Capri - Instrument Pod Recovering 1

The original instrument pod covering on my white Capri XL had several areas which were in bad shape with the vinyl split or the foam disintegrating. Several years ago I had an upholsterer recover the top section but he did a very unsatisfactory job resulting in the glued ends starting to lift, as shown in the photos.

For some time I have been considering replacing or recovering the pod. I have tried several motor trimmers & they don't want to know about it, suggesting the Dashboard Doctor in Victoria. I believe that could be very expensive & with a considerable time delay so I did some searching & came up with two options.
One option is the reproduction fibreglass pods made by the Capri Club in the UK. I have heard that they are a good fit & pretty close match to the original vinyl. The cost of these is approx. $235 plus GST plus postage (not sure, but perhaps 20-30 pounds). So all up, the cost would be approx. $300. Here is the link to their site:
http://capriclub.co.uk/index.php?route=product/search&search=pod
The second option was to buy a custom made vinyl pod cover from JF Customs in the UK. They supply this, with your choice of stitching colouring, for $110 including postage plus GST of $11. Being a cheapskate, I settled for this option. The vinyl match is not perfect but the difference does not worry me. Delivery from the UK took about 10 days. This firm has a wide range of vehicle products & has a very good review history.
Here is a link to their site:
http://www.ebaystores.com.au/J-F-CUSTOMS
This is what it looks like as it is unfolded & stretched:

So, to do this job, the pod needs to be removed. Here is how I did it:
First, undo the radio control knobs & the nuts holding the radio in place. Next, slide off the heater control knobs. Then the small bottom cardboard panel trim to the left of the steering column (2 screws). Undo the 2 bolts holding the steering column & let it hang down. The pod is held in place with 3 screws (2 on the bottom + one on the RHS). Pull out the pod slowly as far as possible. From the top, unclip the speedo cable (try not to move the car while this is off as it will be difficult to slot it back in). Once the speedo cable is off, the pod will come out even further, as far as the wiring will allow. This will then allow you to unscrew the 4 screws ( 2 top & bottom) that hold the instrument panel to the pod & facia. This requires a small Phillips head screwdriver inserted at the top & in the small space between the dash pad. Not easy, but it can be done. Once this is done, the pod comes away & the instruments will just sit there.



Now you have the pod out there is one more tricky bit.
I was now working on my bench. Turn the pod over & there are about 10 very small plastic studs with spring clips attaching the facia to the metal frame of the pod. About 4 of mine were already broken so I was very careful in trying to prise off the clips. Despite this, I broke another one. I figured I could glue this back if need be. Turning it back to the front side, prise the facia out of the pod & now we are ready to do the job. That all takes time & I am very conscious about breaking bits as the plastic & trims can be very fragile.

The next stage involved removing the vinyl patch & thankfully, that came off without too much trouble, leaving the original cover intact. There was a fair bit of glue on it but with careful cleaning using a razor blade scraper all of this was removed. The original damage was also cleaned up & smoothed off using some very fine sand paper. After the pod was really clean & smooth, the main part of the task can begin. See Part 2 for the next bit of fun!