Dash Top

I know I shouldn't like it, but I do.

My dash has a one-inch crack that I have halted with perpendicular slices across the ends. Don't know how long it'll hold, but it hasn't got any bigger in the past year. My preferred choice of repair was to send it to Dashboard Restorations when I'd saved some pennies - http://www.dashboardrestorations.co.nz/ - but if the leather condom ends up to people's liking then I could be tempted. Far cheaper than a restoration...
 
The one thing I dont like about these leather covers,be it P6 dashtop or TR6 dash,crash pad or H frame covers is the stitching folds!
I know some will think it give the car a touch of the expensive look!
I prefer the smooth lines as per original!
If you were to do a P6 then you would have to do the rounded top section of the dash switch panel,maybe the center console,g/lever and h/brake panel!
Must be easier and cheaper to find an original good replacement s/h item!!
 
You're right, Pilkie. I was sitting in the car last night trying to imagine it with the leather dash, and it's the stitching that throws me. Looks good in isolation, like say the photo on eBay, but the red just doesn't go with anything in the car. Maybe with black instead? Red looks bling, though. Might go well in symes's hot rod?
 
WarrenL said:
You're right, Pilkie. I was sitting in the car last night trying to imagine it with the leather dash, and it's the stitching that throws me. Looks good in isolation, like say the photo on eBay, but the red just doesn't go with anything in the car. Maybe with black instead? Red looks bling, though. Might go well in symes's hot rod?
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Warren, stitching comes in a variety of colours (including black) - I showed red because my car has a red leather interior (so red, my wife says it looks like a pimps car). Handbrake/gearstick covers also available in same way. I live in a hot climate which destroys plastic and rubber for a hobby, so what I am interested in is whether they fit and are a good replacement for vinyl, given the (not inconsiderable) money?

ATB Ray
 
You're right, I see further down the bit about visiting their shop for other options. Not an eBay store though, so far as I can see. Looks like you have to contact them in an old-fashioned way. As far as cost goes, it's actually not bad. Dashboard Restorations quoted NZ$500-$600 to redo my dash, so go figure. Mind you, their work is exemplary. Anyway, the leather dash at about NZ$150 (not including gluing etc) sounds like a good deal to me. Of course, the devil will be in the detail. Who's willing to be the first Forumer to take the plunge and report back?
 
Thinking out loud here . So don't beat me up .
If your dash is cracked and as it seems rather expensive to replace . Has anyone considered :
Filling the crack with epoxy and sanding flat / flush .
Using a heat gun - wrap the whole dash in black [ or Almond ] vehicle vinyl wrap .
That stuff is UV treated and more recently cheap as chips . Use your wife's hair dryer .
As I said - thinking out loud . Its just something I would try before going top shelf and getting my wallet dented .
Gerald
 
You may well be on to something there Gerald, there is a whole host of different vinyls available, I myself might fancy a leopard skin effect :LOL: or chrome though with that option sunglasses would be a must.
There is a whole range of psychedelia out there I am sure, you could easily get that late 60's and 70's flower power groove goin on :mrgreen:

Now where was my coat, I think all that acid has affected my eyesight (well JW tonight)

Graeme
 
I have no problem spending some decent coin on getting the dash sorted. I've long since learned that you get what you pay for. But, a) one must have the required coin on hand; b) one must feel afterwards that it was money well spent. Therefore DR are still in the front-running. I've seen a few examples of their work close-up and it's worth the expense. It would pay to OK the vinyl choice beforehand though, to which end Graeme acquired a couple of samples from DR some time ago.

Just remember, you will appreciate the quality long after you've forgotten the price, so don't skimp. If the leather dashtop is good, then 69 squids is bugger all.

