That certainly rearranges your priorities. Good luck.

I'm in the middle of painting mine. Have a look here, https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/steves-unexpected-series-3-rebuild.292955/page-40 I was dead set on brush painting until I tried it. I got a cheap spray set up and I'm doing it in the garage at home. I've got no previous experience and...

So that's what it's called. That has got me intrigued. Just been looking into it and I see it can be moulded by heating it. Could be the salvation of the ruined dash covering.

Talking about the crash pad i've been doing more experimenting. The expanding foam is very good overall and if the damage is not too bad I think it would do. Big areas will definitely sink back a bit though, enough to have a visible dent when the vinyl is on. Hard to see in the photo but the...

Next it was time to do the good side of this part of the dash. It doesn't look bad in the photo but I think someone in the past had painted over the rust with some horrible paint and the resulting finish was a pig to get off. I started with one of those vicious twist wire brushes on the grinder...

Last bit of dash welding! Don't know if series 3's are supposed to have clocks but a hole had been hacked / chewed into the dash for one. This is the hole after some squaring up. And with it all done it's time for another offer up. All the screw holes line up and it looks ok. Might go with...

Nice one. Got any pictures?

Thanks. The vinyl and foam are going to be a bit of an adventure. The foam padding is absolutely knackered. Don't know whether to try and save it or just find something completely new. I'm going to have a think.

Time to finalise that corner of the dash. I left plenty of metal spare thinking it would make it easier but still had difficulty getting it to meet up with the curved piece already in place. Not good really but i'd got to the point of keep going and make it work or chop it all out and start...

That first go wasn't a mistake, it was just a practice go to get your eye in.

Last night I did a test and stuck some of my new foam together with the puraflex to see how it would behave. Just had a look and all seems good. Stuck solidly together and hasn't eaten into the foam or anything. Onwards.

Thanks. I did a bit more on it at the weekend. I was in a rush and i've hurt my back so I wasn't really in the mood. It's bodgery now alright! 😆

You're right about it sinking in where it gets knocked. For an experiment i've been pressing on where those two big holes were and it has sunk right in. It's as if all the tiny bubbles and air pockets in it collapse and don't bounce back. I've stretched a piece of the old vinyl over those big...

Experiment time. I had a look at the Youtube tutorials again and got stuck in. Spray the foam over the damaged areas and right into any holes. It's hard to spray it slowly enough and you tend to get huge amounts if you're not careful. Then wrap it in clingfilm to keep it pressed onto the...

This damage is more of a problem.

Back to the dash top. It cleaned up well overall.

Warning! The following post contains scenes of bodgery that some viewers might find upsetting. Nearly there with the repairs on the main section of the dash. (We'll overlook the bit that goes over the wiper motor for now). I had visions of making a lovely curved piece to fit in here but it's a...

Hopefully a straight forward bit without nasty surprises. As it was before taking it to bits. I want a nice finish on this side as it's so visible in the cab. This side is worse but I can afford to lather on the rustproofing this side as it will never be seen. After attacking it with every...

Finally get the hang of the technique for welding the thin stuff now that i'm almost finished. Strike the arc on the new, thicker steel. Get a pool starting and then give it a quick push over to tag in the thin stuff. No weld through primer to ruin the job and it's all good.

Little bits of progress to report. Just had a week off work but family stuff was the priority. Will try to crack on with the landy but have now bought the tiles for the kitchen so don't hold your breath. Messrs Bilt and Hamber save the day again.