Can this be done?

[DougD]

Is it possible to recover the Cobra dashboard with new Naugahyde after the gauges have been installed? (no Naugas were injured with the creation of this email)

All but two - the oil temp and water temp - are fairly easily removed. But those pesky sending units would need to come off the engine and then back through the dash holes for those two mechanical gauges.

[Jerry Clayton]

Doug you can best answer that question by taking a piece of the material and seeing if you can work it over the guage---just for beginners---see if you can put a quarter thru a hole in a piece of paper that you have cut a dime sized hole---

Maybe Patrick can post some pics---

[Silverback51]

You can, but it will not look right.

You might want to consider making a slit in the material and slipping it around the sending unit conduit. It would be easier to then try to hide the slit.

[KevinW]

I reckon it could be possible, ............

assuming you can pull the dash out a little, and that there is enough capillary tube on those gauges to allow them to be pulled forward so that the bezel is proud of the dash surface by 1/2" or more.....

then I think you'd need to precut all the holes very neatly, and be located exactly where they need to be. If your dash is like mine (moulded, but not padded GRP), then it ought to be possible to prise the vynil naugu stuff over the chrome rim and make it stick down in the recess below the gauge. If you were a mm or 2 out wouldnt matter as the bezel will hide it. But it's going to be a tough call to get a complete set of holes in the right place imho.

be interested in how you get on, as i anticipate being in the same situation next year.

[Double Venom]

Doug,
In my past I will tell you "yes". At least for awhile, but all naugahyde, animal or not will eventually shrink enough to leave a gap between the gauges and the covering! BUT, if you can just cut the holes a little small then tuck the material in and re-attach the gauges tight - that should work! This will allow you to re-cover without having to remove the sending units!
DV

PS.. Suggestion; pre fit the cover, remove the gauges you can, leave the "Mechanical gauges in place for now...Glue, attach the vinyl/naug. along the top of the dash. Once that is done and in place now just pull the cover down tight to where it is going to be and then just cut/make a small 'X' over the Mechanical gauges. With the proper care you should be then able to trim around the 'X' leaving it slightly smaller than the bezel. Now tuck this behind the Mechanical bezel. Cutting out the remaining gauges is a piece of cake!

To try and cut the "exact" holes 'loose' would be almost impossible by hand!

[Clois Harlan]

Doug,

No offense, but do it right. Removing those sending units is a small task that you can do in about an hour if you take a couple breaks. A bit of advise if you plan on gluing the naugahyde onto the back of your dash take the time to scuff up the back of your dash especially about 2" in from the edges and paint it. It will make your adhesive hold better and last longer especially if you use some kind of solvent to get the old glue off. 3M green can of spray adhesive works best and its about $13 at lowes.

[DougD]

I'm thinking that I can start by removing all but the two troublesome gauges, then at the right end of the dash panel begin glueing the vinyl down all the way across the dash until I get to one of the two gauges with a non-removable capillary tube. Then I can pull the offending gauge free of the dash panel, and while holding the capillary tube near one side of the hole, press the vinyl across the gauge opening and cut around the opening as close to 360 degrees as I can, lift the vinyl back up, then force the gauge through the almost-complete hole in the vinyl, and then finish cutting the remainder of the hole? Will the vinyl stretch enough to do this? Then continue to glue it down across the dash 'till I get to the second gauge, repeat the process, and finally glue down all the way to the left side. The majority of the gauge holes that were covered-over could be cut out after the glue dries with an xacto knife?

I know this description is confusing - I know what I meant to say, but after reading the above, I'm not sure anyone else will know what I meant to say!

[Jerry Clayton]

remember that on a 2 inch guage it is aprox 6 1/4 inches around the hole---thats more than enough to work over the guage ( and without streching )

And I guess NONE of you tried the quarter/dime trick?????

[Blittleton]

Doug,

Are you serious? You have a high end machine and you are about to do something that is wrong in thought and practability. What gives? If you are going to be lazy about this then pay someone to do it for you. On the other hand it is your car and do with it what you want.

Bill

[DougD]

Originally Posted by Blittleton

Doug,

Are you serious? You have a high end machine and you are about to do something that is wrong in thought and practability. What gives? If you are going to be lazy about this then pay someone to do it for you. On the other hand it is your car and do with it what you want.

