Interior Advice

wayne art · #1

Looking to upgrade my 85 Cab. Not sure what to do with the tired interior. Sun-warped dash.

staceybsnyder · #2

Gosh I love Guards Red and beige. So classic, especially in a cab.
In that car, i'd start with a really good cleaning with a mild soap to try and get some of that dirt out/off. You could also try getting some dye from https://www.seatdoctors.com/.

From the looks of it, I think a lot of that would come out or get a lot better with some TLC cleaning.

wayne art · #3

Thank you! I do love my '85 Euro cab. A- exterior; B engine compartment; C- or D interior. Everything works, including AC. Previous owner removed the (hideous) tray-table whale tail -- one of the few design missteps in Porsche's long history of great design.

Now, any advice about the sun-damaged dash? Was told replacement is a $$$ windshield out process.

staceybsnyder · #4

What exactly is the sun damage? I'm having a hard time seeing in that picture?
Is it cracked? Faded?

Differences of opinion make the world exciting. I absolutely love the whale tail on my car. It brings me back to the day I first fell in love with these cars. Lots of people don't like them though.

wayne art · #5

Thanks. Dash is severely warped at the windshield edge. No cracking.

staceybsnyder · #6

If it were me and my car, i'd spend the money to get a new dash even if it requires a windshield out process. Could be a good chance to put a new windshield seal in....and it would look amazing.

Tom · #7

staceybsnyder wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 1:50 pm What exactly is the sun damage? I'm having a hard time seeing in that picture?
Is it cracked? Faded?

Differences of opinion make the world exciting. I absolutely love the whale tail on my car. It brings me back to the day I first fell in love with these cars. Lots of people don't like them though.

Look where the dash meets the windshield -- very wavy and warped.

A good auto interior shop could probably make it look ok, but the cost of trying to fix up old parts can add up super fast at 2022 shop rates. On the other hand, you can get a new dash from Porsche for $985, which seems like a no brainer to me if you are going to go to all the trouble of removing and replacing the dash. I don't know of any way to fix it in situ, so if you or a shop have to R&R the dash anyway, it seems like a waste to do all that work and hope a patched-up dash will look good and last -- especially since it is unlikely to save more than a few hundred dollars. I think you are correct about taking the windshield out, but I wouldn't let that stop you -- windshield guys can do that in their sleep....

Also agree about getting the interior detailed/cleaned by a pro, and then re-assessing. A shop can replace that one seat section with the burn marks, but probably worth cleaning up first and deciding whether it's time to have the seats fully recovered. No sense in patching it if you ultimately are going to have the seats recovered...

As for the tail, I always thought they looked good on the full coupe, less so on the cab, and less so still on the targas -- but as you say, it's a personal preference thing. Kind of like saying Red is a better color than Blue -- which it is.

Edit, sorry posts crossed.

And I forgot to show the porsche replacement dash....

: 85 dash.jpg (523.55 KiB) Viewed 2012 times

wayne art · #8

Wow! Thanks for info. And the part info/price. This is a great site.

Re the whale tail: as a design guy I think they just missed the mark with the tea tray design. Looks last-minute, tacked-on. Very difficult to tastefully add such a dominant feature to a mature, refined auto form -- the classic 911 profile. Looks heavy, over designed and lacks the typical Porsche attention to detail. I think they agreed, as later spoilers were nicely integrated into the lines of the car, esp side view.

marshgator · #9

I'm interested in customizing the interior of my Irish Green '69 912 to match my Wilhoit 2.2L engine kit upgrades and wanted to know where I can get similar "Singer" style interiors, particularly the cognac color seats with textured inserts and brass grommets. The seats are obviously sold as a unit with the rest of the cognac color interior done by a custom shop in California. Any suggestions?

Tom · #10

marshgator wrote: Wed Oct 05, 2022 9:01 am I'm interested in customizing the interior of my Irish Green '69 912 to match my Wilhoit 2.2L engine kit upgrades and wanted to know where I can get similar "Singer" style interiors, particularly the cognac color seats with textured inserts and brass grommets. The seats are obviously sold as a unit with the rest of the cognac color interior done by a custom shop in California. Any suggestions?

Well clearly we need to see pictures of the Wilhoit engine to give you good advice.

That said, my sense is that if you want a Singer-style interior, your best bet is to find a great interior shop and set them loose on the car. Not sure what you mean when you say the seats are sold as a unit? Most shops will do a better job if they can do it all, rather than try to work around pieces already done... For what it's worth, though not really Singer-style, I had a shop to grommets, daytona seat, deviated stitching, etc. and they did everything from scratch.

: newdash1 (1).jpg (255.51 KiB) Viewed 1772 times

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