DIY Singer style Dash build

[AG81]

Beautiful..... I fumbled with a few different backings. In the future I will utilize PCB.

[thor66]

any plans to make and sell these parts?

[alexandervdr]

Originally Posted by thor66

any plans to make and sell these parts?

no, that's why I document it step by step, so at least others could give it a try

[alexandervdr]

In each project, there are these moments where a smal step gives a big feel. This step was one of those. Today I cut the middle panel where radio and heater controls have to fit in. It's an exercise in 'measure twice (or more) , cut once' so that everything fits and is aligned as it should.

Never thought this laser thing would be of such a help. I would say it's almost an absolute requirement to have perfect fit, there are juts not enough straight lines on the Porsche body frame to use as a reference.

Still lots of things to figure out, but progress is there

[megerian]

I love that people do these kinds of things. Some of them inspire us to do similar projects, other times its simply a case of "I would never try that, but I am happy see someone else doing it". So many skilled people in this forum!

[alexandervdr]

As described earlier, I have been able to take off all the foam trim of the dash front without any damage. In europe a full sets goes close to 1500€, so that is a lot of value, and I don't want to cut that in pieces to cover whatever of the dash is not covered by the PCB boards. That is basically everything above the red line on the (internet) picture below. I'll have to figure out a way to fabricate that myself. Spae can be cut and sanded in any material, but more challenging is how to cover it so it gets a factory like finish.



I have found some textured vinyl that does not have a textile backing. So it can stretch in any direction with some heath applied.
The test sample I experimented on was a block of balsa wood.



The vinyl is quite stiff, but a heat gun turns it flexible and stretchable. Before heating contact glue is applied to the back and to the balsa block



The vinyl wraps nicely to the squarest of corners without wrinkles, the glue keeps everything in place.



Once the edges are trimmed off, very hard to see this not an industrial manufactured part. The surface texture of the vinyl is not exactly as OEM Porsche though, but should do it. In the meantime I try to find other sources. All-in-all this technique seems to work so I can start working on these parts. I may not use balsa wood, but water proof mdf for increased form stability and surface strength.

[myamoto1]

Take a look at the green HMR board - not sure you can buy it thick enough, for your needs, but you could layer it as needed. Full disclosure, I've never used it but am very interested in trying it out for other projects around the shop.

[911 SLANT]

Where did you get the aluminum trim around square vent?

[alexandervdr]

Originally Posted by myamoto1

Take a look at the green HMR board - not sure you can buy it thick enough, for your needs, but you could layer it as needed. Full disclosure, I've never used it but am very interested in trying it out for other projects around the shop.

thanks for the HMR board tip, I do my test installation (see upcoming post) with water resistant mdf but I find it a bit flimsy.

[alexandervdr]

Originally Posted by 911 SLANT

Where did you get the aluminum trim around square vent?

it's brass U channels, I pictured them in earlier posts. They have been chromed/nickel-ed in the meantime. But I do all the test mounting with spare ones so I don't damage the chrome.

[myamoto1]

Here's where I was introduced to HMR:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw-oXjuAKjc

[alexandervdr]

After my experiment with the vinyl covering, time to make some real parts. Because the whole dash front alignment starts with the right air vents, the glovebox is the first candidate.

I could not get the door aligned left to right side. I checked with an angle gauge (from RC model helicopter, my other hobby) , and indeed the angle between the top and bottom of the frame was different left to right. Some careful pressure and some patience and all was fine.





I used some 9mm mdf board modelled to shape with a Dremel tool. This is before the sanding to a smooth finish



The board and the vinyl covered with contact cement, ready for putting together.



It does have the right looks I dare say, although this is just a test set-up to dimension everything and test out the process before using final parts.



And one more test mounting in the car , the shut line between the panel and the vents is perfectly straight. A lot better than with the OEM panel for sure

[911 SLANT]

Looks Great!

[myamoto1]

Fantastic!

[alexandervdr]

So, time to go to the radio/heater control area. First step is to put the heater control panel and mechanica l assembly back in. The back of the plastic panel will now be flush with the chassis, putting it some 3-4 mm deeper than when supported in the foam front panels. Doing so, the PCB panels can be mounted over it, no need for cutting and trimming whatsoever. Remember I aim at keeping all the existing parts original, cause they are too valuable to start modifying them. This plastic heather frame alone costs about hundreds of dollars. Before putting it back in, the electric contacts were cleaned and some dielectric paste was applied agains corrosion.



The panel fits neatly against the chassis das frame.



After endless cutting and filing , the PCB panel fits nicely. The gaps around the radio allow for the vinyl to be pulled over and glued to the back of the panel.



Once (test) covered with the vinyl , the looks change for the good. No more spare brass U channels left to put on the bottom, but you het the idea right?



Close up, we are getting close! The chrome heater control frame is from an 67-63 911, it's not as tall, a bit shorter too. It actually makes the control panel look more in balance with the rest. The original one grabs all the eye attention, while it's not really elegant (personal opinion...)

[alexandervdr]

One of the challenges in a project like this is to decide on the materials, and to get them delivered in time. So I try to order as much as I can in advance to make sure progress is not waiting for a screw that is nowhere in stock.

An even bigger problem is making choices: which knobs on the radio (I ordered 5 different sets....internet pictures just don't tell), what vinyl for the front cover?

I ordered two different 'brick-weave' sheets. One that is 'New Old Stock', meaning it is 35 years old, never used, but almost certainly the color has faded. I got it in white. The other one is newly made in black.

Although the newly made one claims to be according to Porsche spec, it looks close but not identical to the NOS. The embossing is deeper, and somewhat larger hence the bricks look smaller. Material is substantially thicker too: 1.7mm versus 1.2mm. Overall impression is that in the white one the visual focus is on the bricks, in the black one it's more the embossing in between the bricks.

I'll try both on the car to compare (after recolouring with a hobby spray gun in the OEM grey-green)

[OneMore]

Thanks for sharing


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[wout]

Very nice project! Can't wait to see the total outcome.

[alexandervdr]

Time to move on tho the driver side panel. There is an extra complexity cause the brass trim strips are floating in space where the vent comes. That will never give a nice fit, and over time it's easy to imagine they will get bent.

This is an example of how it is relatively easy to do, however only after having spent quite some brain energy to sort out how to do it. Doing this kind of projects is 80% thinking/researching and 20% doing.



The brass strips float and are not damage proof...



A steel wire is bent to shape...



such that it nicely surrounds the vent frame



Because it's a PCB , I can solder the wire for a solid bond to the panel.



this is how it looks with the vent removed. At final assembly with the final chrome strips, the strips will be glued to the steel wire and make for a solid frame.



Some plastic bumper 2K glue (I love this stuff) is added for even more strength . The small holes are there to anchor the glue in the board.



Quite satisfied with the result. I used here the other vinyl I talked about in previous post, with the deeper embossing. Not sure I like this better, need to color it green to make up my mind. The ignition switch cover needs to be a smaller diameter too (never understood why it is so big?), now it covers the top strip. Don't like that ;-)

[jac1976]

Damn. Nice work.