I just finished replacing the cracked dash in my 968. A shop quoted me $900 for labor which is crazy, so I decided to do it myself. I also installed the 968 CS steering wheel and a stock 968 shifter because I don't like the fit of a 996 shift ****. I picked up the new dash and shifter leather from Parts Heaven, horn contact adapter from my Porsche dealer, Dan Sandru let me have his stock shifter, and I've had the CS steering wheel all along in my 944.

First I took everything apart, labeling every wire and bagging the screws for each component [fortunately without breaking anything]:



The original dash was in really bad shape. Not only were there cracks everywhere but the surface was lifting and separating:



I'd noticed in the past couple weeks of owning the car that the gauge lights were dim and suspected that the reflective material on the gauge cluster was in bad shape - sure enough it was. I successfully did the 'foil conversion' that I'd first used to brighten the gauges in my 944 many years ago:



Thanks to Raj for pointing me in the right direction for the 968 CS/airbag wheel swap. I'd done this w/ my non-airbag 944 but the airbag wheel is a completely different story. I e-mailed David Greimann who shared his excellent PDF write-up for installing the 968 CS steering wheel with proper horn contact piece and the most elegant way in the world for tricking the airbag. The horn contact is a gold J-shaped piece and you can see a resistor in the airbag connector near the bottom.



And finally the finished product, plus a glory shot of the gauges while car is running to show there's no airbag light!!

Trevor,

Awesome work!!! Everything looks great, and I'll bet the CS wheel feels really nice.

Steve

Great job on the installation.

Was the condition of the dash from Parts Heaven what you expected?

Thanks for your comments Steve and Richard. The CS wheel does feel great...it's about 1" smaller diameter and a lot thicker than the airbag wheel, so overall it feels much sportier. The biggest changes besides the dash though are the brightness of my gauges and the solid feeling of a stock shifter with new fastener clip and vibration dampners. Now with the rheostat [sp?] at it's lowest setting the gauges are the same brightness as the highest setting before the foil fix!!

As for the condition of the dash, I'm fortunate to live about 10 miles from Parts Heaven so I saw the dash before actually buying it. They have a couple of black 968's and I hand-picked the new dash + e-brake handle from one of those cars. I drove the 968 yesterday and to work today w/ no rattles or leftover/missing parts, every switch functions and every light works as well so I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out!

Nice work ! I'd like to get my guage lighting to work better, too. Does anybody know whether it can be done without removing the steering wheel ?
thanks,
Donn C.

Donn, the cluster can be removed without removing the steering wheel. Its somewhat tricky and you need to be at a specific angle to get the cluster out. Once the cluster is out, chances are your bulbs are shot.
Trevor, awesome work man. Any chance Parts Heaven has any 968's with light gray interior?
Raj

Thanks Raj. The only 968's that I saw were black, but they were relatively new wrecks. Parts Heaven is always dismantling cars so I would give them a call and ask if they have any gray interior parts from previous 968's.

Hey Trevor,

Back in a 968! It's been a while.

Are you still living in Foster City? I work there now.

chris

Chris, I haven't seen you for a few years..! How are you?? Yeah I still live in Foster City and work in Menlo Park. Let's meet up soon and talk Porsches.

I'm not sure if I can make the NorCal drive on Saturday because I made a car stereo appointment now that the dash is done. I'd love to go for a drive this weekend though because the dealer is installing my limited slip differential on Wednesday!

Other than the body colored belly button cover for the rear trunk lock the CS wheel has to be my favorite mod. It really transforms how you drive.

Looks great,

Hey Raj, try these guys...

http://www.20thstreetauto.com/cars/car233/index.htm

They have a 93 coupe with a grey interior.

Jeff, nice to see you join us. How are things going?
You know a very special 968 cabriolet ended up in NJ again
Thanks for the update. I will give them a call.
Raj

So I hear, they're sprouting up like weeds these days , not so with those Riviera cabs!! Still just one. I'm doing well. I'll stop by more often. Jeff

Yup, I'm happy and not happy about the new NJ ride!

Damian, I totally agree. I went from really liking this car when I bought it from Scott to absolutely loving it w/ the CS wheel, shifter, and new dash!!! I don't know how exactly, but the thicker rim and smaller diameter of the wheel makes the power steering FEEL slightly less assisted and the car like its cornering on rails.

It's good to see you posting Jeff. Remember we met briefly back in Hershey '03? This thread is becoming the 968 family reunion topic for me. I'm stoked to be getting back in touch w/ everyone around here.