Subject: Another option Author: cambridge : member since August, 2004 : 165 posts Posted on: 2009-03-24 20:58:05

I've rebuilt two L7 dashes. On one I was able to refurbish and re-dye the leather; on the other, reupholstering was the only option. Each had been warped by the shrinking of the leather. I had to use a heat gun to carefully restore the dashes to their original shapes.

Underneath the all the leather and foam padding is a standard E23 dash. BMW simply filled in the various indentations (top of dash pen holder, etc) with some sort of bondo type material.





They enlarged some of the dash openings a bit to accommodate the leather (so that switches and check panel would fit). In the picture below you can see how they trimmed away some of the vinyl on the inside edges.



They covered the dash with 1/4" foam padding, and then covered with leather. In the pictures above, I've removed the leather and padding.

I'd imagine an E23 dash could be taken from a salvage yard and, after some minor prep work, covered in leather or any material of your choice. You could then save yourself the step of restoring the old warped L7 dash to its original shape. The donor E23 dash need not be perfect; cracks will be covered by the new upholstery.

• Need dash for 1985 L7 (E23) Atlanta, GA - thechozin1 2009-03-14 13:24:19 (157 views)
  • Check out this link... - vance 2009-03-19 12:38:52 (146 views)
    • i recently had one recovered although i opted for less - bodoke 2009-03-21 07:14:23 (102 views)
  • have you seen these guys?? (url) - wabiker 2009-03-18 23:52:13 (135 views)
  • Maximillian (bimmer.com) might be able to locate an old-stock unit in Europe. - DavidC 2009-03-18 13:57:51 (108 views)
  • I saw somewhere a guy who recovered them, I will look and see if I can find. (nt) - ejonesie22 2009-03-17 13:47:27 (107 views)
  • Replacement from BMW is $2265 - cambridge 2009-03-16 21:54:47 (114 views)
    • Another option (pic) - cambridge 2009-03-24 20:58:05 (178 views)
  • Tough to find... - Area52 2009-03-15 00:11:25 (105 views)