so, last week i decided it was time to tackle my ugly ripped console and dash face. i got everything out, took off the old vinyl and cleaned it all up.
went and got myself some black and red vinyl and contact cement.

3 days later:

more

no holes yet ...

more ...

Andy,

Where'd you find the red edging material used on the console? I need to redo my console and this looks like the best approach.

Can't wait to see the red dash pieces installed. Looks great.

Nice job with the piping on the console edges.

what the hell kind of newspaper is that!

red electrical wire!

works great. the edge of the console is plastic with a large groove. i cut the vinyl from both sides to meet right in the middle, then pressed in the wire. i fucked up on a few spots, but that was because of my cutting. it looks great otherwise.

i have no idea how to stitch vinyl, so this was a fairly easy option.

i'll install it tomorrow and post more pics,
Andy

SF style ...

we get that kind of stuff here by the boat-load.
they have a whole section about girlfriends (read: more then one!) looking for guys to play with!
Andy

my thoughts exactly!!!

console looks great!!!

Hiedi

Very nice Sir...

sweet! i can't wait to see pics of it installed!

Nice!! (The newspaper is kinda weird) It looks great!! Post installation pics please....

done !

what i have learned this weekend:

lesson 1: don't assume anything to be the way you would like it to be. TEST-FIT everything before you put the double sided tape on it.

lesson 2: early style dash face plates don't fit very well around a late style steering column!

lesson 3: don't get dirty grease on your fingers when you handle bright colored vinyl!

lesson 4: a rollcage crossbar can interfere with the lower dash in a way that it moves just enough down to leave a small gap between the dash face and the chrome lip.

lesson 5: there are *NO* tolerances inbetween the plates, even the thickness of wrap around the edges vinyl is too much and the next piece won't fit right!

lesson 6: make sure you have *all* pieces needed to finish the job!

lesson 7: don't get mad at the chrome trim around the heater controls. yes, you'll get it off with brute force but it won't be pretty!

lesson 8: never, ever, sandblast the entire car!

i'm having a beer now ...
Andy

piece missing ...

i has been over 2 years since i took those dash pieces off, so i guess i just lost the last one that goes in the far corner. oh well, gotta redo the whole thing anyways.

more ...

That is cool...
I like new ideas and goin' off the board. Good job.

You forgot one thing

Lesson 9: SF Bay Area has freaky newspaper

KT

Trekkor, thou should not cast stones. By most measures, Napa is part of the SF Bay Area. As the crow flies, Napa is closer to SF than San Jose.

What no one has bothered to comment on is the fact that this was obviously done inside Andy's house, and there are clearly a set of mounted gravel-covered slicks in his living room. When I was w/o a garage, at least I stored my AX tires in the back hallway.

Great work on the dash bits. I've been avoiding a center console, as I rather like the open center section, but I'm reconsidering with such a nice job done. That roll cage also looks much easier to live with day to day than many I've seen. In particular, I like the forward position of the downtube near the A-pillar. Most are back farther (to clear the dash, rather than go through it), but that makes getting out a lot harder, esp. for those of us with older, stiffer bodies.

Nice work Andy!
It gave me some ideas...

Doesn't every major city?? San Jose has the "Metro"
Felix

i want to do my dash face in brushed aluminum

you guys think that would be cool?

Aluminum dash...

Newspapers are the least of my worries...Believe me.

As for working on cars in the house.
I do it all the time.

KT

Aaron, yesterday on "Trucks" they did a stainless steel gauge face. I looked pretty nice.