Porsche 911 SC Dash Trim Fascia in Wood

[Brian Fuller]

I'm restoring a 78' Porsche 911 SC. This is my first Porsche restoration. I have had some experience with classic VWs.

My 70's style poly dash trim was pealing away from the panel. I have some experience with wood so I thought I would try to use the old pad as a template and build one in wood. Here are the results:












Notes:

~Used 100 LB double stick tape to mount the wood (mahogany)
~I had to have some help; the glove box required routing the back to fit with the contour of the metal door. Paid a local professional wood worker to do this.
~Stained with Min wax "gunstock" colored stain
~I used anodized aluminum trim for tile to trim the wood panels.
~I deleted the bow tie vents.

While picking up a set of Fuchs from a fellow Pelican, I noticed a Grant wood steering wheel hanging from the rafters which got included in the deal. I've removed all the varnish to reveal a warm wood pattern. I'll seal with tung oil to keep the feel of natural wood without varnish.




All in all, I'm happy with the results.

All the Best,
Brian

PS. I can't thank my fellow Pelicans for all your posts and support. Could not do this restoration without your helpful input.

[sc_rufctr]

Great stuff! Thanks for posting.

[Insomnia]

Beautiful work.

[Fleetwood]

Well done Brian...I've been having the same dream

Please some overall photos and details of the glove box door

[Ferrino]

Cool stuff. Where did you source that aluminum trim, please? I've been thinking about doing something similar, but with suede-like fabric instead of the wood. But I can't find anything suitable to hold the fabric. I did see this extrusion on eBay, but $125 is a bit rich for me for something which must be generic?

[Brian Fuller]

Ferrino,

The aluminum is 3/8 inch trim used for tile from my local Home Depot store. It is not a solid piece as the one illustrated on your ebay link. The nice thing about wood is that it matched the depth of the original pad. If you wanted to have a veneer of suede or leather, you could use the following pattern (illustrated below) and simply glue the fabric/leather to the wood. I would use oak, which also comes in 3/8 in.

[Brian Fuller]

Fleetwood,

I'll post all the pics I have. In hindsight I should have taken a few more pics. The first couple of pics show the wood blanks before staining and cutting or drilling out for instruments.

BTW, this was a lot of effort. I made a practice template out of pine first to make sure the fit was perfect. It is just a lot of "measuring twice and cutting once" if you know what I mean. I used an epoxy to attach the aluminum to the wood before using double stick tape on the back of the wood to attach the wood to the dash. In one of the pics I added red lines which mark where I cut off the aluminum trim. The bottom piece of aluminum trim that was glued to the glove box had to be trimmed all the way back.

As mentioned, the glove box was beyond my skill level so I detached the metal backing of the glove box from the car and brought it to a local wood worker. He routed the back of the wood to fit perfectly to the metal door assembly.

[Fleetwood]

Many thanks Brian...excellent description and photos. Next step is to see if my track pal and "woodsmith" is interested in coaching me and probably doing most. Doesn't exactly fit into my lighten and sharpen program but the wood adds a richness and contrast that to my eye screams elegance...a term I've never heard used on 911 interiors

This is what makes this site so cool...dreams into reality on a regular basis

Any chance you can show some completed (or almost) photos from maybe outside the car (both sides) to get the total effect and see that lovely glovebox and mahogany band stretching across the whole dash?

My compliments. How many other parts of your project should we see? thanks again

[Ferrino]

Originally Posted by Brian Fuller

Ferrino,

The aluminum is 3/8 inch trim used for tile from my local Home Depot store. It is not a solid piece as the one illustrated on your ebay link. The nice thing about wood is that it matched the depth of the original pad. If you wanted to have a veneer of suede or leather, you could use the following pattern (illustrated below) and simply glue the fabric/leather to the wood. I would use oak, which also comes in 3/8 in.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm not looking to match the depth of the original pad, though, as this is going onto a flat surface. I'd therefore be looking for some aluminum trim/channel that is significantly shallower (like the eBay one I linked to).

[Brian Fuller]

My friend DeWayne Stephensen turned out a very nice 917 shift knob to compliment the custom wood dash panel:

[Lake Guy]

wood work and air cooled 911s - two things I like to play with.

Nice work.

[Brian Fuller]

Finished the car August 2016

[Brian Fuller]

I was inspired by Singer and covered the panels with a basket weave pattern. Purchased new ABS pockets and covered in vinyl rather than stock carpet kit.