Tom928

I have a MY '81 that the PO did a really bad job of recovering the dash and the leather has pulled away from the vents and windshield. I would be interested; however, Im not sure how difficult and time consuming this task is and I have never recovered with leather before.

Could someone elaborate on how difficult this would be for a novice to undertake?

Many thanks,
Tom928
MY '81 928 auto Guards Red/Black 91K
MY '84 928s auto KilnRed/Tan 112K

Rob M Budd

It will fit over the stock molded vinyl that Porsche installed, not any kind of cover-lay. It requires the dash be removed.
The only way to secure it is with professional grade contact adhesive on the face and the underside where wraps around. It requires a few hours to remove the dash and surface prep.The cover itself needs some trimming and cut outs for the defroster vents.
All 928s had vinyl dashes. When Porsche added leather, they trimmed the vinyl and glued the leather right over it.

FlyingDog

TeufelHei, If by molded you mean vynil, that's the way they all start out. Leather dashes, pods, and consoles are just the vinyl ones covered with leather.

Rob, If you get this going, I'll find out if the early blue is "Navy" or "Dark" blue. I know it's not "Cobalt". I think it is "Dark" blue.

Rob M Budd

Here's a link on the dash removal procedure

Below there's a write up I did on recovering the dash a couple years ago.
Use pro grade contact cement instead of what's mentioned.

On a late model without the plastic defroster vents, I found glueing the cover around the slots without them looks and works just fine, just trim it carefully.

You can also add foam padding under the cover and it looks pretty good actually. Use a good grade of 1/4" foam made for car interiors. Make sure its trimmed exactly the way you want it before you glue it.
1/4" foam padding under the right and left side concave areas makes for an easier installation too.



Installing the covers requires great care and attention to detail. Each cover was fitted on a dash to insure the accuracy of the fit. You will be cutting the leather around the ends and corners and once its cut, there’s no going back.
If you have any reservations about installing it yourself, seek out professional auto upholstery and trim shop. They should have the tools and material to do the job.

I cannot stress enough the importance of being taking your time, paying attention to detail, measuring and fitting BEFORE you cut, a clean work area, and a solid work surface big enough to hold and maneuver the dash.

I’ll post the installation instructions here and email them to each person who got one.

Installation is as follows.

Tools & Materials

Exacto knife with several new blades.
Scissors
Contact cement such as DAP, 3M, Liquid Nails. Weldwood.
½” short bristle brush for the contact cement. Cut the bristles on a paint brush.
2” short bristle brush for larger areas.
Dremel or die grinder to repair cracks if needed.
Cone shaped stone for die grinder or Dremel
Fiberglass body filler or urethane flexible filler.

The dash should be out of the car.

Remove all traces of the old adhesive. CRC Lectra Motive Electric Parts Cleaner works well. Make sure the area is well ventilated. Acetone and lacquer thinner will work too.

All cracks must be filled. If the underlying foam is lifted or curled up, trim it off. Often the side edges of the cracks are higher than the area beyond the crack. and must be ground down. I use a die grinder with a cone shaped stone to create a V by grinding down the center of the crack along the entire length of the crack. This creates more area for the filler to adhere to and takes the high spots off the sides.
Fill the cracks with body filler or some kind of urethane flexible filler then sand it flat. Do not use silicone. The new adhesive will not stick to silicone.

Sand the entire dash making sure there is no shine to it.

Dry fit the defroster vent trim pieces. Note that they are left and right and not interchangeable.
They should snap in without much difficulty and leave just enough room under them for the leather. The metal area where the vent trim snaps in is very soft and can be adjusted easily for the vent.
Do not cut out the defroster vents in the new cover yet.

On a late model without the plastic defroster vents, I found glueing the cover around the slots without them looks and works just fine, just trim it carefully.
If you are installing a leather cover on a dash not originally covered in leather, obtain a set of defroster vents then trim the vinyl on the top and underside of the dash as follows. This is what Porsche did to existing vinyl dashes to install leather. A Dremel or die grinder with a cutting wheel works well here.
Trim the vinyl and underlying foam up to the width of the metal opening in the dash frame.
On the underside, trim off ¼” of the foam along both long edges of the opening. There’s no need to trim the ends.
On the face trim off 3/16” of vinyl and underlying foam on the windshield edge and 1/16” vinyl and underlying foam on the opposite edge. Do not take too much off here. The trim pieces need something under them to hold the leather in place.
Trim the ends just enough to allow the trim pieces to fit and cover the edge of the new leather cover. Fit the vent trim pieces making sure they will snap in place and cover the opening while holding the leather.

