Billy W

I wanted to put out a feeler and see how many people would have an interest in this, on the 928 board they have done a group buy on a leather dash cover that looks really good (and for the 928 is only 330).
Most every one on here complains about the cracked dash and wants a cheap way to fix it, so if we could get a leather dash cover for a good price how many people would want one? Look at the 928 board and they have instructions on intalling the leather cover. Here is a response from the guy (Rob) that is leading the 928 group buy.
Billy,

I work with a friend who is retired. He is an expert leather craftsman and worked on auto interiors for many years.

I handle all the details, material purchases, shipping, payments, grunt work, etc. He does the cutting & sewing.

Does the 944 have a similar leather cover? If so, we could do the same thing for the 944.
We'd need a dash and cover to start with.

There are some other issues with leather & color selection to be considered that affect the cost. You'd need about 15 orders to make it come out to a reasonable price. The Porsche spec leather is awful expensive, but that's the only thing most of the guys wanted.

If you think its worth persuing and want to put somthing together let me know. We'd need a dash and cover to start with. If you have one or know I can get one let me know.


Rob

Douglas_T

You might also think of both the early as well as late 944 dash designs...

Phil Harrison

Can you do this with an Airbag dash?

Billy W

I would guess that for each of the different dashes that he wouls need a template to work from and the quanities ordered for each would have to be great enough to warrant the time. But I will check with him and see.

Devildog2067

I'd buy one if we could do it at $300... wouldn't want to spend much more than that.

zehnd

I would like to know how it looks.

Have you any photos of vehicles done?

Edit

Okay I seen photos in the 928 Forum. Very nice.

This cover does need the removal of the dash to be correctly installed, so be prepared.

How difficult is it to remove the dash?

keith

Billy - I could supply a donor dash for an 86 - which would be the largest market - as long as it isn't destroyed or anything - I was going to recover it in leather myself for my use, but if I can be of assistance in getting another good product going for these cars, I'm happy to help out!

And, I'd be interested in a leather cover, especially if it had a double-stitched seam around the instrument pod/center vent opening...

Billy W

Yeah Keith when I saw that cover I remembered you saying before that you wanted one with a colored stitch around the pod. Once we see how many people respond we will be able to get a better idea on cost. Thanks for the offer up of the dash. We will see how this pans out.

RobbyK

I would not even attempt making your own leather dash cover. I spent months and it never came out right. The thing the 928 has over the 944 is the moveable pod and the material is slightly different with a more substantial frame underneath. The fixed pods of the 944 needs to have a special molded leather/vinyl other wise there would be a seam over the pod, and it just would not look very good. Plus look back a few years there was a thing called the dash glove it was basicly the same idea but did not work very well.

Marc Gelefsky

I would be interested in one for an airbag dash for sure.

Also, I have an old non-airbag late dash that I would donate to the cause.

Porsche-O-Phile

I'd actually be interested how one made of the German vinyl (to match the seats) would look - it'd sort of carry that texture from the dash down to the seats and across to the door panels so visually it might work well. There's a place in Atlanta (German Automotive Dismantlers) that has a large stockpile of the German vinyl for the seats they do, so they might be willing to sell enough of it or tell you where to get enough of it wholesale for a mock-up.

keith

Hey Billy - I was reading through the 928 board thread and noticed that the factory spec leather is NOT pre-shrunk. My car, for one, is a daily driver and trying to KEEP the new dash from shrinking would be a real PITA for me. Any thoughts on using leather that IS pre-shrunk?

Also, I'd also be interested in having leather covers for the top of the doorpanels done to match the dash....? (maybe a later project?)

Kalbo

Mark me down for one with airbag ....