons and the like. I know what you're going through and it will all be worth it. The smile on you face somehow becomes bigger when you finally get to show her off.
Good luck

Gordon

Dan Cobb

Round 2 photos can be seen here .
I am now ready to begin the sunroof repair.
I have the new cables and guides (upgrading to 964 cables, tracks, etc.) to prevent future issues (HOPEFULLY!)

Let me know what you think about the color mod to the guage pod area. I like it quite a bit. Now I'm seriously considering a guage face kit and ring covers.
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JackOlsen

Wow! Do you have a template for the guage area?

Dan Cobb

No I just covered the entire area and cut out the required holes with an Xacto knife - VERY SLOWLY!
I went too fast the first time and the knife slipped out and ran across the face of the vinyl. That is one of the reasons I tried it again.
Once you remove the original material you will get a pretty good idea of how much you need and where to make the relief cuts necessary to make it smooth.

By the way Jack, coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment.

I'm into the sunroof now. Got it & the old tracks out. I only broke 1 of the plastic clips that holds the air defelector in place. All in all, not a bad sacrifice to the interior upgrade gods.

More pics will come tomorrow for those following.
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Revvin_911S

Looks great Dan! Can you tell me a little about how you did the rear deck area? I am going to be doing some interior work soon, and my rear deck needs some help. Did you buy a new deck? If so, from where? The speaker grill install looks really clean as well. Any tips or details you could give on this area would be great. My goal is to put a new rear deck in and install rear speakers, since I have none currently.

DJF1

It looks really good, you may want to touch up a bit the bottom part. IMHO I was trying to visualize another color for the instument face but I think the original black is the best. You may want to take the instruments apart and remove the glass to clean the inside. When I did this on mine i was a mazed by the difference...
Great job! I'm jealous!

Dan Cobb

Blake,
The rear panel was the easiest part of the job. I purchased a pair of metal speaker grill surrounds from a fellow list member who cut them out on a CNC to duplicate the original size, shape, etc. They are so close to the original plastic frames that you can actually press the mesh grills from the OEM units into the new metal frames. I had them powder coated with the rear 1/4 window frames.

To flaten out the warp in the rear deck, I first separated the front panel from the upper. Be careful not to damage either one as they are stapled and glued together. Then cut away the original distorted leather and put a piece of 1/4" plywood under the original, marked it for speaker cutouts and basic shape. When I cut out the plywood, I cut it about 1" smaller on the perimeter and 1" larger on the speaker holes to make sure it would all fit back together.
I used about a dozen flat head machine screws (actually the kind used to hold a drawer pull or **** on a cabinet) with washers and nuts to hold the plywood to the underside of the original deck. This pulled the warp out of the original part. I covered it all w/ thin foam and then in matching vinyl.
I glued the heck out of it and stapled it for good measure.

One thing about the rear speaker grill install:
I have fairly tall aftermarket speakers. The tweeter is actually taller than the surrounding frame. This meant that I couldn't just slap on the replacement grills because they were 1/4" or so too shallow.
I decided to undermount the speakers on the deck to provide the clearance needed instead of using any spacers on top of the deck. Not a terribly difficult process, but one that took a bit of thought on how to modify the mounting frames and retain the original mounting holes for the grills.
If your deack doesn't have speaker holes and frames already, then this will probably be easier than having to deal with a mix of factory & aftermarket parts.

Danny,
I was trying to decide if guage faces were worth doing also. I have seen some light tan, almost antique white faces that I thought might look good, but I don't want it to be 'too much'. White might work, but then I'm thinking of the guage rings themselves. Mine are beginning to show some serious wear and they will need to be addressed.
The bottom edge of the dash was the only real PITA. I had to 'poke' the vinyl through the gap between the metal dash face and the black facia. It looks pretty bad in the pics, but in person, you'd really have to get close to see it.
I'm going to enjoy it much more than the faded original black material.

Thanks for the praise.
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Revvin_911S

Thanks Dan, gives me a good idea of where to start and what to look for. Ill probably be starting the project in the next month or so, Ill take pics to keep the board updated. Thanks for your help