Wheel imperfections before spot repair. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is our 3-4 th time recovering the same dash. We are starting to see that they get badly warped from sun damage. This leaves an uneven surface for the new leather to bond to causing wrinkles in the new cover. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The dash was removed and stripped down to bare fiberglass. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
To prevent the same damage from happening over in the future we changed a few things in the material spec. The thread we use is UV protected and intended for marine use. At first glance the thread coloring is off. Fresh spools of thread have a wax finish over them to prevent burning or tearing during sewing. If you look close I rubbed the wax off in a section to show the color change. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Our hides are custom dyed to match original Connolly/Autolux Nero 8500 color code. The main difference is a protective coating we have applied for Dash panel material. It's normally intended for Aviation/Marine hides that need a strong UV coating to prevent shrinking. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Perhaps the most important stage of rebuilding a dash is installing the padding correctly. We use a 1/4" headliner material as the dash backing. It is trimmed carefully to allow the thread to sit down into a groove to avoid having a raised look. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
We have a pattern we normally reupholster 575 dashes from. In certain spots this dash is warped so some sections required a new pattern to get a perfect fit. This will help us avoid the stressed look in the seams. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Scrap pieces of leather are used to setup the machine each time. We measure for correct stitch spacing in length and width. Thread color is compared to original sample panels. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The first stitch is hidden and the most important to holding the pattern together. The cover is fitted to make sure this line follows the curves correctly. Once this is verified we follow with the cosmetic french seam stitching. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
French seam stitching complete. The sewn covers are soaked in water then molded over the dash for the night. This molds the cover into it's basic shape avoiding the stretched leather look on final installation. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Fitting the cover. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The custom pattern was a success. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Dyno testing. This car has Bradan straight pipes with Tubi mufflers. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47Nf4Neh6Eg&list=UUfXu0SFbT4oUfKa0lilOXow&index=1&feature=plcp[/ame]
Finished. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
