Topic

Another vote against the stupid expanding inserts but being a simple man I just contact glued some speed clips on the back of the binnacle mount to give a clamping action so little chance of splitting, I used contact as if your not spot on with your position of the clip it will give a bit.

You buy the cover & glue it on yourself I believe & there in lies the problem. Sadly not everyone has the requisite skills to do a decent job. There was a chap trying to sell one on eBay it it was horrible; remember building Airfix models & getting glue on your fingers, subsequently getting stuck to the Lancaster fuselage, resulting in splots all over the place? We’ll this binnacle owed it’s appearance to that school of creation.
I think I’d prefer dog dick pink applied with a trowel than that offering.
M

Airportable, I think you misunderstood my explanation the picture shows my old binnacle and the damaged caused I believe by the expanding fastening. My fix with the good binnacle I sourced was to simply use a dab of contact glue to locate the speed clip behind the square fixing hole inside the binnacle so no glue shows on the outer surfaces at all, I've had the outer trim off a couple of times since and the clips have stayed in place.

Sorry DF if you thought I was adversely commenting on your repair methods, I’m unsure where I might have stepped out of line! I attempt at all times to be sanguine about others jobs, what is satisfying to one person may not appeal to another & who am I to comment on their work. I wouldn’t have the temerity to castigate efforts of fellow member.
Cobber commented on a leather cover available via eBay & I was unimpressed with these, not necessarily because of their quality but the difficulty in getting it right.
The example I’m basing my comments on is one fitted by a chap who was generally pretty handy when it came to DIY. It was to be fitted by using contact adhesive & as most folk realise you only get one good chance to get it aligned before you are committed & that was when the ground opened up & swallowed any chance of retrieving the situation. In that moment of realisation that all was not going to plan, panic set in & the first thumb print was laid down for posterity, rapidly followed by others in a vain effort to correct the accelerating catastrophe. It was quite expensive. Bob, a good Scot & a man who knows how to keep his cash corralled did not put the experience down to bad luck as others might & start looking for a fresh binnacle, He fitted it & they glowered at each other until they parted, a sad end to a once deep & loving relationship.
Sorry again if I put my sooty foot on your nice clean problem solved.
M

I have to agree with the comments on leather covers having fitted a full dash cover to a Ford Capri 3 years ago. This was a more complex shape than the F/TF binnacle but I can say it was a ghastly job. The leather was well over £ 100 but because Capri dashes are notorious for cracking a leather cover seemed a good idea.
I was very careful during fitting and had dampened the leather in places and heated with a hairdrier in others as per the instructions. I had also carefully fixed all the cracks in the dash beforehand so these wouldn't show through.
It didnt look too bad at first but then the glue started to fail in the middle of the wider areas after a few months leaving the dash looking decidedly baggy in places. Im assuming this had reacted against the finish of the dash itself as I had used the contact adhesive the seller had recommended.

It really let the interior down and indeed it was only a matter of time until I tracked down and bought a replica dashboard shell, made of hard plastic but visually identical to the original padded dash. I stripped the leather cover off without damaging it and sold it cheaply with a warning to be very careful about the choice of glue. Never again

“Be very careful about the choice of glue “
Oh yes do be careful, apart from regularly supergluing myself to the job in hand & the batteries going flat whilst curing U/V adhesive I’m pretty good at sticking things.
Apart, that is, for the headlining on the hard top, it looked a great job initially, as it awaits refitting I looked at it & it’s gone as baggy as a pair of Queen Victoria’s nickers.
Job list entry:- redo headlining.
M