So your dash is cracked.

[ItsSunnyD]

Hello Friends, I recreantly was driving my car and got sick of the cracked dash. Also after my first season of auto cross I was under constant fear driving back home in the same car i had raced real hard all day long. I got fed up with this and decided that having a few more gauges tell me the engines health and current state would stop the fear of a total engine failure and allow me to enjoy the car more.

PS. To this current point I have already rebuild this engine down to rod bearings ,gaskets, clutch , ETC. Ive gone as far as powder coating parts myself and plating good hardware in nickel plating.

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To why you have clicked on this thread. Dash repair on a early 944. 1983 to be exact.

step 1: To start Remove the dash

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Step 2: Look at your current state of dash and take photos, more then me cause i didn't take enough

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Step 3: (Mileage may vary on severity and what you are choosing to recover dash in, I choose to flock it.) Remove Old vinyl carefully. My dash was a mini mountain range and I knew I would have to fill and sand so Plain foam to add filler to was a better option.

Step 4: The Crack repair part, All cracks need to be widen and dug out so the glue can fill and adhere. What glue might You ask? Gorilla glue the original. The foam on the dash i assume is urethane and the glue is the same and it expands to fill cracks. It also sands really nice and is really strong once dried.

Step 4.5 (optional) I wanted to add 3 52mm gauges where the center speaker was. Didnt have a center speaker to begin with . I 3d Printed the holder in ABS then used some expanding foam to fill gaps. In this step getting the general shape is the goal, dont worry to much smoothness, we will fix that soon.

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Step 5: Everything from this point on is going to get very messy and dusty. Get some drop cloths and or plastic sheets to cover or enclose the area around you are working.

Bondo time, Why bondo? Because I plan on covering the dash in flocking, The backing doesnt really need to be soft. If you were to recover the whole dash in vinyl, its recommended to use padded dash filler. That stuff is pricey but its got give and the pros use in in upholstery.

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Step 6: Step 5 and 6 will most likely be repeated several times. Sanding A cheap orbital sander from harbor freight and some 200 Grit pads. This step takes the longest and is messy

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[ItsSunnyD]

Take your time with step 6 and really try and get things right

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Step 7(Depends on your choice of covering ,I chose to flock it.) Covering the dash. I chose flocking, cheap and easier then most other options. Also it would reduce glare when auto crossing. Donut Media on youtube did a video on dash repair and did flocking as one of their repairs. I personally think it looks really good and its a lot cheaper and easier. For reference its like the green part of a pool table, velvet in texture. I used the name brand FLOCK IT, Awesome product and simple to use. The instructions on the application will be different depending on what brand but mine was as simple as Appling the glue then dusting on the fibers.

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The End Result, There are imperfections. It didnt come out perfect but is way better then before. Just take your time, read and research and all of this becomes really easy.

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[usury]

That's awesome work! Looks great!

[Ish_944]

The way you integrated those additional gauges is really seamless, fabulous work!

[pietermartens99]

Nice work!