Bill

Easy, Bill. I'm not a hacker. I'm just trying to see if there's a way to avoid completely removing two of the gauges. Those metal caplillary tubes are fragile, and non-replaceable. I would like to avoid fishing them all the way from the oil pan and intake manifold, through the sealed firewall and up through the dash openings.

If it's possible to stretch the vinyl a bit to get it over the two gauges, it'll save a ton of work and possibly the replacement of two very expensive Smiths gauges. That's working smart, not being lazy!

[DougD]

Originally Posted by Jerry Clayton

Doug you can best answer that question by taking a piece of the material and seeing if you can work it over the guage---just for beginners---see if you can put a quarter thru a hole in a piece of paper that you have cut a dime sized hole---

Maybe Patrick can post some pics---

I thought this was sarcasm - so I didn't reply. But after your second post, I thought I'd try it. And you CAN put a quarter through a dime-sized hole! Whooda thunk?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Jerry Clayton

Maybe Patrick can post some pics---

Of course Patrick can post some pics.

Originally Posted by DougD

I thought this was sarcasm - so I didn't reply. But after your second post, I thought I'd try it. And you CAN put a quarter through a dime-sized hole! Whooda thunk?

Yes Doug, the ol' bar room trick relies on pulling the folded semi-circle towards you (three dimensional, of course) thus expanding the diameter of the orifice. Like thus...

[DougD]

Orifice - great word.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DougD

Orifice - great word.

A more reliable trick is to challenge your buddy to spell the word "possum." They will invariably forget to start it with an "O"

[PDUB]

Originally Posted by DougD

Orifice - great word.

There was a Florida realtor named Phil Orr that had his business along the road we traveled to get to my folks place. His sign had "Real Estate" across the top, with his name in the middle, and "Office" across the bottom. No doubt he intended you to read, "Phil Orr, Real Estate Office."

Problem is, after real estate, as you read down the sign it came out more like:

"Phil Orr Office" !

... surprised it lasted as long as it did.

If you don't take it too far, vinyl has an amazing propensity to return to its original shape when stretched... it might take overnight, but I doubt that stetching over the bezels would be too much for it. Let it sit for a while and watch to see when it looks good to reassemble the dash, so you don't keep wrinkles. Then you should have no problems. Depends on the material, though. Test it first on some scrap and you'll know just how far you can go with it.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Ahhh--parlor tricks and a great manicure...

Winter hibernation must be ending.

[Dangerous Doug]

Practically thinking, you're going to have your hands full gluing the wrap around edges of the material around the dash panel. Having done this a couple of times, I can tell you that you'll want to have the dash completely out of the car and with no gauges, switches or wires in your way.

If this is your first attempt, I'd like to warn you that it isn't as simple as you think it is. I did my 289FIA dash, which curves inward at the edges (not sure about the 427, but I'd think it was the same). I didn't like my first attempt due to two very minor defects, and my second attempt got a glob of glue under the material right in the middle, and looked crappy. It was while I was cleaning off the glue from my aluminum dash when it occurred to me that a polished aluminum dash would look pretty cool.

Actually, the polished aluminum dash attracts a lot of attention, and I've never had an issue with glare.

If you do cover in naughahyde, be sure to purchase UV-protected naughahyde like they use in upholstering boats---or you'll be doing it again in a year or so. Well, unless you leave your Cobra sitting protected in your garage, but that's not what you bought it for.

DD

[DougD]

I'm sure it won't be easy, but I'm gonna try it when the body's off for paint. I will have good access to remove all the gauges and switches then. And I may just say the heck with it and pull it completely out. But after trying the dime trick........

So what should I use for adhesive? I'm thinking some kind of spray stuff that you let dry or get tacky before application.

[Dangerous Doug]

Use Weldwood Trim and Landau top glue. Noxious. Wear a vapor mask.

The edges are tricky. You'll have to clamp them in place with blocks until they dry. Also, put a thin layer of felt fabric under the naughahyde first, to pad it a little. Looks better.

I bought my naugahyde (sp?) from a internet retailer in Florida that specialized in boat upholstery. Nice stuff.

DD

[PDUB]

Wait a minute... Dangerous Doug... Doug D... Dangerous Doug... Doug D... dude, are you talkin' to yourself?