Dubbed743

I had my stock upper dashboard recovered ~10 years ago due to a crack, and at the time I decided to go with black vinyl (despite having a marine blue interior) due to the cost difference. Over time the glue has lifted and I'm now thinking about circling around and doing it correctly with color matched vinyl or leather.

As far as I can tell, I have the following options here in 2022:

- Try to find someone willing to part with their stock Marine Blue Dash ($2k & unknown period of time?)
- Purchase a custom commissioned Marine Blue dash from Porsche Classic ($5k & 9+ months?)
- Purchase a Sierra Madre repo dash and have Sierra Madre send it to me completed ($2k & unknown timeframe)
- Purchase a Sierra Madre repo dash and ship it off to get covered at either Autobahn Interiors or Classic 9 Leathershop ($2k & unknown timeframe)
- Re-Recover my stock dash (or purchase another cracked one) and ship it off to get covered at either Autobahn Interiors or Classic 9 Leathershop ($1.5k & unknown timeframe). Also curious if stock dashes ever warp, as I'm worried mine may be looking a little crooked recently (but it may just be the vinyl lifting)...

Looking for advice from those who have recently undertaken this adventure.


Thanks!

darylbowden

I haven't undertaken it recently with my 964 but I've dealt with this on plenty of classic cars. I think the only good option is the last one.

You're never going to find a marine blue dash and if you do, it's just as old as yours is and so even if it looks better now, it won't last. They just crack as they age under most circumstances.

Paying 5k+ for a Porsche classic one only makes sense if this is a concours car (I'm assuming it's not)

Buying repro dashes just doesn't make sense to me if you have an OEM dash (or can get another one). If you're going to recover it anyhow, it doesn't need to be in perfect condition, just needs to be structurally strong. Spending the extra money for a repro just seems silly.

Lastly, anything can warp if the conditions are right. I haven't seen the 964/911 dashes warp any more than others of their era though. I've got a few in my garage and while they have split and have cracks, they are generally pretty straight.

cwrm4

Have you tried http://www.autobahnparts.com? They handle (or least did, I think they still do) all the parts removed from the Singer "donors". I don't think finding an original in decent shape is impossible. They found a decent marine blue sunroof headliner panel for me a few years ago. For example right now Autobahn has an excellent marine blue center console on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/23355209864...kAAOSwzTFejOXq

The problem with all of your options other than finding an original one is that the color/grain will never match the other original bits.