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TR2/3/3A Vinyl covering on dash on TR3

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Kleykamp

Kleykamp

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I'm moving this question to a separate post to avoid hijacking someone else's post. It is actually a useless question, but my curiosity has got me. My question is about the main dash... not the center gauge panel. I understand the model changes in the center gauge cluster from covered to black wrinkle finish.
When I think of vinyl upholstery, I think of flexible canvass like fabric with the vinyl surface on the exposed side and the fabric on the other. The dash and glove box door on my '61 TR3 (76XXX) is not that type of "vinyl". It's more like a thin plastic sheet that was molded to the metal dash with some type of heat transfer process. I know it to be the original dash, so no, it wasn't something that was put on later. My curiosity is, if this was the process used on all years of TR3's or was it a process that was developed later in production. I'm sure some of you have removed this material to restore your dash. It is brittle and breaks off rather than peals off like vinyl fabric. All of the cars I've had have been '59 or later and the other two already had the dash stripped to bare metal so I have no experience with earlier cars.
 
Nope, that was a later change. I thought it happened around TS60,000 along with all the others, but I could be mistaken about that. On all of my earlier cars, the dash has been covered with plain vinyl cloth, held by a combination of glue and clips.

This was, I believe, the original dash covering on TS39781LO. It was already obviously old when I got the car in 1983 and certainly not changed after that.

At the very top of this shot, you can see some of the clips that were used


TS13571L and TS43xxxL had the same material (tho I believe it's been painted on TS13571L). But I've got a panel up in the rafters somewhere that has the coating you describe. Don't recall the commission number offhand, but it was after TS60k.
 
Here's Both, the first an early 3A, TS58023. The second is TS73117. The latter car's covering is certainly applied differently, no darts and very solidly glued but I still think it's vinyl. As you mentioned earlier, there are no wrinkles in the later dash, even in the troublesome areas around the steering column. I've owned TS73117 since 1964 and I knew the history of the car when I bought so I am sure the dash is original. I'm not as sure about the earlier car.
Tom



frankencar Dash1.jpgTS73117 dash.jpg
 
Interesting discussion. I would as well call the later form fitted a vinyl. However it is different from most of the vinyl that you can buy in shops with the backing. I would guess that it would make it easier to form fit over the curved portions.
Charley
 
My 1960 was simply vinyl with the stretchy thin backed cloth (vs the canvass cotton backing that does not stretch like used on the tops). It was still stretched, glued, and clipped as my earlier TR2 was. Even the same style clips. The area around the steering column was sewn to make a smooth cover on the 1960.

I suspect the covering was the same...the old guy with the pipe just got better installing it over the years.
 
I had several original dashes as spares and one seemed covered by a form fitted material as you've described. No clips and no stitches by the steering column. I think it is closer to the the vinyl used for the Windshield surround in the tr4 and later cars.
 
The glove box covering description made me think of Tolex, a tough vinyl covering that is used to cover guitar amps and cases. It is readily available in a selection of colors too and glues, stretches, molds well to curves. Search Tolex
 
Thanks for helping clear that up. Randall, you jogged my memory. I do recall on the 59's having the clips and some of the vinyl cover that was left on the dash, and I used the widely used vinyl covers sold by Moss or TRF to restore that one. Tom your photos verify exactly what I was talking about. The tolex PeterK mentions, seems to be thicker but is indeed similar and especially so, when I think about the vintage black Fender amps. This stuff reminds me more of the blister packs they package things in these days that is guaranteed to cut you finger when you open the package... but slightly thicker. Maybe someone will chime in that knows exact what it is and how it was installed/formed. I would guess it's not something that would be easily duplicated in a restoration.
 
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