I need to reupholster the entire interior of a 72 Pre L. It will be redone to appear mostly as factory. I have a choice of using leather or vinyl for the seats, dash, console, etc. These cars came with vinyl upholstery but many Panteras are reupholstered in leather. Some of the upholsterers I have spoken with don't like to put leather on the dash because it can shrink and/or peel. I am looking for input on how to move forward with this effort. Thank you.
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If you’re trying to keep the period look, I would say do the vinyl. It will match the feel and look of the car. The name of the correct pattern/grain was rawhide i believe. You can look up my old post when I redid the dash and console to match the grain of thr firewall and doors etc.
Riley, this is helpful. Thank you. Here is your old post.
I've had leather covered dashes and while they look great initially, be careful if they are exposed to sun, they do shrink. For a stock look, I agree vinyl is much more forgiving. But for seats I prefer leather since it breathes much better and you don't get the sweaty back syndrome. My 2 cents
The only issue with vinyl on the dash is out-gassing vapor when sitting in the sun. It's a feature of the stock Pantera vinyl dash too. Exposure to heat and sun - like you encounter driving your car on a nice day and/or going to a car show or two - result in a nice oily film that develops on the inside of your windshield. Easy enough to clean off.
I understand that leather does not do this.
