Next on the list was the dashboard. The original Healeys had the traditional wood dash and the Sebring more or less duplicated that look. I kind of liked that look and pursued that line of thought for quite some time. Unfortunately, wood comes with problems. My plan is to drive this car a lot and was concerned about keeping wood looking nice. Having a mahogany front door on my house that needs constant maintenance was my main indicator. I have never found a protective coating that will hold up in the sun. Even marine polyurethane.

I also looked very seriously at faux wood done through the hydro-dipping process. This was very promising, since there are wood patterns available that are virtually indistinguishable from real high end burl wood. They also offered the durability of automotive paints, since they are generally protected with automotive clears. However, in the end I decided to go with something very different.

I consider metal to be my main medium and wanted to do something a little different for a typical Healey in that direction. I have a lot of aircraft type rivet work on this car and wanted to tie that in somehow to the trim work. I chose to do an aluminum sheet metal dash and console with a padded marine vinyl covering. Yes, that makes it very similar to a Cobra, but that dash treatment was common to other British cars, too. Most people are just used to seeing it on Cobras. I know, from experience with my T-bucket, that the marine vinyl will hold up well in the sun and rain (that’s what it was made for after all), so durability is not an issue. I also felt that I could pull off that little bit of upholstery myself without having to search out a trimmer. They are few and far between in my area. The console will carry the same general theme as the dashboard. I also want to do some decorative metal trimmed door cards, but that can wait for a little while longer. That is a good project for after the car is actually drivable. After I made the decision on the vinyl, I went ahead and ordered several yards of black vinyl and some 1/8” closed cell foam sheet.

Figuring out the basic gauge layout and overall shape of the dash took a little thinking and playing around with plywood and cardboard patterns. There is a lot going on on this dash and I wanted to make sure that all the gauges were visible.



I finally settled on the pattern on the top. The rounded corners make it a little easier to get in and out of the car. I need all the help I can get on that front.