Of course if you want a once over with some shrink wrap and Mrs Gerald's hair dryer, Gerald is your man. For those on a budget he will do a quick bog-and-sand: you can paint it yourself afterwards to save cash. When my old Land Rover cracked a piston, Gerald offered to replace it with a turned piece of 4x4 for a dozen Steinies, and he does house repairs too! Not only that, he's an expert tree surgeon, which can be seen here: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=18570
 
Jeez - Im glad I asked you not to beat me up .
Who told on me about my house repairs and McGiver work on land rovers.
My work is never done . So much to do .
Bloody communists holding me back from saving the world
 
That's the trouble with Communism, Gerald. Everybody's equal. Superheroes aren't allowed to be super. You think you're having trouble now? You'll get nothing at all done if the Lefties get into power this year. They'll send Russell Norman over to hug your trees and lie in front of your chainsaw, and you'll be forced to give up your V8 for a 500cc high-boost forced-induction hybrid electric hydrogen-powered water-emitting carbon-neutral Ford Fester. A green one. And you'll need a safety certificate for your high-viz hemp-based superhero cape.
 
WarrenL said:
That's the trouble with Communism, Gerald. Everybody's equal. Superheroes aren't allowed to be super. You think you're having trouble now? You'll get nothing at all done if the Lefties get into power this year. They'll send Russell Norman over to hug your trees and lie in front of your chainsaw, and you'll be forced to give up your V8 for a 500cc high-boost forced-induction hybrid electric hydrogen-powered water-emitting carbon-neutral Ford Fester. A green one. And you'll need a safety certificate for your high-viz hemp-based superhero cape.
Click to expand...

The only thing that bothers me about all your rhetoric - you are so right
Gerald
 
WarrenL said:
That's the trouble with Communism, Gerald. Everybody's equal. Superheroes aren't allowed to be super. You think you're having trouble now? You'll get nothing at all done if the Lefties get into power this year. They'll send Russell Norman over to hug your trees and lie in front of your chainsaw, and you'll be forced to give up your V8 for a 500cc high-boost forced-induction hybrid electric hydrogen-powered water-emitting carbon-neutral Ford Fester. A green one. And you'll need a safety certificate for your high-viz hemp-based superhero cape.
Click to expand...

Warren,

I have been scrolling through the photos of your car on your photobucket link and I think that the Rover P6 is the only car in the world that can truly get away with being a vision of Tobacco Leaf loveliness...The colour is so '70's and yet looks absolutely fantastic on your Rover!

I also think you Aussies and Kiwis are as mad as March Hares!!

ATB Ray
 
I also think you Aussies and Kiwis are as mad as March Hares!!

ATB Ray[/quote]

There's an element of sanity that comes out of being a bit nuts .
 
ethelred wrote,...
Is it a fairly straightforward procedure to swap dashboards?
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The dash tops are held on by a multitude of fixings, mostly studs with tiny nuts. You'll need to pull your instruments forward so that you can reach in behind so as to release some of the nuts. The available space is minimal, so it won't be a quick swap.

Ron.
 
I do have a spare dash top that has been recovered in vinyl. I obtained it from a fellow Rover Owner's Club member, and it was he who had it recovered. I'll post a photo later today or tomorrow.

Ron.
 
SydneyRoverP6B said:
The dash tops are held on by a multitude of fixings, mostly studs with tiny nuts. You'll need to pull your instruments forward so that you can reach in behind so as to release some of the nuts. The available space is minimal, so it won't be a quick swap.

Ron.
Click to expand...

Thanks. As I suspected.

There are some jobs I am very good at and some I will screw every time.

This is a job to pay a professional to do rather than risk any damage.

As for repairing a cracked dashboard, I would try Milliput - in fact I might try this on the cracked old dashboard because there is nothing to lose.

I once used Milliput to repair a huge corkscrew crack on a P5 steering column with reasonable success.
 
raylish said:
...I think that the Rover P6 is the only car in the world that can truly get away with being a vision of Tobacco Leaf loveliness...The colour is so '70's and yet looks absolutely fantastic on your Rover!
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Thank you, Ray. As I've related around here somewhere, I had the perfect opportunity to change the colour when the car was dismantled for a bare-metal respray in 1999. But I didn't... I couldn't...

Now, I have a wife, young children, a mortgage and a full-time job. If I didn't give the inner madman a little loose rein every now and then, I'd soon go crazy.
 
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