jarroyo

I began this as just a dash repair to fix the cracks but it became whatit is now when I decided it would look cool if the two pieces of the dash were one. so with a little shadetree engineering and patience I ended up with what I think is a cool one off dash for the 928.

I began by sanding the entire dash with 120 grit to roughen up the surface. Then I mounted the lower console to the dash via the OEM mounting points, and rivets. I then used Bondo body patch to cover the seam, and dash temp sensor hole. This is the end result.


Then it was time to fill in all the cracks and seams where the two pieces met. I used fiberglass reinforced bondo to fill the cracks and seams and regular bondo body filler to raise some of the areas up in order to eliminate the contour change from one piece to another.

After that I began the long task of shaping and sanding. being carefull keep it even all the way across the entire dash. After the rough sanding was finished I had to go back in and fill in some areas where air pockets had formed with more filler. Once I was satisfied with that I sanded the entire thing with 80, 120, 180, 200, and 300 grit until I had a paintable surface.
(sorry forgot to take a picture of this)
Then I applied 2 coats of SEM texture coating to the dash allowing 30 minutes between coats. The end result was more than I had expected.

whitefox

It looks great, IMO I think it should be smoother though.

SharkSkin

Interesting idea... though you might not be so happy about it the next time you need to fix some little thing, and the project starts with "simply remove the center console"... YMMV

jarroyo

I'm contemplating putting a coat of sealer on it to smooth it out a bit but it looks rougher in pics than it actually is.

Bill Ball

I rather like the look. There aren't too many things I can think of where the console comes out. It does look over textured. Maybe a light sanding. Sure, could be exaggerated by the photos.

Bill Ball

Oh, what are you doing with the temp sensor?

Ron_H

May I suggest that you bear in mind sun reflecting off of the surface into your eyes and the inside surface of the windshield? I made the mistake of not using a dulling agent on my NOS factory dash replacement when I painted it to match the other interior pieces that had been resprayed with SEM dye. It is definitely too shiny and I will search for a dulling agent I can apply to the dash while it is in the car. In bright sunlight, a "whitish" glare can be seen in the windshield directly in my field of vision from the pod and the dash. The best solution not considering durability seems to be the Ferrari black fuzzy dash material. The stock 928 material offers a compromise, but with a grainy texture to break up the light. I suggest not finishing the surface too smoothly to maintain this objective.

jarroyo

Well since it was nonfunctional to begin with I say "f" it. The wiring going to it along with the wiring for the radio and clock were all hacked off by the P.O. Is it a necessary item?

Ron_H

I had always regarded such items as AC and power anything as frivolous and unnecessary extra weight. Hey, if you were hot, open a window; if you were cold, wear a coat. Who needed extra weight? Date only thin girls too !!!

But since I have experienced my 928 with functioning climate control, I have changed my mind. Once performing properly, it is a plus, particularly on long higher speed drives. Guess it's my age, but I regard it as part of the package of a GT car now. Sort of like celibacy.......it is OK, but I'm glad I'm not.

Jim_H

There may be some drawbacks to it but I think it looks great.

Champagne

Well done
Nice to see examples of thinking "out of the box"

I think that if you redesign the front facia carefully, you can bypass the need to remove the center console for most issues.

Paul

Jim M.

Looks good and I like the texture.

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS 5-spd

OrionKhan

I like the texture, as well.

I'm wondering if it would be more trouble to go through this process just to put and repaint or just just have the dash/pod covered in leather.

Fabio421

I don't see why you couldn't just relocate the sensor somewhere else. But I believe it was put there for a reason. If it's too low it will read cooler than the average and if its mounted too high in the car it would read higher temps. Try to mount it somewhere inconspicuous but near the middle of the height of the car.

BTW I am just talking out of my @$$. I am assuming that it would work this way.

Champagne

I might be biased, but I think that the look, feel and smell of a nicely tailored piece of leather is hard to beat.

Paul