The shrunken dash around my passenger airbag has bugged me since I bought my 456. The color combo is great but the full cuio tan without a break is also a little much. So...inspired by Ferrarichat.com/forum/fun-with-hand-tools.314409/ I set to work. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The plan was to change the top dash, instrument binnacle and wheel to black and retain the provenance of the original dash color. This was helped by finding this unicorn on eBay... A red 456 dash in CA. So have the red dash changed to black and swap out and preserve in storage the cuio dash Image Unavailable, Please Login
Removing the dash all in took a couple of evenings, massively aided by the aforementioned thread. Otherwise I would have removed too many fixings esp. on the passenger airbag. Then at the point of no return it was OMG what have I done... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Next transfer the fittings e.g. speakers HVAC ducting from the old to the new dash. Note my leather guy who did great work on my Pagoda, did a super stellar job on the red to black color change. 20+ hours of prep, dye, polish. He's not a fan of color changes so doesn't want me to publish his business. But PM me if you're in the Pacific Northwest Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This was the hardest part of the job, because this step was not included in the previous post and when you're swapping from one to another you really see how handmade these cars are and that the original dash was made to the car. Meaning take your time, finesse and persuade the parts to fit. You have to drill through duct rivets and I found some the studs to be 1mm larger than in my original dash...lots of stuff like that. These steps took about 4 hours. Patience, space, methodology and remember a man put this together so a man (or woman) can take it apart.
Then the fun begins. The steering column really gets in the way but have it high at first and then down and I was able to get the dash seated. Dials into new binnacle and new to me black wheels which I had restored fitted. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Then the airbag on the passenger side. This was tough, none of them fit well but again patience. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Original dash, binnacle wheel etc now in storage. And with a grimace I sat in the seat and turned the key... All seemed good but no lights in the dial...wait reostat, turn the dimmer and there were lights. No warning lights and all things worked. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Amazing. Thanks for sharing, those awesome pics and various details about the hand-built nature of the car were fascinating. Great looking job BTW !
I could not be happier with the transformation. The black is as new and looks totally spectacular and befitting of a proper classic Ferrari. Here are some daylight pics... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Most importantly big thank you to Dean Halter the OP giving us the steps via Ferrarichat and me the courage to tackle such a project. I still can't believe how good it looks!!
Awesome change, the black top dash looks amazing - and probably a lot less glare in the windshield to boot!
Great job. Looks fantastic! I removed the dash on my 412 and had it recovered and then I reinstalled it. Took a lot longer than expected, but very satisfying when it was all done. Enjoy your hard work!
