Dash cracks and bubbles in top of dash board

[kenny38]

I noticed a couple of "blemishes' on my dash. Having aspergers sent for the local leather/vinyl doctor. he arrived quoted $300 and spent an hour or so repairing.
Since then I notice the repairs are bubbling not breaking. Then my bloody sat nav fell off windscreen and made a hole in the vinyl. I was warned by local trimmer it wouldn't work medium term and the vinyl was very brittle. He told me that if I gave him the total dash he would recover. However he would not remove it/ put back on. So off i go to auto electrician in fact 3. All said that's a rats nest under there. Not interested. Far to many man hours. I would be unhappy with high cost. Went back to trimmer who was old school and sleeping off the weed effects. He said he could recover top of dash (where the damage is) and false stitch on leading edge. Is this OK do you think? kenny38

[Grant]

Can't you find another good one out there and then just swap them over Kenny?.. That's what I would do, anything other than that will always look repaired in my opinion anyway
They are very hard to find now though, I found a good 1 earlier this year over here, but they are becoming quite scarce, I guess the hot weather out there makes them crack even more so than here... How about Stoo Copeland out there? he's in the know isn't he?..
You don't really need an auto electric man.. it's fairly straight forward really, just make a note or mark the wires up when you/your worker removes it(if you find a good one that is)....there are only 2 wires on most of the clocks and a lamp in each one

[Basil McKinley]

Hi Ken,

Assuming that you can find someone that you can trust to properly remove and re-install you should send it to the The Dashboard Doctor in Coburg to have it professionally re-skinned.

http://www.dashboarddoctor.com.au/reski ... estoration" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You are going to need to find someone who cares enough to make sure that each fastener removed ends up back in its correct place. That person is a lot more likely to be a classic car specialist than your local auto electrician,

Cheers,
Basil

[Grant]

http://www.dashboarddoctor.com.au/reski ... estoration" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow.. very impressive that re-skinning procedure Basil
Go down that road then Kenny Aye, as long as you choose the correct vinyl grain then you're away

[Grant]

There's even a Interceptor Mk3 Dash pic on their website look >>>
>>

Re-skinned Int Mk3 Dash.jpg (158.29 KiB) Viewed 4129 times

[PeterHume]

Hi
Assuming that's a recent job at Dashboard Doctor, it's probably my dash and it looks even better with the instrumentsback in!
AU $850 and about 3-4 weeks - great service and reasonable price
Regards
Peter

[Dino Fritz]

Hi Kenny,

Yup, vacuum forming is the answer to your dash problems. Do it once, do it properly!

But, as you've said, the whole dash needs to come out first, and that's where you probably need some assistance. First, grab a XXXX slab (this is gonna cost you more than a six-pack) and invite your electrical mates over, get your Jensen Parts Manual and open up to the electrical page that shows the wiring looms. Explain that there is a wiring loom just for the dashboard that you can disconnect (hint, look for around three connectors near the brake booster - I can't remember if there's one or two on the other side too), then explain that if you remove the console side panels, there's another set of connectors from the dash to the centre console. Disconnect all of these, (maybe remove the steering wheel for ease of access), then remove the speedo and the glovebox, and you'll see two brackets to be unbolted (and some side ones too on each end of the dash), and the screws from the console to the dashboard, dissconnect the demist vent tubes and 4x aircon vents, and it should come right out - dashboard, dashboard wiring harness, instruments and all.

I kinda oversimplified it, but if you take it methodically, it really isn't THAT bad.

Then (out of the car, on a bench) remove the instruments, label each connector, and strip the whole lot from the dash.

BUT - just make sure everything is perfectly aligned prior to vinyl wrapping - send off the dash with the glovebox attached to bet everything vinyl wrapped - and ask then to make sure that everything fits perfectly before they wrap the dash and glovebox (they may need to sand back and/or add some bog to get it all to fit correctly).

And while it's all away getting vacuum formed, get some LED's fitted to the instruments (I think that Clive on the forum had a kit made up from a UK supplier). This is definitely the time to fit them!!!

Good luck KHB - Merry Christmas.

D

[Richie]

A previous owner had added extra warning lights to my dash. A mobile repair company came and sorted it for £200 or so...

[RAP72]

thats pure craftsmanship.