Dash and more

[Keshav]

Hello all,
NMNA...seeing this advert for the first time and in English too.
Brand new repro dash and other bits.......
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/bmw-e9-dashboard-replica/1077982223-223-644

 

[HB Chris]

Isn’t there too much grain in the vinyl?

 

[rsporsche]

i think so Chris. overall workmanship looks quite good ... a bit pricey though.

 

[floridabmx]

$5000? hahaha

 

[Bert Poliakoff]

Out of curiosity, have any of you folks had any of your dashes recovered? By that I mean stripped down to the pan, re padded and a new cover vacuum molded to it?? I had mine done in my E24 and as good as new as to match and quality

 

[teahead]

Wow, think that may be 2x Just Dashes

 

[OCCoupe]

Out of curiosity, have any of you folks had any of your dashes recovered? By that I mean stripped down to the pan, re padded and a new cover vacuum molded to it?? I had mine done in my E24 and as good as new as to match and quality

To answer your question, yes... Juan Ortiz.

And just dashes quality is falling by the wayside.

This is the dash Juan redid for me. He just redid the dash in my 2002. Excellent work.

 

[Bert Poliakoff]

There is another place besides just dashes in Oregon. Several E 24 guys used him 4-5 years ago on a group buy. The work quality was good. BUT the problem encountered was he is only good if no extra molding is required like "compartmentments" for change or that type thing which he just covered over. As long as it is all level he did good work. At that time he was around $600. He is still around and can be found in a google search. I think under dashboard restorations if anyone is curious. He is just a one man band.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Agree - Chris, grain looks too deep though much better than having cracks and holes everywhere. I was able to have the dash and grab rail covered in leather on a friend's coupe and it came out very well (I think) for about 500.00. It's also easier to install since you're not worried about cracking the vinyl every time you touch it :-( ugh!) There are seams around the gauges and across the top edge but if done correctly they can match the seams on the sides of the console so it looks like it belongs. I imagine you could also have it covered in vinyl for about half that price and it would still look pretty good. I was fortunate enough to get a crackless original but it's 40+ years old and will probably crack at some point so in retrospect leather is likely the way to go if you're on a non concourse budget.

 

[rsporsche]

yes, but you do have to worry about leather drying out, shrinking + cracking. my recommendation is to keep it well cleaned + nourished.

 

[HB Chris]

I had my top piece recovered in matching vinyl 12 years ago for $300, no seams and no deterioration so far.

 

[Alice Couper]

Agree - Chris, grain looks too deep though much better than having cracks and holes everywhere. I was able to have the dash and grab rail covered in leather on a friend's coupe and it came out very well (I think) for about 500.00. It's also easier to install since you're not worried about cracking the vinyl every time you touch it :-( ugh!) There are seams around the gauges and across the top edge but if done correctly they can match the seams on the sides of the console so it looks like it belongs. I imagine you could also have it covered in vinyl for about half that price and it would still look pretty good. I was fortunate enough to get a crackless original but it's 40+ years old and will probably crack at some point so in retrospect leather is likely the way to go if you're on a non concourse budget.

How will leather hold up in the sun over time, compared to vinyl? I am thinking of re-covering the dash in leather instead of vinyl because it's easier to stretch and work by hand. I went down to Just Dashes because they are 10 minutes away, and Jeff said a rebuilt vinyl dash will outlast the car. Presumably this is because modern materials hold up better than originals. Is this also true for modern leathers?

Leather may also be the right answer for my door panels as I'm considering a non-BMW leather for the seats. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Alice, If you're not going completely original then I think you can go where you want with the interior as long as it's simple and well made. In my opinion and from my experience the closer you make things to the original the better they fit and look but there is lots of room in that statement to use better materials, so the AC can be up-graded, better foam in the seats, more powerful headlights etc. so there are lots of ways to "feed your Frankenstein"