Make sure the surface is clean, dry, and flat.

Do not cut out the defroster vents in the new cover yet.

Dry fit the cover aligning the corners and seam across the top. Note the fit and how it lays on the dash.

Use good quality contact cement such as Weldwood, DAP, 3M, or Liquid Nails. Use contact cement that will go on with a brush, not an aerosol or tube. Aerosol and tube type adhesive will ball up and be visible under the leather.

Start with the corners (where the seams meet) and main seam. Apply the contact cement to both surfaces along the main seam and one corner and two inches on either side of the seam. Do not spread the contact cement out too much. Use a short bristle brush and apply a thin even coat. Let it dry per the directions on the label.

Fold the cover over on itself and starting on one corner, press it into place. Make sure the corner is positioned correctly. Hold the cover up with one hand and work your way across the center pressing the main seam over the raised transition along the center of the dash with the other hand. When you get to the other side, align the corner, apply glue and press it into place.

Once it’s secure, apply the cement to the top section of the cover and dash and press it into place. Cover the defroster vents; you’ll cut them out later. Extra glue around the defroster vents will not hurt. Always be checking the alignment.

Pull it snug toward the windshield side but do not stretch the leather. Press down with you finger into the defroster vents to create an indentation.

Once the top section is glued in place, cut a series of Vs in the leather along the curved front edge. The V cuts should leave about 1/8” of leather to make the wrap around to the underside and be glued in place. Trim with a very sharp Exacto knife. Always make small cuts in corners and curves making them bigger as needed as you progress.
Apply glue to the leather and underside of the dash and press it into place.

With the top section done fit the sides. Make V cuts to wrap around corners and curves. It’s not necessary to stretch the leather very much. Cut out the round duct outlets making slits so you can glue the flaps to the sides.

Next do the bottom section. Before applying glue, fit and trim it as necessary with the Exacto knife. Always make small cuts in corners and curves making them bigger as needed as you progress. Once a cut is made, there’s no going back so be very meticulous.
After you have the fit you want, apply the glue and press it into place.

Once the cover is in place, cut out the defroster vents by carefully making a slit down the center with a Y at each end. This will leave a small flap of leather on both sides of the vent and ends. Turn the dash over and glue the flaps to the vent edges.
Fit the vent trim pieces and trim the leather on the underside to allow them to snap in place.

To cover the glove box, use the same procedure. Remove the retaining piece, fit the cover, cut Vs to allow for curves and secure it to the underside, apply the glue and press it into place.
Reinstall the retaining piece and then trim away any excess material.

The leather used is the Porsche spec leather from Austria or Germany. As with the original, it is NOT pre shrunk. To keep it soft and keep it from shrinking, treat it every few months with something like Lexol.

TeufelHei

Awesome!! I'll take one whenever this goes down. I'm so glad there are options like this for me and others who really love thier cars.

TeufelHei

In a not totally unrelated vein, how hard would it be to get some door panel and interior quarters made? I know there are seat recover kits out there too...any info on this?

ROG100

Count me in for the center console and door pillars in black.
Can you do a cover for the airbag cars?
If so I want one please.

byrdman454

Do you have a picture of the GTS style A pillar covers installed?

Thanks

1981 Shark

Awsome work, Rob.

I'm very interested in black dash, pod, console, A-pillars and glove box. I would like to know the prices before I give a definitive "Yes"; right now it's a definite maybe... Thanks.

Regards,

David

hupp

Sounds like we have enough interest....any verdict Rob?

This will be better than any Christmas if things work out.

Rob M Budd

Not yet.

I haven't reached him. He must be staying in Florida a while longer. Must be nice to be retired.

hupp

Must be nice....

But on the bright side, he should have plenty of time on his hands to make some more leather covers.

69gaugeman

I will be interested in black

Mark Stahl

You mentioned the possibility of vinyl... if that also happens, I would definitely be interested in a dash and 2 A-pillars in dark brown. As it is, you can put me in as a definite maybe!

----
Mark
'86 928S
5-sp, Ott X-over

Flott Leben

Is there any easy way to modify the cassette box to make it larger and more servicable? Say, increase the height of the sides, maybe add some padding to the top and then cover it in leather? Has anyone fabricated a replacement top that can create useable space and a nice arm rest?